State Capitol - Raleigh, North Carolina

On W. Morgan St., between S. Salisbury St. and Fayetteville St.

Here I am this time with the historical marker for the State Capitol building in Raleigh, North Carolina.  This picture is at night because I randomly spotted this sign while my friends and I were looking for a place to hang out and enjoy the night.  It went something a little like this:

Me: Fayetteville Street is this way...Hey it's a history sign! Come!  I need a picture.
Friend 1: Uh...okay
Friend 2: Fine.
Me: Friend 1, haven't you read my blog?
Friend 1: I've seen it but I haven't read it.

So there.  But back to the important part of this post.

The Capitol building was first built in 1796, after selecting what would eventually be Raleigh as the first post-colonial capitol of the state.  Before that, the colony was relatively capitol-less for a while, with the center of government shifting locations every so often.  First it was in Edenton in 1722, but they didn't build facilities quickly enough, and the population had moved southward along the coast.  The next recorded legitimate location was in New Bern in 1766, which is where Tryon Palace was build and used as a governor's residence (many readers would remember this from history portions of elementary school classes).  New Bern and Tryon Palace served as the capitol and the center of government until the American Revolution, when the government hit the road again in response to possible enemy attacks.  I can elaborate more on Tryon, but I'm pretty sure the building has its own road marker, so I'll save that for another post.

Tryon Palace (Source)

Afterwards, a committee voted in 1788 to fix a new capitol more inland, where much of the population had moved after the Revolution.  They had purchased about 1,000 acres to establish a new town named Raleigh.  The new city's plan was inspired from Philadelphia's plan, which was the capitol of the country at that point in time.  They began construction of the State House in 1792, finishing in 1796 with the government first occupying its offices in 1794.

Original State Capitol at Union Square in Raleigh, till 1792 (Source)

Records state that the entire state government was housed here until the building burned to the ground in 1831.  I can't find any source so far that states why the building (and the statue of George Washington) burned to the ground; at first I assumed it was from some sort of uprising (slave or otherwise), or as collateral damage from war battles.  Regardless, it was completely gone, and the General Assembly ordered for a new one to be built.  Long story short, after several changes in head architect, the new State Capitol was built from 1833-1840 on the site of the previous State House.

Current State Capitol Building (Source)

See?! Proof it was completed in 1840!

The entire state government was housed in the Capitol, until the State Supreme Court asked the State Library be moved to a different building in 1888.  Later on, in 1963, the General Assembly moved to the State Legislative Building (where many can find Moral Monday protests).  So now, just the executive branch works and operates out of the State Capitol building on Union Square.

State Legislative Building (Source)