North Carolina State Capital: Raleigh

What is the capital of North Carolina? It is a city called Raleigh and there is an amazing story surrounding it. It is located in Wake County with some of it extending to Durham County. There are so many things that you don't know about this gem of a city. For example, where does it get its name? The name comes from an English statesman named Sir Walter Raleigh. The city was first born in 1587 and is the backdrop of the Lost Colony legend. Speaking of which, Raleigh was the one who founded Roanoke Colony when the country was just starting to take shape.

However, Raleigh wasn't the original capital of North Carolina. The town of Bath originally held that title from 1705 to 1722. It would make sense since it is the oldest town in North Carolina. However, Bath wouldn't hold onto such a title for long. The town of Edenton became the capital, but it wasn't meant to be. The problem was there were no stable and permanent institutions of government to hold everything in place. Who was going to run the colony? Then in 1743, New Bern became the capital after the colony had a stable government. However, that wasn't going to last long. There had to be a new capital for a planned city. Raleigh wouldn't become the capital until 1788. Fayetteville would take the crown of being the capital while Raleigh was being built from 1780 to 1794. The new capital would become official in 1792 and Raleigh has kept its title ever since.

Here are some fun facts about the city of Raleigh. Did you know the city has the nickname "City of Oakes" due to the many oak trees that grow in it? That's not all either. There is so much more to Raleigh than what you see on any website or book. You can find North Carolina State University in Raleigh itself. The cities of Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh all make the "Research Triangle" due to famous colleges there. There are many towns in Raleigh that you can visit. What are they, you ask? Why they are none other than Cary, Morrisville, Garner, Clayton, Wake Forest, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon, and Rolesville. All of these towns have so much to offer. You just have to know where to look.

What is Raleigh like today? It's just as lively as ever. You can find the city on many top ten lists in Forbes, MSNBC, and Money magazines. In 2006, the city's hockey team, the Carolina Hurricanes, won the Stanley Cup. The city continues to grow and thrive even to this day. Not even an EF-3 tornado in 2011 could destroy it. Not even a pandemic can keep Raleigh down either. In 2017, the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh dedicated the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral.