On Friday, October 10th, I journeyed through more than 230 years of Raleigh’s history at the “Fall into History” event, presented by the City of Raleigh Museum. This wonderful historic event offered a chance to ‘meet’ several of Raleigh’s iconic figures and hear their stories and significance in their own words. The event took place in the heart of historic Raleigh, Moore Square, which has been a gathering place for community, commerce, and events since the city’s founding in 1792.
I love living history events because they connect us with the past in a tangible way. While downtown Raleigh is now a landscape of skyscrapers and bustling, traffic-filled streets, every inch of it is steeped in history buried just beneath the concrete and steel. Now more than ever, it is important to share these stories and keep these memories alive.
Even in my own lifetime, growing up here in the 1980s and 90s, things I took for granted have disappeared or been torn down. Moore Square and the nearby City Market are treasures that span generations. They connect my own memories to the stories my grandmothers told of visiting the ‘market’ after shopping downtown in the 40s and 50s, all the way to the square’s present-day revitalization. Several years ago, the city invested in rehabilitating Moore Square, transforming it back into a go-to destination for festivals, movie nights, and historical events. It is an anchor for Raleigh’s history and its future—a place where all citizens can come together and unite in the City of Oaks.
Before we begin the time traveling tour, we should first establish a brief history of the city of Raleigh. My family has lived in Wake County and the surrounding areas since the early 1800s and has North Carolina roots dating back to the late 1600s. As I discover more about Raleigh’s history, it helps me to connect with my grandparents and those ancestors I never met. What struggles and joys did each generation face? What lessons can we take from those who came before us—the good examples to follow and the roads not to take?
Raleigh is unique compared to many other cities because it was pre-planned and not an established community prior to becoming the capital. Before Raleigh’s designation, North Carolina’s capitals had been Bath, Edenton, Brunswick Town, New Bern, and others. While it made sense in the early Colonial years to have the capital close to ports and centers of commerce, by 1792, North Carolina had a growing interior population. During the War of Regulation prior to the American Revolution, many in the backcountry (which included Wake County) were frustrated by the unfair taxes and corruption from the eastern legislative centers. They felt manipulated by corrupt officials who did not serve the needs of the Piedmont and Backcountry. Thus, in planning a new capital, the NC Legislature knew it had to be centrally located, safely positioned between the coast and the mountains. A central location was paramount, as coastal cities were susceptible to natural disasters and had been subject to raiding during the Revolutionary War.
After much debate—including a famous meeting at Isaac Hunter’s tavern, in present-day North Raleigh near the Hilton Hotel—Wake County was decided to be the site of the new capital. The state bought 1,000 acres at a discounted rate from patriot Joel Lane and is considered the ‘Father of Raleigh’. Joel Lane’s home, the oldest house in Wake County (circa 1760s), still stands at the corner of Hargett and St. Mary’s Streets. He is buried in Raleigh’s City Cemetery.
The town name of Raleigh comes from Sir Walter Raleigh, who funded the first attempted English Colony at Roanoke, known as the Lost Colony (that’s a blog for another day). Sadly, Sir Walter lost his head when he fell out of favor with King James I. I remember visiting his cell at The Tower of London and made sure to say a prayer for our patron hero of my hometown. Here in North Carolina, Raleigh is a hero.
After the site in Wake County was selected in 1792, the North Carolina General Assembly hired William Christmas, a respected surveyor from Franklin County, to design the new capital city. Christmas’s vision was crucial because, unlike most American cities which grew organically around a port or fort or mill, Raleigh was planned to the exact detail.
The Grid and the Capitol Square
Christmas designed Raleigh using a simple, functional grid pattern, similar to William Penn’s plan for Philadelphia. The entire city was laid out on a large grid, covering 400 acres.
The central focus of the plan was a large, four-acre square designated for the State House (the future Capitol Building). This square was intentionally placed on the highest elevation, symbolizing the importance and authority of the government.
The Four Perimeter Squares
From this central Union Square (the site of the State Capitol grounds), the city blocks radiated outward. Christmas strategically placed four additional four-acre public squares—one in each quadrant of the newly plotted city:
- Moore Square (named after Alfred Moore, and still a park today);
- Nash Square (named after Abner Nash, and also still a park today);
- Caswell Square (named after North Carolina’s first governor Richard Caswell, now the site of government buildings); and
- Burke Square (named for Revolutionary War Governor Thomas Burke and site of North Carolina’s Governor’s Mansion).
These squares were designed to serve as focal points for the surrounding residential and commercial development.
I have a personal connection to Moore Square, as it was named after my ancestor (a second cousin), Alfred Moore, a Patriot and Supreme Court Justice. (We learned about Alfred Moore during a tour of his Hillsborough home, Moorefields, in an earlier post.)
