Plan of Raleigh, 1792

1792

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Title	Plan of Raleigh, 1792
Creator	Christmas, William.
Date	1792
Subjects	Raleigh (N.C.)--History City Planning--North Carolina North Carolina State Capitol (Raleigh, N.C.)
Place	Raleigh (Wake County, N.C.)
Time Period	(1789-1820) North Carolina's early statehood
Description	William Christmas, a senator and a surveyor by profession, drew the plan for Raleigh. Using a total of 400 acres, Christmas designated the axial center of the city as Union Square. It was composed of six acres and intended as the site of the future State House. The map described the square as "a beautiful eminence which commands a view of the town and fine prospect of the surrounding county." Flanking the corners of the center square were to be four four-acre squares or parks reserved for public purposes. These were named Caswell, Nash, Burke, for the state's first governors and Moore, in honor of Attorney General Alfred E. Moore. The four main streets were named Halifax, Newbern, Fayetteville, and Hillsborough, judicial districts toward the north, east, south, and west. These streets ran from the four sides of Union Square and were to be 99 feet wide; the other 17 streets were to be 66 feet wide and were named for the remaining judicial districts, the points of the compass, the commissioners themselves, and several other prominent citizens, including the former owner of the land. The remaining 276 acres were marked off in one-acre lots to be sold at public auction, with the proceeds used to build the capital and other public buildings. The plans of William Christmas followed those drawn up in 1758 for George City, proposed as a colonial capital during Governor Arthur Dobb's administration. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Savannah, Georgia are examples of colonial cities established before Raleigh that used a gridiron pattern of streets broken by public squares in each directional quadrant. Though not original, Raleigh's plan has been considered an excellent example of city planning for its time.
Rights	Public Domain see http://digital.ncdcr.gov/u?/p249901coll22,63753
Physical Characteristics	City planning drawings written in ink; 1 p.
Collection	State Archives of North Carolina
Local Call Number	Not available for public viewing except at specifically designated times
Type	Text Image
Language	English
Format	Maps
Digital Characteristics-A	4 MB; 1 p.
Digital Collection	Raleigh History Collection
Digital Format	image/jp2 application/pdf
Audience	All
OCLC number	392312733

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Plan of Raleigh, 1792

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Plan of Raleigh, 1792

Plan of Raleigh, 1792

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