Raleigh, North Carolina

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Wikipedia's article on Raleigh, North Carolina.

Raleigh, capital city of North Carolina. It has a population of 207,951 (1990). The city is located in the central part of the state near the Neuse River. Raleigh is a commercial and distribution hub for an extensive agricultural area. Federal, state, and local government activities, financial and educational institutions, and construction are also important to Raleigh's economy. The city, along with Durham and Chapel Hill, is part of the state's Research Triangle, an area containing extensive facilities used for scientific and educational research and development.

The Tuscarora people lived in what is now the Raleigh region before Europeans arrived. The present site was selected in 1788 as the location of a permanent capital. The first state capitol, completed in 1794, was destroyed by fire in 1831 and was replaced by the present Greek Revival structure in 1840. In 1865, during the American Civil War, the city was occupied by Union troops. In the 1970s and 1980s, a major urban-renewal program improved housing conditions and transportation networks in the downtown area.