In 1771 the General Assembly created Wake County from Johnston, Cumberland, and Orange counties. Wake County was named for the London heiress Margaret Wake, wife of William Tryon, the Royal Governor of the British colony of North Carolina. The leaders of the state decided to locate the capital of North Carolina here in 1792. Raleigh, though the seat of state and county government, remained a small southern town until the 1920s, and the surrounding countryside remained primarily rural until after World War II.

The home of Raleigh, the state capital, though increasingly urbanized, the Wake County of today still bears some resemblance to its past appearance. Many areas near the edges of the county remain rural, and family and neighborhood networks are still vital to the social fabric of rural communities. A surprisingly large number of traditional farmhouses and farm buildings and small community churches, schools, and stores still dot the landscape, although they are rapidly being replaced or surrounded by subdivisions and shopping centers. Despite all of the growth in recent years, interest in Wake County's rural and small-town heritage thrives, fostered by local historical societies and other public and private groups who promote community pride among old and new residents alike.