Less than 250 years ago, the bustling capital of North Carolina was nothing more than a forest of oak and hickory trees located near the Wake Cross Roads and the tavern of early entrepreneur Isaac Hunter.

 

The seat of government was a hotly-debated issue in the early days of North Carolina with well-established cities vying for the honor of being named capital. So how was it that the capital was born from a wilderness and not an already-existing city?

Witness Raleigh's founding in 1792 and experience the first 50 years of North Carolina's most powerful city in this exciting project from the State Library and State Archives of North Carolina.

 

Browse through digital copies of original documents, maps, books, and images, and check out the additional resources on this site to explore the evolution of Raleigh from its beginning near the Wake Cross Roads, throughout its founding, and into its early formative years.