Welcome To Raleigh SAFeDATA

The National Hockey League`s Carolina Hurricanes franchise moved to Raleigh in 1997 from Hartford, Connecticut (where it was known as the Hartford Whalers), though the team`s first two seasons were played in the nearby city of Greensboro, North Carolina, while its home arena, Raleigh`s RBC Center was constructed. The Carolina Railhawks of the United Soccer Leagues also play in neighboring Cary.

Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill make up the three primary cities of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. The regional name originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located midway between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The Research Triangle region encompasses the U.S. Census Bureau`s Combined Statistical Area (CSA) of Raleigh-Durham-Cary. The estimated populus of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary CSA was 1,565,223 as of July 1, 2006, with the Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) portion estimated at 994,551 residents.

While almost all of Raleigh is located inside Wake County a small portion of the city extends into neighboring Durham County. The towns of Cary, Garner, Wake Forest, Apex, Holly Springs, Clayton, and Knightdale are some of Raleigh`s nearby suburbs.

The North Carolina General Assembly first met in Raleigh in December 1794, and inside one month, the legislators officially granted the city a charter, with a board of seven appointed commissioners (elected by the city after 1803) and an "Intendant of Police" (which would eventually become the office of Mayor) to govern it. John Haywood was the first Intendant of Police.

Despite being spared significant destruction during the Civil War, Raleigh grew very little from its original 1792 size until the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1920s, the establishment of the Research Triangle Park in the 1950s, and completion of the Interstate 40 and Beltline (I-440/US-1/US-64) freeways after the 1960s.

Raleigh is located in the Neast central region of the North Carolina, where the North US Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain regions meet. This area is known as the "fall line" because it marks the elevation inland at which waterfalls begin to appear in creeks and rivers. As a result, most of Raleigh features gently rolling hills that slope eastward toward the state`s flat coastal plain. Its central Piedmont location situates Raleigh about three hours west of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, by car and four hours east of the Great Smoky Mountains of the Appalachian range. The city is 145 miles (233 km) from Richmond, Virginia; 232 miles (373 km) from Washington, D.C.; and 143 miles (230 km) from Charlotte, North Carolina.