An 1892 replica of the Tornado, the first train to arrive in Raleigh. Currently housed in a museum in Hamlet, NC

1840 was a big year for Raleigh. In fact, it’s one of the most important in the city’s history. On March 21, 1840, the first steam locomotive came roaring and screeching into Raleigh on wooden tracks (the iron strips to cover them would come later). That same year would see the construction of the city’s most recognized and celebrated architectural treasure: the new State Capitol.

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One of the most overlooked historic houses in Raleigh is also one of the most important, the Dr. M.T. Pope House on S. Wilmington Street. Although modest in appearance, it’s a narrow two-story Victorian row house, a style with few surviving examples remaining in Raleigh.

This house is currently part of the 2011 Community Challenge put on by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. So before learning about the history of the man and house, please go to the National Trust web site and VOTE for this house in the challenge. Registration takes only a minute.

The winner of the contest is eligible for up to $25,000 is grant funds. The Pope House is deserving of this and needs your help.

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Century Postal Station today

Across the country, post offices are closing at an alarming rate. Rural communities are being left without their sole means of physical contact with the outside world (as well as services such as money orders), and gathering places for town residents are disappearing.

Despite the area’s strong economy and growing population, Raleigh has not been immune from such closings. We lost the only post office near the state’s largest university just a few months ago, among several others. The next area closure is in an unlikely location: The Century Postal Station on Fayetteville Street.

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