Raleigh is the capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeast, the 41st-most populous city in the U.S., and the largest city of the Research Triangle metro area. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees, which line the streets in the heart of the city. The city covers a land area of 148.54 square miles (384.7 km2). The U.S. Census Bureau counted the city's population as 467,665 at the 2020 census. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. It is ranked as a sufficiency-level world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The city of Raleigh is named after Sir Walter Raleigh, who established the now-lost Roanoke Colony in present-day Dare County.
Wake County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the United States, with Cary and Raleigh being the 8th- and 15th-fastest growing communities, respectively.
Waynesville is the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest town in North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains.
Morrisville is a town located primarily in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population was 29,630. Morrisville is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. The regional name originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located midway between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The Research Triangle region encompasses the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area. The population of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area was 2,106,463 in 2020, while the population of the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area was 1,413,982 in 2020. The operational headquarters of Lenovo is located in the municipal limits.
William Alexander Graham was a United States senator from North Carolina from 1840 to 1843, a senator later in the Confederate States Senate from 1864 to 1865, the 30th governor of North Carolina from 1845 to 1849 and U.S. secretary of the Navy from 1850 to 1852, under President Millard Fillmore. He was the Whig Party nominee for vice-president in 1852 on a ticket with General Winfield Scott.
John Haywood was an American politician, who was the longest-serving North Carolina State Treasurer from 1787 until his death in 1827.
Bennett Place is a former farm and homestead in Durham, North Carolina, which was the site of the last surrender of a major Confederate army in the American Civil War, when Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to William T. Sherman. The first meeting saw Sherman agreeing to certain political demands by the Confederates, which were promptly rejected by the Union cabinet in Washington. Another meeting had to be held to agree on military terms only, in line with Robert E. Lee’s recent surrender to Ulysses S. Grant. This effectively ended the war.
The North Carolina State Capitol is the former seat of the legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina which housed all of the state's government until 1888. The Supreme Court and State Library moved into a separate building in 1888, and the General Assembly moved into the State Legislative Building in 1963. Today, the governor and his immediate staff occupy offices on the first floor of the Capitol.
Rocky Mount Mills, located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, was the second cotton mill constructed in the state of North Carolina, dating back to 1816. Capitol Broadcasting Company bought the 150-acre (61 ha) mills in the 2007 and has since redeveloped it into a mixed-use campus of breweries, restaurants, lofts, office, and event space.
Christ Episcopal Church, also known as Christ Church on Capitol Square, is an Episcopal church at 120 East Edenton Street in Raleigh, North Carolina. Built in 1848–53 to a design by Richard Upjohn, it is one of the first Gothic Revival churches in the American South. The church was built for a parish established in 1821; its minister is the Rev. James P. Adams. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
The Capitol Area Historic District is a national historic district located at Raleigh, North Carolina. The district encompasses 25 contributing buildings and was developed after 1792. The district includes notable examples of Classical Revival and Late Gothic Revival style architecture. Located in the district are the following separately listed buildings:
Colonel William Polk was a North Carolina banker, educational administrator, political leader, renowned Continental officer in the War for American Independence, and survivor of the 1777/1778 encampment at Valley Forge.
Saint Mary's School is a private independent Episcopal college-preparatory, boarding and day school for girls in grades 9–12. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, Saint Mary's School operates as an independent school with a historic association with the Episcopal Church including an Episcopal chapel, St. Mary's Chapel, on the school's grounds. The school formerly operated as Saint Mary's College and for many decades educated young women in grades 11–12 and their freshman and sophomore years in college. The school changed to a four year high school in 1998, at which point the name reverted to Saint Mary's School, the original name of the institution when it was founded in 1842.
Sacred Heart Church is a Catholic church located on Hillsborough Street in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The church served as the cathedral of the Diocese of Raleigh from 1924 to 2017. In 1978 it, and the other parish buildings, was included as a contributing property in the Capitol Area Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sacred Heart is also the location of the Cathedral School, formally called Sacred Heart Cathedral School.
The City Cemetery of Raleigh, also known as Old City Cemetery, was authorized in 1798 by the North Carolina General Assembly as Raleigh's first burying ground. It was laid out on 4 acres (1.6 ha) of land just outside the original 1792 eastern boundary of Raleigh and bounded by East Street on the west, East Hargett Street on the south, and Morgan Street on the north. It was originally laid out in four equal quarters with the northern two quarters reserved for residents, the southwestern for visitors, and the southeastern for Negroes, both free and slaves. Over time, the cemetery has gradually been enlarged toward New Bern Street in 1819, 1849, and 1856 and now contains approximately 7.5 acres (3.0 ha). The cemetery was enclosed in 1898 by a cast-iron fence that was formerly around Union Square to keep straying livestock out of the State Capitol grounds. A network of cobblestone driveways with granite curbstones run through the cemetery. In 1857, the city boundaries were extended to include the cemetery, and the city charter provided for a resident caretaker. Many persons of Raleigh's and North Carolina's early period are interred at City Cemetery including governors, mayors, politicians, newspaper editors, military officers, ministers, doctors, planters, attorneys, bankers, and Scottish and English stonemasons who helped build the Capitol.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
Nancy Jones House is a historic home located near Cary, Wake County, North Carolina. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is the oldest surviving structure in Cary.
Haywood Hall, also known as the Treasurer John Haywood House, is a historic home located at Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, United States. It was built in 1792, and is a two-story, five-bay, Federal-style frame dwelling with a central hall plan. It features a two-story front porch with attenuated fluted Doric order columns. It was the home of North Carolina State Treasurer John Haywood (1754–1827). It is now open as a historic house museum.
The North Carolina State House was built from 1792 to 1796 as the state capitol for North Carolina. It was located at Union Square in the state capital, Raleigh, in Wake County. The building was extensively renovated in the neoclassical style by William Nichols, the state architect, from 1820 to 1824. On December 24, 1821, the statue of George Washington by Antonio Canova was displayed in the rotunda. Both were destroyed by fire in 1831.
The North Carolina General Assembly of 1835 met in Raleigh from November 16, 1835 to December 22, 1835. The assembly consisted of the 137 members of the North Carolina House of Commons and 65 senators of North Carolina Senate elected by the voters in August 1835. This was the last assembly elected before the amendments to the Constitution of North Carolina from the North Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1835 took effect. Thus, the House of Commons included representatives from towns and the number of members of the house was greater than 120. William H. Haywood, Jr was elected speaker of the House of Commons and Charles Manley was elected clerk. William D. Mosely was elected President of the Senate and William J. Cowan was elected Clerk. Richard Dobbs Spaight, Jr. was elected the Governor by the assembly and served from December 10, 1835 to December 31, 1836. He was the last governor of North Carolina to be elected by the General Assembly.