Fall into Raleigh’s History…
The time traveling ‘Fall into History’ introduced the tour group to four historical figures who left an indelible mark on Raleigh. What I appreciated was that while I was familiar with some of the names, I was also introduced to figures not as heavily showcased in Raleigh’s history books, such as Winifred Marshall Gales, a pioneering writer and women’s rights advocate.”
Fall into History Tour…Led by lantern light our group was introduced to key historical figures from Raleigh’s past, each ready to share their story.
Winnifred Marshall Gales – North Carolina’s First Novelist…
Winifred Marshall Gales is an extraordinary figure from Raleigh’s past who was not afraid to advocate for women’s rights and be a voice for the voiceless.
Winifred Marshall Gales was born on January 10, 1761, in Newark-upon-Trent, England. Her family ensured she was educated in the classics and political thought, influences that would shape her later writings and advocacy for women’s education. She married Joseph Gales in 1784. Joseph was considered a radical in his time, a liberal printer who supported various reforms, including the abolition of the slave trade.
Together they ran and published editorials in their newspaper, The Sheffield Register. In 1787, Winifred wrote her first book, The History of Lady Emma Melcombe and Her Family. This novel highlights themes of virtue and social status through the story of two orphaned children who reclaim their aristocratic heritage.
Given their unapologetic free thought, their focus on the Constitutional Reform Movement, and their Unitarian beliefs, the Gales made powerful enemies in the British government. They were forced to flee England in 1794, briefly stopping in Germany before settling in Philadelphia, where they began publishing the Independent Gazetteer.
In 1799, the Gales were invited by Congressman Nathaniel Macon to move to Raleigh to set up a Republican Press (for the Jeffersonian Republican Party), called The Raleigh Register. Macon, like other Jeffersonian Republicans, advocated for smaller central government and states’ rights. Under the Gales’ leadership, the paper became one of the major publications in the state and was widely regarded as the leading voice for the Republican Party.
A rivalry immediately emerged between Gales’ Jeffersonian Republican paper, The Raleigh Register, and the more Federalist-leaning Minerva, published by William Boylan and his uncle Abraham Hodge. (Boylan Heights is indeed named after William Boylan.) The core political difference was that Jeffersonian Republicans advocated for smaller central government and states’ rights, while Federalists favored a stronger central government and a looser interpretation of the Constitution.
From the beginning, Boylan attacked Gales in the columns of the Minerva, calling attention to Gales’s foreign birth, criticizing his flight from England, and questioning his character. Gales, a temperate editor in such matters, initially ignored the attacks. However, a series of charges in 1804—coinciding with an unexplained fire that badly damaged his printing plant—provoked a response. The rivalry climaxed with the exchange of abusive handbills, which so infuriated Boylan that he severely beat Gales with a cane when he encountered him on the steps of the Capitol. Gales sued Boylan for assault, won the case, and donated the money (minus legal fees) to the Raleigh Academy.
In 1804, Winifred blazed a trail by publishing the first novel by a North Carolinian (male or female) in the history of the state: Matilda Berkely: Or, Family Anecdotes. The novel emphasized middle-class virtues and morality. Throughout her life, she continued to write, producing poetry and a family memoir. Her literary contributions reflect a keen awareness of the social issues of her time, particularly regarding gender and class dynamics.
As a travel blogger and novelist (writing Solitude Lake under my pen name, Adele Darcy), Winifred inspires me to keep writing, learning, and not be afraid to take creative risks—the more you write, the more you grow as a writer.
Winnifred continued to write poems, essays and short stories, in addition to helping her husband with the paper
After decades living in Raleigh, the Gales decided to move to Washington D.C. in 1833 to live near their son Joseph, who ran the National Intelligencer there. This move was largely prompted by Raleigh’s shifting political climate and growing anti-abolitionist leanings, which were exacerbated by the fallout from movements like the Nullification Crisis in neighboring South Carolina. Winifred died in 1839 and is buried at D.C.’s Congressional Cemetery. Her husband moved back to Raleigh after his wife’s death and is buried in Raleigh’s City Cemetery.
Learn more about Winnifred here…
John Chavis: Revolutionary War Patriot, Pioneering Educator, Preacher; First African-American to attend college in the United States
As we continued through the park, we were next introduced to Raleigh Hall of Famer, John Chavis.
John was born circa 1762 (records are mixed on the exact year) as a free Black man in Oxford, North Carolina. He apprenticed as an indentured servant with James Milner, an attorney in Halifax who owned a large library. Some historians believe Chavis received an early education during this time under the tutelage of Reverend William Willie. During the Revolutionary War, Chavis volunteered to fight as a Patriot in 1778 in the 5th VA Regiment for three years. He was an ardent patriot, hopeful that a break from Britain would eventually lead to greater liberties for all. Chavis had a deep love of the Lord and was drawn to preaching from an early age. His sharp mind and passion for learning helped him gain acceptance to Princeton in 1792 (then the College of New Jersey), where he pursued theological studies with Reverend John Witherspoon.
