Facts bout Raleigh, NC
The History Of Cornelius North Carolina
The Charleston Highway and Catawba River were major modes of transportation between North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina’s mountains. Virgin Springs was well-known for being a good resting point north of Charlottetown. The pioneers were faced by both hostile Cherokee and welcoming Catawba Indians.
Davidson College, in the nearby town of Davidson, was founded in 1837 in order to meet the demand and need for Presbyterian ministry education at that time. Also at this time, cotton was becoming an essential exported product. It was grown just as well in both small and large quantities. Construction began in 1849 for a new railroad. Following the end of the Civil War, small farms were on the rise while plantation life came to an end. However, there was still a very high demand for cotton.
R.J. Stough was one of the most important historical figures of Cornelius. He started a school south of the city limits of Davidson. There was also a very fierce debate at this time about having an official cotton weigher for the town. The legislation passed but there was plenty of disagreement about it. The opposing firm, in fact, determined that it planned to move and established a majority of its operations south of the city limits of Davidson. They were able to do this with help from R.J. Stough.
Numerous rains doused the road running between this area just south of what would become Cornelius and Davidson. A hill leading up to Davidson saw plenty of mud along with the rain, which made it dangerous for farmers to make the journey to Davidson’s cotton weigher. They conducted their business inside of a small frame building housing the same services to the south of the city’s limits.
This was very successful for the business of the mill which inspired the owners to open up a full cotton mill in order to convert raw cotton into cloth. However, the owners were lacking in the necessary funds. But they knew someone who would have the finances needed to fund their project: Joesph Benjamin Cornelius. He was able to provide the money they needed for their mill. Cornelius did not live in the town, but the town acknowledged his important role as the mill’s principal stockholders and named their town in his honor.
Cornelius is Mecklenburg County, North Carolina’s second-youngest town. It was first founded in 1893, and then officially incorporated on March 4, 1905.
Just as historically important as the dispute over cotton-weighing, damming the Catawba River played a major role in Cornelius’s history. It was a major catalyst for the town’s growth and development. In 1963, The Cowans Ford Dam was completed officially and resulted in the creation of Lake Norman. The river was dammed by Duke Power as a hydroelectric power source, but it turned rather quickly into an area full of great recreational outlets for the local community. The shoreline of Lake Norman is 520 impressive miles with a surface area of around 32,000 acres. The lake’s waters stretch over four of North Carolina’s counties. Over the years, many people have called it the “inland sea” due to how large and vast it is.
Raleigh is home to North Carolina State University (NC State) and is part of the Research Triangle together with Durham (home of Duke University and North Carolina Central University) and Chapel Hill (home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). The name of the Research Triangle (often shortened to the “Triangle”) originated after the 1959 creation of Research Triangle Park (RTP), located in Durham and Wake counties, among the three cities and their universities. The Triangle encompasses the U.S. Census Bureau’s Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which had an estimated population of 2,037,430 in 2013.[10] The Raleigh metropolitan statistical area had an estimated population of 1,390,785 in 2019.
Most of Raleigh is located within Wake County, with a very small portion extending into Durham County. The towns of Cary, Morrisville, Garner, Clayton, Wake Forest, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon, and Rolesville are some of Raleigh’s primary nearby suburbs and satellite towns.
Raleigh is an early example in the United States of a planned city. Following the American Revolutionary War when the U.S. gained independence, this was chosen as the site of the state capital in 1788 and incorporated in 1792 as such. The city was originally laid out in a grid pattern, with the North Carolina State Capitol in Union Square at the center. During the American Civil War, the city was spared from any significant battle. It fell to the Union in the closing days of the war, and struggled with the economic hardships in the postwar period related to the reconstitution of labor markets, over-reliance on agriculture, and the social unrest of the Reconstruction Era. Following the establishment of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in 1959, several tens of thousands of jobs were created in the fields of science and technology, and it became one of the fastest-growing communities in the United States by the early 21st century.
RALEIGH WAS PLANNED AND SURVEYED IN APRIL 1792 BY WILLIAM CHRISTMAS
Union (now Capitol) Square was reserved to place the statehouse in the middle, with the major streets radiating from it. Streets were named after eight state districts, with each of them identified by the principal city’s name, for prominent citizens such as the commissioners. There were four parks included in the plan, which were named after Attorney General Alfred Moore and its first three Governors (Burke, Caswell, and Nash). There was a brick statehouse that was built based on the instructions provided by the commission of legislators. In 1794 it was completed and Raleigh was described as a “city of streets with houses.” The population was 669 by 1800, and during this year a big meeting was held by Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury in the statehouse. At the time, religious gatherings were held there, along with public meetings and balls.
DESTRUCTIVE FIRES TOOK PLACE IN 1818, 1821, AND 1831
The brick statehouse was completely destroyed during the last fire. There was a three-day celebration held in 1840, with balls, orations, and parades held to celebrate the completion of the brand new State Capitol. The commercial expansion in Raleigh continued to be slow until the 1850s when two railroad lines – the North Carolina Railroad and the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad – connected with the city. The city limits of Raleigh were extended in 1857 by around three blocks on every side from the one-square-mile original boundary.
Although Raleigh did have Union sentiment, a celebration took place after the State convention voted on May 20, 1861, to secede from the union. The State Capitol was the meeting place for the wartime legislatures of the state, and Raleigh became a focal point for the Confederate troops. On April 13, 1865, the army of General William T. Sherman entered Raleigh. This started the Federal army’s occupation of Raleigh. Around the city, there were troops encamped, and the headquarters for General Sherman were established at the Governor’s Palace. Once the war had ended, the difficult Reconstruction period began.
A BIRDSEYE VIEW OF RALEIGH IN 1872 SHOWS HOW THE COMMUNITY WAS ARRANGED FOLLOWING THE CIVIL WAR
The city’s commercial section developed along Fayetteville Street, south of the State Capitol. Warehouses, factories, and foundries were located close to the tracks on the town’s west and north sides. The remaining spaces within the city limits contained private residences and boarding houses that were inhabited by the old and young, white and black, and wealthy and poor. In the final 25 years of the 19th century, the private and public sector leaders of Raleigh were determined to make improvements to the city that would benefit them. Being close to surface transportation was successful for merchants and brought in hotels, stables, warehouses, and shops. Streetcar lines were established by city aldermen, and churches were enlarged by community leaders. Businessmen had the goal to transform Raleigh into a prosperous city before the start of the 20th century.
