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Wake
County, North Carolina is a warm and
welcoming place to visit. Some come for the climate
and the related recreation, some on business or for
the history, and some for the exciting sports teams.
Wake County has a daily income from tourism of $3.1
million.
Many are so attracted that they move
here. Wake County is consistently rated as one of the
best places to live and work in America. Employment is
consistently high. The population
of Wake county is 627,846 (in 2000). Wake
County and North Carolina work hard and successfully
to attract new commercial and industrial businesses
and to expand and diversify the tax base, but Tourism
alone contributes almost 22,000 Wake County jobs in
the hospitality, retail, and other service sectors.
A 1959 State of North Carolina initiative established
the now world renowned Research Triangle Park here
Education is prized and the percentage of population
with a bachelor's degree or higher is well above the
average for the State of North Carolina. A few local
institutions of higher learning are:
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh
- Meredith College
- Wake Technical Community College
- Durham Technical Community College
- Vance-Granville Community College
- Duke University
- Shaw University
Not quite Piedmont uplands nor yet the coastal
plain of North Carolina, the county edges are still
rural with the traditional farmhouses and small
community churches, schools, and stores still serve
the family infrastructure of people who appreciate
their family and their heritage. Local historical
societies are well established and have worked to
preserve and showcase this heritage. Subdivisions and
shopping centers abound, of course and Wake County
boasts a variety of museums and parks, shopping and
restaurants,
Established in 1771, Wake County was named for London
heiress Margaret Wake, wife of the Royal Governor of
the British colony of North Carolina. In 1792, the
City of Raleigh, which is located in the heart of Wake
County, was named the State Capitol. Despite the
severe economic blow of the Reconstruction after the
Civil War, cotton and tobacco were still the base of
the economy until after WWII and Federal government
limits on cotton and tobacco production. Wake County
stayed primarily rural until mechanization reduced the
number of laborers needed for farming.
The Neuse River and the Cape Fear River drain the
County, and provide varied recreation such as fishing,
swimming, picnicking, hiking, and camping. The Wake
County Parks and Recreation Department also
provide many preserved historical sites and buildings.
North
Carolina Museum of Art, the Raleigh City
Museum, the North
Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and
the North
Carolina Museum of History are favorite
tourist spots in Wake County.
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