Timeline of Raleigh, North Carolina

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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]
• 1770 – Joel Lane, a planter, successfully lobbies the colonial General Assembly to create Wake County.[4]
• 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]
• 1794
  • State House built.[5]
  • December: State General Assembly convenes.[7]
• 1798 – Cemetery established.
• 1799 – The North-Carolina Minerva and Raleigh advertiser relocates from Fayetteville to become the first Raleigh Newspaper.[8]
• 1800 – Raleigh population is 669.[5]

• 1801 – Raleigh Academy established.[5]
• 1804 – Casso's Inn opens.[5]
• 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.[5]
• 1820 – Population: 2,674.[9]
• 1831
  • January: A great fire destroys the capitol building.[7][10]
  • June: Capitol building burns down.[7]
• 1840
  • Raleigh and Gaston Railroad begins operating.[3]
  • North Carolina State Capitol building constructed.[6]
• 1842 - Saint Mary's School (Raleigh, North Carolina) founded by the Episcopal Church.[11]
• 1846 – Raleigh Guards established.[5]
• 1850 – Charles Lee Smith house built.[6]
• 1853 – Christ Episcopal Church built.[5]
• 1857
  • William Dallas Haywood becomes mayor.
  • Peace Institute founded.[5]
• 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.[12]
  • Raleigh Institute founded.[13]
  • Daily Sentinel newspaper begins publication.[14]
• 1867 - St. Augustine's University (North Carolina) founded.[11]
• 1868 – July 4: North Carolina readmitted to the United States.
• 1874 – Church of the Good Shepherd breaks away from Christ Church
• 1875 – Institute for Colored Deaf, Dumb and Blind built.[15]
• 1878 – Court Room and Post Office built.[16]
• 1880 – The News & Observer in publication.[14]
• 1881 – Tabernacle Baptist Church built.
• 1887 - Raleigh Water Works built [11]
• 1889 – North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts opens.
• 1890 – Union Station built.
• 1891
  • North Carolina Confederate Soldiers’ Home opens.[12]
  • Baptist Female University chartered.[15]
  • Electric streetcar begins operating.
  • Governor's Mansion built.[5]
• 1892 – Centennial of city founding.
• 1898 – First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company established.[17]
• 1900
  • North Carolina Literary and Historical Association founded.[18]
  • Population: 13,643.[19]

• Raleigh history
• List of mayors of Raleigh, North Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wake County, North Carolina
• List of museums in Raleigh, North Carolina
• History of North Carolina
• Timelines of other cities in North Carolina: Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Wilmington, Winston-Salem

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Raleigh, North Carolina.

• Items related to Raleigh, North Carolina, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• "City of Raleigh". North Carolina History Project. Raleigh, NC: John Locke Foundation.
• "History of Raleigh". City of Raleigh.
• Raleigh-related archived websites: "(Raleigh)" – via Internet Archive, Archive-It.
• Humanities and Social Sciences Division. "Resources for Local History and Genealogy by State: North Carolina". Bibliographies and Guides. Washington DC: Library of Congress.
• "NC Museum of History, NC American Indian History Timeline".
• Timeline of North Carolina, Federal Writers’ Project (1939). "Chronology". North Carolina: a Guide to the Old North State. American Guide Series. p. 567+ – via Open Library.
• "Raleigh Early History". National Park Service. Retrieved May 30, 2022.