Beautiful Historic Wake Forest

Twenty years ago, Mark Williams had a dilemma on his hands. The new recreation director for the Town of Wake Forest needed white athletic socks. 

The problem? - There was no place to even buy socks in the small town situated in largely rural Northern Wake County. So, Williams had to make a road trip to Raleigh for the necessary footwear. Since then, a lot has changed in Wake Forest. Williams, who is now the town manager, is overseeing a growth explosion in the town where the population has more than tripled in recent years. And now he has his pick of stores right in town to buy those white athletic socks. Subdivisions are sprouting where Wake Forest dairy farms once thrived. National retailers are opening stores. New schools are being constructed and the Triangle's growth just continues to spread north along the new I-540, right into Wake Forest.  "The biggest change we have seen in Wake Forest is the tremendous growth that continues to come," says Williams. "We are working hard to balance our new development with the rich heritage that has always made Wake Forest a special place." The town's legacy started in the 1820s when Dr. Calvin Jones sold his plantation to the North Carolina Baptists to begin an institute to educate practicing ministers. The Town of Wake Forest, incorporated in 1909, grew up around the site of Wake Forest College.     

In 1956, the college moved to a new campus in Winston-Salem and became Wake Forest University. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary purchased the campus from Wake Forest College and co-existed on the grounds in the early 1950s until the college moved. Now, the seminary with 3,000 students continues to thrive in Wake Forest. Today, community leaders are working to blend Wake Forest's small-town charm that includes a historic downtown with the numerous residential and commercial developments.     

Andy Ammons, whose family has a long history of service to the town, is helping shape the Wake Forest of the future. He is the developer of Heritage Wake Forest, an 1,800-acre community that opened in 2001 on the southern edge of town and is now home to about 1,000 families.     

Everyone agrees that the development is a big part of why Wake Forest is the boomtown it is today. The development has a golf course, an elementary and middle school and a high school is on the horizon. The commercial areas include day-care centers, restaurants, grocery stores, offices and banks.      

"Heritage has brought a lot of changes to Wake Forest, but we have worked hard to make these positive changes for the town," says Ammons, who lives in Wake Forest. "We wanted to only bring quality growth here with our development." Town leaders praise Ammons for his top-quality development. He earned kudos for selling land at a reduced price to Wake County Public Schools for three school sites, spending nearly $8 million on road improvements and allocating about 200 acres for parks and greenways.  Ammons' brothers also are making their mark in Wake Forest.  Jeff Ammons has developed The Factory, a 38-acre redevelopment project off South Main Street, into a recreation and shopping complex.

In May, the YMCA of the Triangle announced plans to open a branch program there. David Ammons, who builds senior citizens homes, has plans to build in Wake Forest as well. To help prepare for additional residential and commercial growth, Wake Forest officials and residents make some critical decisions last year. These included merging its water and sewer systems with the City of Raleigh, planning a new town hall and approving a  $16.5 million bond referendum for roads and parks. Mayor Vivian Jones, who was elected to her second term in 2005, agrees that continuing to plan for the growth is the town's biggest challenge. "The Heritage development really established a new standard for growth in Wake Forest," says Jones, who has lived there for 25 years. "We have such a vital community with a rich history that sets us apart from most towns in Wake County. We are going to keep growing now and we have to continue to meet that challenge." Wake Forest has experienced record-setting growth in the last two decades. 

Through the 1980s, the population grew from about 3,000 to 5,000 residents. But in the 1990s, the town continued to prosper as the entire Triangle region gained national prominence as one of the best places to live in the country. Wake Forest's population soared to more than 12,000. The development of the Heritage community, Wake Forest's proximity to new neighborhoods and major shopping centers in Raleigh and the opening of I-540 have all propelled the town's population to more than 22,000 today.  While national major retailers now are following new residents to town, Elizabeth and Bob Johnson are leading the way for retail and commercial development in the historic downtown district.  In 2000, they purchased a former cotton warehouse, soon opening The Cotton Company with shops and artists' studios and galleries.

There is also an events gallery for private parties such as wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners. The twosome also founded HerbFest, a popular new festival for downtown, and Elizabeth just completed a term as chairman of the board of directors for the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce. Both also are working to locate a performing arts center in town. "We now have 50 different businesses in The Cotton Company," says Elizabeth. "We believe this is an important investment in the downtown district.

The entire area is stronger than it has ever been." Elizabeth and others praise Wake Forest for its strong sense of community and its ability to maintain a special small-town charm despite recent growth and development. "There is still real Southern hospitality in Wake Forest," she says. "We may have a lot of new residents and major retail stores coming, but we continue to keep this unique atmosphere that continues to make Wake Forest a special place."

Jane Paige is a freelance writer