Question: Why was the city of Raleigh named for Sir Walter Raleigh?
Answer: Raleigh, founded in 1792 as North Carolina’s capital city, was named for British explorer Sir Walter Raleigh because he attempted to establish the first English colony in 1587 on Roanoke Island in Dare County. Today, we know it as “the lost colony” because the English colonists who settled it in 1587 disappeared without a trace and were nowhere to be found when English ships returned in 1590.
