Prior to European colonists, the area was inhabited by indigenous tribes, including the Tuscarora and Occaneechi. Explorer John Lawson mentions "Tuskeraro", "Neus", "Schoccores and Achonechy Indians" in his journal. He also mentions the devastation from illnesses like smallpox and "distemper" on the native population which killed entire towns and left one sixth the original population in the area.[1]
1587 – In a venture sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh, John White and a group of colonists land on Roanoke Island at the site of a former, abandoned settlement to found the "Cittie of Raleigh," about 190 miles from present-day Raleigh, NC. John White returns to England for supplies, leaving behind his granddaughter Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World.[2]
1590 – His return delayed by threats against England by the Spanish Armada, John White secures passage on a privateer. As the party stepped ashore, there was no sign of the colonists except the letters "CROATOAN" carved on a tree. This abandoned site later became known as the "Lost Colony."
1701 – John Lawson, English explorer, led a 600-mile expedition starting in Charleston, SC and ending at the mouth of the Pamlico River. His journey took him close to the site of what later became Raleigh, NC.[3]
1781 – Lane's property was the setting for a session of the state General Assembly. At this time the settlement was known as Wake Courthouse, or Bloomsbury and contained a courthouse, a jail, a tavern or inn, and a log church called the Asbury Meetinghouse.[5]
1792
The NC legislature authorizes the purchase of 1,000 acres (4 km2) of Joel Lane's land upon which to establish the city of "Raleigh" as the new center of state government.
Raleigh is founded as the capital of North Carolina.[6]
Bishop Davenport (1838). "Raleigh". Pocket Gazetteer, or, Traveller's Guide through North America and the West Indies. Philadelphia: George & Byington. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t9k35ng8g.
R.H. Long (1863), "Raleigh", Hunt's Gazetteer of the Border and Southern States, Pittsburgh, Pa.: John P. Hunt
Lawrence Wodehouse (1967). "Alfred B. Mullett's Court Room and Post Office at Raleigh, North Carolina". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 26 (4): 301–305. doi:10.2307/988457. JSTOR988457.
Steven Stolpen, Raleigh: A Pictorial History (Norfolk, 1977).
Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Raleigh, NC", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, p. 274+, OL4120668M
Elizabeth Reid Murray, Wake: Capital County of North Carolina, Vol.1 of Prehistory through Centennial (Raleigh, 1983)
R.B., Reeves III, ed., Raleigh 1792-1992: A Bicentennial Celebration of North Carolina's Capital City (Raleigh, 1992)
Candy Lee Metz Beal, Raleigh: The First 200 Years (Raleigh, 1992)
Linda Harris Edminsten and Linda Simmons-Henry, Culture Town: Life in Raleigh's African American Communities (Raleigh, 1993)
David Perkins, ed., The News and Observer's Raleigh: A Living History of North Carolina's Capital (Winston-Salem, 1994)
Published in 21st century
Jennifer A. Kulikowski and Kenneth E. Peters, Images of America: Historic Raleigh (Charleston, 2002)
William S. Powell, ed. (2006), "Raleigh", Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press (via NCpedia)
