DCR GIS Map Tips View Google Map During the colonial period,
North Carolina did not have a fixed state capital. Lawmakers
traveled to various towns and met in private homes or in public
buildings such as courthouses as available. The colonial
assembly selected Edenton as capital in 1722 but before
buildings were constructed, the center of population moved far
enough south to make Edenton an impractical center of
government. In 1766 New Bern was selected as capital and
construction on Tryon Palace, the home and office of the Royal
Governor and meeting place of the Upper House, began the
following year. During the American Revolution the government
returned to its former nomadic nature, meeting in different
towns. Original Date Cast: In August of 1788 the Constitutional
Convention elected to fix the state capital within ten miles of
Isaac Hunter’s Tavern. Not without dispute, the measure was not
carried out until April 1792 when commissioners purchased 1,000
acres of land from Joel Lane. The first State House w