Oh, how I wish Pullen still had an ALLIGATOR PIT
4 Likes
On the very cold days, it could be a petting zoo.
1 Like
Use it as a hazard for a fancy new disc golf course.
2 Likes
or it could be a holding pen for the NIMBYs and OneWaker’s
1 Like
crocs would be more effective. 
1 Like
Heather Leah of WRAL Hidden History has a new article detailing the hidden Seawell family cemetery near what is now St. Augustine’s University:
7 Likes
I saw that and I was like, where downtown? Oh, they meant… “downtown.” For all the people who venture out of the suburbs occasionally who think anything ITB is downtown Raleigh.
Cool article and history though!
5 Likes
I don’t consider the east side of St. Aug to be downtown.
There’s an interesting article and map from RALToday, showing the layout of Raleigh and Wake Country in a soil map. Interesting to see what existed then versus now.
7 Likes
Hello Dean,
I found some information on the Casso’s Inn you may find of interest. If you have a Newspapers dot com account, I have provided the links – if not, I can clip them.
- Writes that the building was demolished “recently” on December 11th, 1938
- This was the 3rd building given that name; first burnt down by fire in 1816, second also burnt down, in 1833.
- the next building on the lot was the Department of Justice - nccourts . gov/courts/supreme-court/history-of-the-justice-building
newspapers . com / image/651398386/?terms=%22casso%27s%20tavern%22&match=1 (apologies, I am limited to 2 links per post as a new member)
- photo of the tavern building
10 Likes
Hey all. I wanted to crowdsource this. Can we get a list of houses, in and around downtown, that have been picked up and moved to a new location?
Ones that quickly come to mind:
- Rogers House and current Guest house on Bloodworth
- Merrimon-Wyne on Blount
There’s a pair (trio) that were placed on Person near Oakwood but can’t recall their original location.
Also, I believe some of the structures around the Mordecai house are not in their original locations.
What else?
6 Likes
Dorothy Gale’s house, somewhere in Kansas, moved to Oz.
Or is this Raleigh only?
(Sorry, I’ll go now…)
1 Like
Not sure if this counts but the Joel Lane house was moved a “short distance” in 1911.
3 Likes
I have some good news for those that are interested in Raleigh history. Some of you may remember before the construction of The Fairweather, there was a historical marker sign on West Street for Edward A. Johnson. Here’s a pic of the sign from prior to demolition/construction.
The sign was removed and eventually returned to the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. I was provided contact information for Ansley Wegner who manages the NC Highway Historical Marker Program and inquired about the sign. It’s a bit of a funny story but I’ll try to summarize for you all.
Effectively the sign post was cut when removed and it took a year for the builder to reimburse the cost of the pole. During this time, Ansley did some research on Mr. Johnson and found he was much more interesting than just a “black author”. He was the first law student to graduate from Shaw Law School, eventually became the Dean of Shaw, was an instructor, businessman, philanthropist, politician and……author. As a result of Ansley doing this research, Mr. Johnson was brought to Shaw’s administration’s attention. They hadn’t realized the impact he had and now are even going to highlight his life at Shaw University.
The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources will hold a meeting on May 12 to vote on the newly proposed sign language and a new sign will be subsequently ordered. Shaw will hold a re-dedication ceremony once installed, probably late fall or winter.
31 Likes
Another historical note - I’d always been curious about the surviving historic building on 413 N. Salisbury that you can see from Halifax Mall with its wonderful balconies and stairwell. Currently home to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Turns out it’s the old Seaboard Railroad offices! Kind of a pity it can’t be moved as the centerpiece of the Seaboard Station development (it’s already been moved once, so it’s not attached to that location).
20 Likes
That’s one of my favorite old buildings downtown. It seems so out of place; I had no idea it had been moved to that location!
3 Likes
As you can imagine in sleepy old Raleigh, moving this building was a BIG deal, lol.
5 Likes
In the 1914 soil survey map the intersection is still called “Tipper’s Crossroads”. I have looked deeply into the Northern Wake County road system and what is still there today. Creedmoor Rd. was only built in 1934. Before most traffic going North either went up on old and new Six Forks Road (they split in BAyleaf) and to the old and new (early 1950) Penny and Hester Bridge leading to Stoney Hill or up towards Roger’s Store and then on to Creedmoor.
12 Likes
Very cool and informative!
Welcome to the DTR community! 
4 Likes
Thank you! I am spending a lot of time discovering the history of roads and places / farms in Northern Wake County East and West of Creedmoor Rd., Six Forks Rd. and Falls Of Neuse Rd. (we live off of Peed Rd.). I also contribute here: Vintage Aerial | North Carolina | Wake County alas mostly still for Linn County, Iowa where I lived for a longer time.
I would be interested in starting to share some info here about this area if others are interested and are looking into it. Is till have so much to learn.
9 Likes