The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Wake (county)

WAKE, a central county of North Carolina, drained by the Neuse and Little rivers; area, 1,010 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 35,617, of whom 16,184 were colored. The surface is hilly and the soil fertile. Granite and plumbago are found. It is intersected by the North Carolina, the Raleigh and Gaston, and the Raleigh and Augusta railroads. The chief productions in 1870 were 60,596 bushels of wheat, 379,363 of Indian corn, 80,804 of oats, 12,204 of peas and beans, 10,365 of Irish and 99,976 of sweet potatoes, 136,857 lbs. of butter, 11,371 of wool, 96,874 of tobacco, 6,933 of rice, and 7,015 bales of cotton. There were 2,108 horses, 1,596 mules and asses, 9,544 cattle, 6,758 sheep, and 23,468 swine; 5 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 1 of cars, 5 of iron castings, 2 of machinery, 1 of paper, 11 flour mills, and 8 saw mills. Capital, Raleigh, also the capital of the state.