When Wake County was formed in 1771, there was no Raleigh. The city of Raleigh did not come into being until about twenty years later. The original center of business and county seat when Wake was first established was called Bloomsbury and alternately Wake Courthouse. It was the site of many Wake County firsts - first election, first court, first militia formation. I remember reading (in an old N&O article) that Bloomsbury may have been the sight of the first reading of the Declaration of Independence in Wake County. It is worth visiting that spot and imagining the magic of that moment.  A placque to commemorate the importance of the hamlet of Bloomsbury still stands near the Joel Lane house who gave the land on which the hamlet was located. The inscription   reads - On and around this spot stood the old town of  Bloomsbury or Wake Court-house which was erected and made the county seat when Wake County was established in 1771. This place was the rendezvous point...