Does anyone know where to find maps of the old voting “wards” in Raleigh from the 1800’s? Would be interesting to see where those were.
Not sure where you could find a map, but my house is in what was the Fourth Ward (generally, southwest Raleigh).
I also found this paper that looks pretty interesting: The Evolution of Raleigh’s African American Neighborhoods in the 19th and 20th Centuries. It says that the “predominately black Second and Fourth Wards between 1875 and 1895” were in south Raleigh “below David Street,” but I haven’t had a chance to read the whole thing.
In fact, the proposed brownstones at the corner of Dorothea and Saunders are tentatively being called Fourth Ward. I’m still trying to decide if such a name for this development is tasteless or respectful.
https://dtraleigh.com/2017/05/fourth-ward-plans-10-townhomes-for-south-street-area/