Timeline of Raleigh, North Carolina

Prior to 19th century

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.

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 "CRO" 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.

1770 - Joel Lane, a planter, successfully lobbies the colonial General Assembly to create Wake County.

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.

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 founded as capital of North Carolina.

1794

State House built.

December: State General Assembly convenes.

1798 - Cemetery established.

1799 - The North-Carolina Minerva, and Raleigh advertiser, relocates from Fayetteville to become the first Raleigh Newspaper.

1800 - Raleigh population is 669.

19th century

1801 - Raleigh Academy established.

1804 - Casso's Inn opens.

1813 - State Bank of North Carolina built.

1817 - Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina established in Raleigh

1819 - Raleigh Auxiliary Society for Colonizing the Free People of Colour of the United States established.

1820 - Population: 2,674.

1831

January: Fire.

June: Capitol building burns down.

1840

Raleigh and Gaston Railroad begins operating.

North Carolina State Capitol building constructed.

1846 - Raleigh Guards established.

1850 - Charles Lee Smith house built.

1853 - Christ Episcopal Church built.

1857

William Dallas Haywood becomes mayor.

Peace Institute founded.

1861 - May 20: North Carolina secedes from the United States and joins the Confederate States of America.

1865

April 13: Raleigh taken by Union forces.

Raleigh Institute founded.

Daily Sentinel newspaper begins publication.

1868 - July 4: North Carolina readmitted to the United States.

1875 - Institute for Colored Deaf, Dumb and Blind built.

1878 - Court Room and Post Office built.

1880 - The News & Observer in publication.

1881 - Tabernacle Baptist Church built.

1889 - North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens.

1890 - Union Station built.

1891

North Carolina Confederate Soldiers’ Home opens.

Baptist Female University chartered.

Electric streetcar begins operating.

Governor's Mansion built.

1892 - Centennial of city founding.

1898 - First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company established.

1900

North Carolina Literary and Historical Association founded.

Population: 13,643.

1900s-1940s

1901 - Raney Memorial Library opens.

1903 - North Carolina Division of Archives and History headquartered in Raleigh.

1904 - Raleigh Woman's Club founded.

1905 - James I. Johnson becomes mayor.

1910 - Population: 19,218.

1912 - City Auditorium opens.

1913 - State Supreme Court Building constructed.

1914 - Daughters of the American Revolution Caswell-Nash Chapter formed.

1915 - North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation headquartered in Raleigh.

1920

City area expanded.

Population: 27,076.

1923 - State Agricultural Building constructed.

1924

State Theatre opens.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh officially established

1929 - Raleigh Municipal Airport opens.

1930 - The Mecca Restaurant opens.

1932 - Raleigh Memorial Auditorium opens.

1936 - Raleigh Little Theatre established.

1938

State Office Building constructed.

Cooper’s Barbeque in business.

1940 - Carolinian newspaper begins publication.

1943 - Raleigh–Durham Airport opens.

1945 - Area of city: 12.5 square miles.

1948 - Hi-Mount developed.

1949 - Cameron Village shopping centre in business.

1950s-1990s

1950

Southern Railway station built.

Population: 65,679.

1951 - York Industrial Center established near city.

1952 - Southland Speedway opens.

1954 - Farm Bureau Insurance Company building constructed.

1955 - Raleigh Farmers Market built.

1956

North Carolina Museum of Art opens.

Occidental Life Insurance Company building constructed.

1959 - Research Triangle Park development begins near city.

1960

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee founded in Raleigh.

First Federal Bank Building constructed.

1961 - Center Drive-In cinema active.

1962 - Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company building constructed.

1965 - Area of city: 34.1 square miles.

1967 - North Hills Mall in business.

1970 - Population: 122,830.

1971 - Daughters of the American Revolution Micajah Bullock Chapter formed.

1972

Crabtree Valley Mall in business.

State Bank of Raleigh and Capital Area Preservation nonprofit established.

1975 - Raleigh Transit Authority established.

1977 - Isabella Cannon becomes mayor.

1978 - Haywood Hall Museum House established.

1979 - Jain Study Center of North Carolina founded.

1980 - Artsplosure begins.

1985 - Piedmont Zen Group formed.

1986 - Sister city relationship established with Hull, UK.

1987 - David Price becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 4th congressional district.

1988 - 1988 Raleigh tornado outbreak.

1989 - Sister city relationship established with Compiègne, France.

1990 - Population: 207,951.

1993 - Raleigh City Museum opens.

1995 - Historic Oak View County Park established.

1998 - Animazement convention begins.

1999 - 1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

2000 - Population: 276,093.

2000s

2001

November: Raleigh mayoral election, 2001 held.

December: Charles Meeker becomes mayor.

Sister city relationship established with Rostock, Germany.

2002 - Triangle Town Center shopping mall in business.

2005 - Raleigh Home Movie Day begins.[1][2]

2007 - Marbles Kids Museum opens.

2008

Raleigh Public Record in publication.

David Price becomes U.S. representative for North Carolina's 4th congressional district again.

Sister city relationship established with Xiangyang, China.

2010s

2010 - Population: 403,892.

2011

April 14–16, 2011 tornado outbreak.

Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh opens.

CityCamp NC begins.[3]

Nancy McFarlane becomes mayor.

2012 - Sister city relationship established with Nairobi, Kenya.

2013 - April: Moral Mondays protest begins.

2017 - Fire breaks out at Downtown Raleigh building, the largest the city has seen since the 1920s