The capital of North Carolina, Raleigh was named for Sir Walter Raleigh, the 16th and 17th century British explorer and writer. Raleigh has six colleges and universities within its city limits, including North Carolina State University and Shaw University. It is near the geographic center of North Carolina, which is why it was chosen to be the capital.

Places of interest

Raleigh's capitol sits in the middle of a 4-acre (1.6-hectare) square. The building was built in 1840, after the original capitol burned down in 1831. Various state and other buildings surround Capitol Square.

Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, was born in Raleigh. His family home is preserved as a memorial. Raleigh is home to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, which has on display a rare dinosaur skeleton with a fossilized heart. The North Carolina Museum of Art is also in Raleigh.

The city is part of North Carolina's Research Triangle. This is an area formed by the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, all of which have large research universities. Research Triangle Park, located near these three cities, is a complex of business offices and laboratories. The park covers 7,000 acres (2,833 hectares) and provides many jobs for people who live in Raleigh.

Economy

Raleigh has a wide variety of industries. The city's companies manufacture such products as paper, flour, processed foods, electrical equipment, medicines, and computers. Many insurance companies have their main offices in Raleigh as well. Since Raleigh is the capital of the state, there are many government offices there also.

History

The city of Raleigh was created in 1792, when North Carolina decided to move its capital to the center of the state. Before that time the forested land was owned by Joel Lane, who sold 1,000 acres (405 hectares) to the state to create the capital city.

In 1833, the state's first horse-drawn railroad, the Raleigh Experimental Railroad, carried stone for building a new capitol after the first one burned down. The first steam-powered train out of Raleigh began running in 1840. In April 1865, during the American Civil War, the Union Army occupied Raleigh. The city prospered after the war. In the 20th century it benefited from the creation of the nearby Research Triangle Park. Population (2000 census), 276,093.