Fun Fact: John Witherspoon was the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence. His grandson, John Knox Witherspoon, was born in New Bern and became the minister of Hillsborough Presbyterian Church starting in 1816.
After Witherspoon’s death in 1794, Chavis transferred to Liberty Hall Academy in 1795 (later renamed Washington and Lee) in Lexington, Virginia. He completed his religious studies there in 1799, becoming the first African American known to complete a college degree in the United States. Chavis Hall at Washington and Lee is named in his honor.
Fun Fact: Liberty Hall Academy was in dire financial straits in 1796 when U.S. President George Washington chose the school as the beneficiary of 100 shares of James River Canal Company stock. This stock, one of the largest donations to any educational institution at the time, remains part of the University’s endowment to this day.
After completing his education, he briefly preached in both Lexington and Hanover, Virginia, before hitting the preaching circuit. From 1801–1807, he traveled as a riding missionary from Georgia to the Carolinas, preaching the Gospel to free Blacks, enslaved persons, and whites alike. His intellect and passion drew large, diverse crowds as he spread the hope of Christ.
In 1807, Chavis moved to Raleigh, using it as a base to preach to numerous white and Black congregations in Orange, Granville, and Wake Counties.
Chavis recognized the need for quality education in Raleigh. He opened a school in his home, advertising his services in the Raleigh Register (the Gales’ paper) to encourage enrollment. Chavis’s school taught white students during the day and Black students at night. His school earned a reputation as one of the best in the state, with many of the children of North Carolina’s most prominent families studying with him—a remarkable accomplishment given the prejudice in the early nineteenth-century South. He also developed a close friendship with prominent Whig politician Willie P. Mangum.
Following Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831, free Blacks across the South lost their standing as citizens. Chavis could no longer legally preach or educate and was forced to close his school and retire. In 1833, he published his only written work: a sermon entitled An Essay on Atonement. The work was successful and widely read, helping to supplement his income during the final years of his life. Chavis died on June 15, 1838. His burial location is unknown, although there is a theory that the grave is on the land of Willie P. Mangum’s former plantation in present-day Durham County.
John Chavis’s impact has left a lasting mark in Wake County; his deep passion for the Gospel and his pioneering role in uniting his students and congregants across racial divides continue to inspire many today. John Chavis Memorial Park is named after him…the park was recently renovated to be a gathering place for community, including a splash park for kids.
To learn more about John Chavis’s impactful life story click here.
Dorothea Dix: A Light in the Darkness
The lantern light burned as twilight turned to night. The next light in the darkness was the voice of social reformer and mental health advocate Dorothea Dix. While Dorothea Dix never lived in Raleigh, her pivotal visit in 1848 to the City of Oaks helped convince the state legislature to build the state’s first mental health hospital, Dix Hill (Dorothea Dix), which was in operation until 2012.
Born in Hampden, Maine, in 1802, Dorothea Dix had a tumultuous childhood with alcoholic parents and an abusive father. Rather than hardening her heart, these early struggles cultivated a deep empathy that she channeled into her life’s work. She moved in with her grandmother in Boston, where she was educated and eventually opened her own successful academy.
Dix’s mission began when she observed the deplorable conditions in Boston prisons, where many women were held not as criminals, but simply because they were suffering from mental illness. After multiple bouts of illness forced her to stop teaching, she traveled to Europe and met with influential reformers who were advocating for better care for the mentally ill.
When she returned to the United States, Dix set out to tour and document the horrific conditions in prisons and almshouses across the country, reporting her shocking findings directly to state legislatures. Between 1840 and 1854, Dix traveled over 30,000 miles to personally inspect facilities and use her findings to push state governments to act. Though many politicians disagreed with her efforts, her tireless advocacy resulted in the establishment of state-funded asylums in New Jersey, Illinois, and North Carolina. The Raleigh hospital site, which was originally part of the Spring Hill Plantation owned by the Hunter family, was named Dix Hill in honor of her grandfather, Dr. Elijah Dix, because she refused to accept the honor for herself during her lifetime.
During the Civil War, she immediately dedicated herself to the Union cause. Dix was designated as the Superintendent of Army Nurses for the Union Army. While some complained about her impossibly high standards for recruits, her army of nurses was extremely successful, advancing the role of women in the war and in the medical field. In spite of her Unionist leanings, Dix showed immense compassion in treating both Confederate and Union soldiers with equal care. During a period when male doctors often expressed disdain for female nurses, Dix continued to push for formal training and more professional opportunities. Over the course of the war, she appointed more than 3,000 Union Army nurses before stepping down in 1865.
