Nationally prominent journalist and statesman Josephus Daniels (1862-1948) resided in this house from 1920 until his death. The two-story house, named Wakestone by Daniels' wife,
the former Addie Worth Bagley, is situated on three acres at the edge of Hayes Barton, a suburban 1920s neighborhood northwest of downtown Raleigh. Daniels embodied the complexity of Democratic Party politics in early 20th-century North Carolina. An influential editor and journalist, he promoted progressive concepts such as better public schools, women's suffrage and railroad regulation, yet he also supported the Jim Crow laws which enforced racial segregation. He was a member of the Democratic National Committee for many years, and a close friend of William Jennings Bryan. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Daniels as Secretary of the Navy. Over the next eight years--a tenure equaled only by Gideon Welles under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson--Daniels instituted a series of far-reaching reforms. He introduced compulsory schooling for undereducated sailors, approved the enlistment of women and fought collusive bidding for government contracts. He banned alcoholic beverages from the officers' mess and instead supplied coffee, which was nicknamed "cup of Joe." Although many of his measures alienated businessmen and naval officers, Daniels' actions helped prepare the Navy for its role in World War I. A captured German deck gun, installed in front of Daniels' Raleigh home, commemorates his term of appointment.
The Josephus Daniels House, a National Historic Landmark, is located at 1520 Caswell St. Privately owned, the building is not open to the public. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Raleigh Home | List of Sites | Maps| Learn More | Itineraries | NR Home | Next Site
Essays: Early History | African American History| Suburbanization| Modernism | Preservation
Comments or Questions
JPJ/RQ/SB