Raleigh, North Carolina

A Big City with a Small Town Heart

By Marilyn Loeser

As North Carolina’s capital, Raleigh has the usual mix of museums, restaurants and hotels. Combined with gardens and parks filled with the scents of summer, fountains and statues, this southern destination is worth a second look.

Historic Raleigh

The city was established as the state’s permanent capital in 1792 when 1,000 acres were purchased from Joel Lane, a local Revolutionary War colonel, who had hosted the state’s General Assembly at his home during the war.

Named after the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh — who founded the first English colony in the New World on North Carolina's Outer Banks in 1587 — Raleigh is one of only three U.S. capitals that was planned on paper before being built.

The State Capitol building is the hub of the sprawling city. Surrounded by statues honoring the state’s founding fathers, and its war heroes dating back to the Revolutionary War, the building is said to be one of the best-preserved examples of a civic building in Greek Revival-style architecture.

Built in 1840, the capitol building is one of the oldest and most prominent structures in Raleigh and long-time residents love to relay its stories and legends. Like the ghost of a Confederate soldier roaming the second floor, "secret rooms" used by spies during the Civil War and other strange noises and occurrences reported over the years by staff members.

Wandering along crepe myrtle lined streets, my husband and I walked past grand Victorian homes and civic buildings, through Nash Square with its impressive Firefighters Memorial and into Moore Square where a day-long party was being set up for local servicemen by the USO and volunteers.

A big city with a small town heart.

Mordecai Historic Park

After our leisurely walk through the city, we decided to visit Mordecai Historic Park.

The park’s focal point is a lovely two-story mansion built by Joel Lane — the same man who sold the 1,000 acres used as the state’s capital — for his son and daughter-in-law Henry and Polly Hinton Lane in 1785.

Lane and his family were able to witness the city grow and eventually surrounded their property.

The house was enlarged in 1826 and now serves as a treasure trove of history and artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Mordecai name enters when Henry and Polly’s daughter Margaret married Moses Mordecai.

Our tour began when our guide, Jeremy Ogburn, met us at St. Mark’s Chapel. After the property was acquired by the city, other historic buildings including the chapel were moved here to offer a glimpse at several chapters in Raleigh — and American —history.

Our young historian with his encyclopedic knowledge told us the chapel was built by slaves on a Chatham County plantation in the 1840s. Ogburn pointed out several features of the building including a narrow staircase at the back of the chapel used by slaves to climb to a small loft where they sat during church services.

Next, he led us to the Badger- Iredell Law Office built around 1810. The law office was used by two famous North Carolinians — George E. Badger, who was a judge, U.S. senator and Secretary of the Navy and James Iredell, Jr., who was a judge, U.S. senator and Governor of North Carolina.

We made another stop before exploring the mansion — the small building where Andrew Johnson, 17th president of the United States, was born. At his birth on December 29, 1808, the building was a kitchen and residence behind Casso's Inn in downtown Raleigh. Johnson's mother worked as a weaver and his father was the inn hostler, caring for the horses. After Johnson's father died, his mother remarried and the family moved to Greenville, Tennessee.

Next to the kitchen building is a kitchen garden. The garden is based on first-hand descriptions from the family records. It contains vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers that would have been grown in the mid-19th century.

Mordecai House

As we entered the foyer, Ogburn explained the size of the original house and where additions had been made.

Mordecai was one of the largest plantations in Wake County with thousands of acres producing cotton, corn and wheat among other crops. Like most plantations it was worked almost entirely by slaves.

The house is filled with original furniture and portraits of five generations of family. Along with our guide’s expert narrative and the seemingly untouched interior, this is truly a historic treasure.

Room to room, Ogburn recited more than two centuries of family and house history, pointing out descendant portraits and explaining their personal journeys.

The house is a time capsule — a glimpse into 200 years of Raleigh history and the perfect destination to learn more about the city’s rich history.

If you go:

Mordecai Historic Park is located near downtown Raleigh between Person Street and Wake Forest Road. It’s on the National Historic Register and is open to the public, along with guided hourly tours on set days.

More information check the website: www.VisitRaleigh.com.