Deep Dives

Articles

Longform stories and essays exploring Raleigh's history, culture, and untold stories.

Invented Before It Existed

A planned capital, a headless namesake, and the quiet ambition of the City of Oaks

Numbered grave markers at Dorothea Dix Cemetery, Raleigh

The Numbered Graves: Dorothea Dix Cemetery

Between 1859 and 1970, over 900 patients died at Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh. Most were buried in the hospital cemetery with no name — just a numbered metal tag, a cross, and silence. The stigma of mental illness meant families abandoned them even in death. For over a century, they were anonymous. Now volunteers are uncovering their names and restoring their markers, one grave at a time.

Aerial view of Raleigh Speedway, circa 1955

Raleigh's Lost NASCAR Superspeedway: The Track That Almost Rivaled Daytona

In the 1950s, Raleigh had a NASCAR superspeedway that was supposed to rival Daytona — a one-mile oval where Lee Petty and Fireball Roberts raced under the first permanent night lights in racing history. Bill France Sr. himself built it. Then Raleigh neighbors complained about the noise, the city banned Sunday racing, and the track died within three years. Today, only a 90-foot fragment of the backstretch survives, hidden in pine trees behind an industrial park.

The Village Underground entrance in Raleigh, 1970s

Punk Rock in a Bomb Shelter: The Village Underground

From 1971 to 1984, a Cold War bomb shelter beneath Raleigh's Village District hosted The Ramones, Iggy Pop, The Police, Sonic Youth, and David Sedaris's high school imagination. The entrance was designed to look like a NYC subway station. Now it's sealed beneath a grocery store. Your organic kale sits directly above where punk happened.

North Carolina BBQ, whole hog vs. shoulder

The North Carolina BBQ Wars: A State Divided Over Pork and Vinegar

North Carolina is the only state with a BBQ civil war. Eastern NC does whole hog with vinegar-pepper sauce. Western NC does pork shoulder with vinegar-tomato sauce. Raleigh sits on the dividing line. The rivalry has influenced elections, destroyed friendships, and produced debates that last generations. People joke that it's just food. North Carolinians will fight you.