Many nominations have been for citizens prominent in Raleigh’s early history. A Centennial Hall of Fame has been established to honor them.
Founder of The News & Observer.
Raleigh historian and President of the University of North Carolina following the Civil War.
Architect whose works include the Executive Mansion, Labor Building and Crocker-Capehart House.
Editor of the Minerva, one of Raleigh’s first newspapers and one of the commissioners who oversaw the rebuilding of the State Capitol.
Supplier of building materials during Reconstruction for some of Raleigh’s grandest buildings and homes in Raleigh’s first suburb, Oakwood.
Founder in 1836 of what is now known as Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, the oldest continuously operating business in Raleigh.
Served as a commissioner on the rebuilding of the State Capitol, bought the bankrupt Episcopal Boys School and donated it to become St. Mary’s School, and provided the land for his freed slaves to establish Oberlin Village.
An African American teacher and minister, was a noted educator who taught whites during the day and blacks in the evening.
Founder of the Raleigh Independent newspaper, known today as The Carolinian, was a champion of African-American rights in the early 1900s and ran for a seat on the Raleigh City Council in 1919.
Delany was ordained in The Episcopal Church in 1889. His ministry included the entire state of NC with parts of SC and Virginia where he was a church planter. The churches he planted not only served as places of worship for African Americans, they also served the needs of the people.
Advocate for the mentally ill, successfully lobbied the North Carolina legislature for a mental hospital.
Editor of the Raleigh Register, the most important of Raleigh’s early newspapers and also a commissioner who oversaw the rebuilding of the State Capitol.
Raleigh’s first “intendant” (mayor) and the state’s first elected treasurer for 40 years.
Seventeenth President of the United States.
He was the first physician in the state to inoculate people against smallpox. He established the North Carolina Medical Society and was highly regarded for his work in ophthalmology. Beyond his medical career, he provided leadership in both the political and military arena, serving as Raleigh’s mayor in 1803 and as a representative in the House of Commons in 1807.
“Father of Wake County”, persuaded the General Assembly to purchase a tract of his land to become Raleigh.
A former slave, bought his freedom and became a successful businessman and leading abolitionist.
An educator and pioneer who founded Latta University: a school to educate the children of formerly enslaved people in Raleigh’s Oberlin Village.
A Union officer, kept Raleigh from being burned in the final days of the Civil War.
Champion for continuing education, role model and mentor for women’s leadership, counselor to two governors, and driving force behind the development of the Home Demonstration Program in North Carolina.
The first pastor for the City of Raleigh and founder of First Presbyterian Church.
Businessman, president of the State Bank of North Carolina and prominent civic leader.
The state architect who designed the renovations to the first State House, the Mordecai addition to the Henry Lane House (now known as Mordecai) and introduced the Greek revival architectural style throughout eastern North Carolina.
First postmaster of the Method community, co-founder of Mechanics & Farmers Bank, and philanthropist who supported endeavors for African-Americans.
A businessman and philanthropist, donated eight acres of land and $10,000 to establish Peace Institute.
Col. Polk was a Revolutionary War hero, twice wounded during his service to the country. Polk was a founder of the Society of the Cincinnati in North Carolina and a trustee at UNC for 44 years.
Founder of the Progressive Farmer, started the state’s Agriculture Department and led the Watauga Club whose purpose was to persuade the Legislature to establish an agriculture college (now North Carolina State University).
An African-American physician who courageously challenged the Jim Crow system by running for mayor of Raleigh.
Donated the land for North Carolina State University and Pullen Park, and also responsible for Raleigh’s first tree planting campaign.
Provided funds for the first hospital.
North Carolina’s first general surgeon and co-founder of the American Board of Surgery and American College of Surgeons.
President of Raleigh’s oldest school, Saint Mary’s, and through his efforts one the few to remain open throughout the Civil War.
Daughter of innkeeper Peter Casso, is credited as being a heroine of three Raleigh fires, including the one that destroyed the State House in 1831.
First president of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
Dr. Henry Tupper was the Founder, builder and creator of Shaw University in 1865. Shaw was the first university established for African-Americans following the end of the Civil War and the oldest historically black college in the south.
Cantey McDowell Venable Sutton in the late 1930s to established the Raleigh Little Theatre and the Raleigh Rose Garden.
Thomas Frederick Price was the first native North Carolinian ordained a Catholic priest. In 1896 he was appointed the Pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Hillsborough Street. His twofold mission was to spread Catholicism and care for children in need. He published Truth magazine to address the Catholic faith and the political, economic, and agricultural concerns of the state.
Raleigh’s 2nd African American police officer and an influential music promoter shaping the city’s cultural landscape.