Following the war, Dix immediately returned to her primary mission of advocating for better care for the mentally ill, work that culminated in the restructuring of many hospitals both in the United States and abroad. She also helped raise funds for a national monument to honor deceased soldiers, which still stands today at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia. After suffering from illness, Dix returned to New Jersey where she spent the remainder of her life in a specially designed suite at the New Jersey State Hospital—an institution she had successfully petitioned to create decades earlier. She died on July 17, 1887, and is buried in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The flickering of the lantern light led us to the final ‘spirit’ of the night, the powerful voice of Abraham Galloway. Hearing his testimony stirred my soul and reminded me that in all generations we must not take liberty and justice for granted. It is up to us to be a voice for the voiceless and not to be silenced by fear.
Since Dorothea Dix Hospital closed in 2012, the City of Raleigh has taken ownership of the land and converted it into the city’s largest park. You can still stop and say a prayer for staff and patients buried on the grounds in the Dix Hill Cemetery. I recently found out a Great-Great Uncle, Quince Carter is buried on site (he was a lumber man who died of pneumonia, I believe while working on site in 1915).
Each year, thousands flock to Dix Park to take in the sunflower garden…for me the sunflowers continue the spark of Dorothea Dix in the sense they provide a light in the darkness – helping community come together and enjoy the beauty of the place and find hope in something as simple and beautiful as a sunflower.
Learn more about Dorothea Dix and Dix Hospital via these links
Abraham Galloway – Union Spy, Abolitionist, Senator…
Abraham Galloway was born into slavery on February 8th, 1837, in Smithville, NC (present-day Southport), to a white father named John Wesley Galloway and an enslaved woman, Hester Hankins, who was owned by another man. Even though Galloway’s father claimed him as his son, the law dictated that the child followed the mother’s status, meaning Abraham was also born into slavery.
From a young age, Abraham was determined to eventually win his freedom. At age ten, he began to learn brick masonry, eventually becoming a master mason. He moved to Wilmington with his enslaver, Marsden Milton Hankins. At the time, Wilmington was the largest port and most populous city in North Carolina. Abraham was ‘rented’ out to work for area businesses. If he didn’t bring in enough wages for Hankins (set at $160 a year), he faced being sold. Living in Wilmington exposed Galloway to many traveling merchants. While it was extremely dangerous, Galloway successfully worked with a shipman to stowaway on a ship, using the Underground Railroad to reach freedom in Ontario, Canada.
After reaching freedom, Galloway didn’t let his fears of recapture prevent him from working for the abolitionist movement, traveling throughout Canada and the United States.
In April 1861, with the beginning of the Civil War, Galloway began working as a spy for the Union under Major General Benjamin F. Butler in North Carolina, Louisiana, and Mississippi. (Interestingly, Butler was the General who famously allowed fugitive slaves to find safe haven at Fort Monroe, declaring them “contraband of war.”)
As a spy, Galloway went on many dangerous missions, such as one to Beaufort, NC, where he scouted marine landings in advance of General Ambrose Burnside’s campaign against the North Carolina coast in the winters of 1861–62. In 1862, while stationed with the Wisconsin 4th Infantry in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Galloway was captured. He eventually escaped and made his way to New Bern, where he appears to have completed a final intelligence mission for Butler before transitioning to other roles, like the recruitment of Black soldiers for the Union Army.
On April 29th, 1864, Galloway led a group of Black Southern delegates to meet with President Abraham Lincoln to argue for Black American citizenship with suffrage and political equality. He was then chosen by freedmen in New Bern to serve as a North Carolina delegate for the National Convention of Colored Men of the United States in Syracuse, New York, which founded the National Equal Rights League. During the war, he married his beloved wife, Martha; they had two children together.
After the war ended, Galloway became intensely active in North Carolina State politics. In October 1867, he was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1868 in Raleigh. He was later nominated as a presidential elector and became North Carolina’s first Black elector. He was elected to the state Senate in 1868 from New Hanover and Brunswick Counties, and served a second term in 1870.
On September 1, 1870, Galloway died unexpectedly at just 33 years old, having had his second son, Abraham Jr., only six months earlier. About 6,000 people came to his funeral, including all of the Black people of Wilmington and many white people. A memorial dedicated to his service stands inside the North Carolina State Capitol Building. Learn more about Abraham Galloway here…
Buried History:
The Fall into History event had representatives from Raleigh’s Historic Cemeteries including Oakwood, Mt. Hope and Raleigh City Cemetery. We’ll be touring these cemeteries in our ‘Buried History’ series soon
I’m grateful for the City of Raleigh Museum for sponsoring this fun (and free) historical event.
I look forward to visiting the museum soon in an upcoming American Nomad feature.
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Hi, I’m Adele Lassiter, the travel enthusiast behind American Nomad Traveler. This is where I share my love for history, cool museums, art, and travel tips. When I’m not writing, I’m a singer-songwriter with a passion for Americana music. You can find my new album here: adelelassiter.bandcamp.com
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