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During much of the Colonial
period, North Carolina was
without a fixed capital.
Governors lived in their own
homes and the Assembly moved
from place to place, meeting
in private homes, and in
courthouses when available.
In 1722 the Assembly
selected Edenton as the
capital, but years passed
before modest government
facilities became available.
By then the center of the
population had shifted
southward, and the
government again became
migratory.
Several efforts to establish
a seat of government failed
until 1766, when the town of
New
Bern was
selected. Construction of
Governor
Tryon's Palace
began in 1767 and was
completed in 1771. This new
structure served as the
governor's residence and
office, as well as a meeting
place for the Upper House.
However, when New Bern was
threatened by enemy attacks
during the American
Revolution, the government
took to the roads again,
meeting in both coastal and
inland towns of the state.
The "palace" soon became
neglected and in 1798 all
but one wing burned to the
ground.
Meanwhile, the state's
population had moved
westward, and in 1788 a
State Convention voted to
fix the capital within ten
miles of Isaac Hunter's
plantation in Wake County. A
committee later purchased
1,000 acres of
Joel
Lane's
plantation, and a plan for
Raleigh was drawn, based on
the then nation's capital of
Philadelphia. Construction
of a State House began on
the town's central square in
1792. First occupied in
1794, the building served as
the capitol until it burned
in 1831. The cornerstone of
the present
State
Capitol,
constructed on the site of
the former State House, was
laid in 1833 and the
building was completed in
1840. |
