Raleigh City Museum

Mission :
"The Raleigh City Museum preserves Raleigh's past for the future."

About Us :
The museum is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting the history of Raleigh, North Carolina's capital city.

History :
For more than 200 years, Raleigh, North Carolina's capital city, had no repository for its historical artifacts, no place to preserve its past, and no institution to educate its citizens and visitors about the city's rich heritage. That all changed in 1993 when the Raleigh City Museum opened its first exhibit.

The Raleigh City Museum, a private non-profit organization, grew out of the dream of Raleigh historian Beth Crabtree and after Beth's death, the vision and perseverance of Mary Cates. It was in 1990 that Mary Cates began bringing together a group of advocates for a Raleigh City Museum.

In 1991 the advocates held a public forum in the City Council Chambers to hear what the citizens of Raleigh had to say about such a project. And the people of Raleigh turned out: old and young, new arrivals and long-time residents. All wanted Raleigh's heritage as a municipality and as a hometown preserved. Thus the advocates for a Raleigh City Museum set into motion the steps for creating a local history museum.

The mission of the resulting museum states: "The Raleigh City Museum preserves Raleigh's past for the future."

The Raleigh City Museum is the only home for artifacts of the city and its people. It is an educational center using exhibits, lectures and programs to help residents and visitors learn about the diverse aspects of the city's people, places and events.