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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  First Wake County Courthouse, Raleigh. Photo by Natasha Smith

  • Monument Name

    First Wake County Courthouse, Raleigh

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Colonial History

    Local History

  • City

    Raleigh

  • County

    Wake

  • Description

    The marker is a simple, rectangular bronze tablet attached to a large irregular shaped granite block.

    Images: Street view | Far-off view

  • Inscription

    FIRST COURT HOUSE / FOR / WAKE COUNTY / BUILT – 1771 / THE FIRST COURTHOUSE, PRISON AND / STOCKS FOR WAKE COUNTY / STOOD IN THE AREA

    ERECTED BY / THE WAKE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY / 1983

  • Dedication Date

    September 11, 1983

  • Decade

    1980s

  • Supporting Sources

      “Past Projects,” Wake County Historical Society, www.wakehistory.com, (accessed April 18, 2021) Link

      “Sign of Earlier Times,” The News And Observer (Raleigh, NC), September 13, 1983

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Bronze, granite

  • Sponsors

    Wake County Historical Society

  • Monument Dedication and Unveiling

    Mayor G. Smedes York unveiled the marker and Vance Swift gave a short history of the area.

  • Location

    The marker is located at the corner of S. Boylan Avenue and W. Hargett Street in Raleigh, NC.

  • Landscape

    The marker stands in front of the Neo-Second Empire-style apartment building known as Bloomsbury Estates. A low wall on a well maintained corner amidst a bed of mulch and ground coverings is right behind the boulder.

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