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Wake County is the state's second largest in area, at 866 square miles.
It was named after Margaret Wake, the wife of Royal Governor William Tryon,
the man who defeated the rebellious "Regulators" in Alamance County in 1771. Tryon
later moved back to England in 1778 after it became evident the Colonials
would be victorious.
Wake's county seat is Raleigh (courthouse at right), which is also the state's
capital. As with most Southern capitals, it has a colorful history. The city began
its life as a tavern in 1771. Fires destroyed much of the town three times, and
the Reconstruction era after the War Between the States saw carpetbaggers and scalawags
gain control of the General Assembly.
As the New South rose in the late 19th century, Raleigh shared in the benefits
of economic growth. Cotton mills and tobacco warehouses, North Carolina staples,
fed the economy of Wake County for decades. With the waning of textile mills and
the tobacco industry, Raleigh, like Richmond further up I-95 has become a town where government is the biggest
industry.
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