Following the American Revolution, part of the former English colony of Carolina became North Carolina and a permanent capital city was necessary. Several prominent North Carolina citizens lived in Wake County at the base of the Piedmont Plateau and wanted the capital to be there. In 1792, Raleigh was chartered to serve as the capital of North Carolina and was named after Sir Walter Raleigh who, two centuries earlier, had sponsored the first English colony to settle in the New World. Raleigh has the distinction of being the only state capital to have been built on land specifically purchased by the state for its government seat.
During the Civil War, downtown Raleigh was seriously threatened only once when 60,000 torch-carrying Union troops approached Raleigh bent on revenge for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. General John Alexander Logan stopped the troops at gunpoint and saved Raleigh from being burned. Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, was born in Raleigh in 1808. Located in central North Carolina in the rolling terrain of the Piedmont crescent region, 150 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean and 190 miles east of the Great Smoky Mountains, Raleigh remained a sleepy state capital until 1959 when the now world-renowned Research Triangle Park was established just west of the city. Today, growth is the watchword for business and industry in the North Raleigh, Wake County and Research Triangle areas. The Research Triangle is a 6,900-acre research park, where 137 organizations from the fields of academia, business and government work together. It is home to three major research universities, including Duke, and more than 42,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and support people who work there. The Raleigh-Durham International Airport is located in the heart of the Triangle, 10 miles southeast of Durham and 10 miles northwest of Raleigh. In the year 2000, Employment Review named Raleigh the fourth best place to live and work in America, while Cognetics, Inc. said it was the fourth best place to start and expand a business. Many factors enhance Raleigh's national reputation, including a highly skilled and educated workforce. Nearly 41 percent of the city's 286,834 residents are college graduates and 86.6 percent, the highest rate in the nation, have high school diplomas. Other factors which attract professionals and families to North Raleigh are consistently low unemployment rates, above average income, varied and affordable housing options, and superior educational and recreational opportunities. All postsecondary schools contribute greatly to the quality of life in Raleigh through academic, artistic and cultural programs. Wake County has been served by a single school district since 1976, when county schools merged with Raleigh public schools. This merger has been so successful that in 2000, Time magazine named Raleigh the "Number One Area for Educational Opportunity." Greater Raleigh's greenway system covers 46 miles, connecting many of the area's 156 parks and lakes. Sports fans can enjoy N.C. State basketball along with numerous golf courses. Whether it's a great year-round climate, endless job opportunities, outstanding shopping, quality education or competitive sports teams, Raleigh has something for everyone. And regardless of its rapid growth, the "City of Oaks" will always remember its rich tapestry of history and carry its founding philosophies into the new millennium. |