History of Cary, North Carolina

Part of a series on the
History of North Carolina
Timeline By year Pre-statehood Since 1900
By ethnicity African American Slavery
By topic Cities American Revolution NC Constitution Civil War Politics
United States portal

Native Americans had been inhabiting the area that is today known as Cary for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans. When the English colonists arrived in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, they encountered the Sissipahaw, Eno, and Shakori. Little knowledge remains of these people, but it is believed that their numbers were greatly reduced due to smallpox epidemics and military conflicts with settlers. It is assumed that they were absorbed by the Catawba people, who still live in North Carolina and South Carolina.[1]

As settlers began moving westward from the coast of the Carolinas, the area that is known as Cary today was deeded to Francis Jones in 1749.[2] Due to its proximity between the burgeoning towns of New Bern and Hillsborough, Cary began to thrive as a small farming community growing a range of crops including tobacco and cotton.[3] In the late 18th and early 19th century, Cary started becoming more centralized by capitalizing off its location on a crossroads. In 1794, John Bradford built a successful inn known as Bradford's Ordinary, which was what the region was usually referred to at the time. Nathaniel Jones established the Nancy Jones House in 1803, named after his daughter in law, Nancy Ann Jones. Nancy and Henry Jones ran a stagecoach stop and tavern that was well known in North Carolina with visits from numerous notable figures such as Edward B Dudley and James K Polk. The House was also briefly biovaucted by Union General William T. Sherman in 1864. [2]

Cary's role as a crossroad increased with the establishment of the University of North Carolina at nearby Chapel Hill in 1789 and Raleigh as the capital of the state in 1792. But it was the expansion of the North Carolina Railroad in 1854 and the Chatham Railroad in 1868 that really accelerated the town's development. Seeing the potential of the transportation infrastructure, a man named Francis Page bought 300 acres that stretched on both sides of the track. Expanding the economic base of the town, Page built a lumber mill as well as the town's post office, hotel, and school known as the Cary Academy. This period represents Cary's first economic boom, which ended with the Panic of 1873.[4] Page was also the man who first started referring to the area as Cary, naming it after noted prohibitionist Samuel Cary, which was eventually incorporated in 1871. Due to the town's inspiration, Cary was a dry town that did not allow the sale of alcohol.[3]

Cary's reputation for a well developed school system began in 1907 when the Cary Academy was purchased by the state of North Carolina and Wake County Board of Education. The institution was renamed Cary High School and became one of the first public high schools in North Carolina. The town's dedication to education was shown through a special tax used to help construct a new school building and establish a high school program that trained other teachers. As chairman of the school board, renowned Dr. J.M. Templeton connected education with Cary's agriculture base by establishing a vocational technology program and a 15-acre farm run by the high school. A product of this agrarian tradition was one of Cary's most famous farms, the Kildare Dairy. Encompassing over 1,000 acres, this farm had over 10,000 laying hens and 550 head of cattle.[5]

Following World War I, Cary became quickly modernized with the entire town becoming electrified in 1921.[5] The construction of the Western Wake Highway made traveling to Raleigh much easier and quicker, which started the trend of people commuting to Raleigh for work. As the town grew 64% during the 1920s, Cary started a tradition of constructing subdivisions and transitioning from well water to sewer systems. During this time, Cary saw the construction of its largest building, a Masonic Lodge, which is now a drugstore.[3]

Like many towns and cities throughout the United States, the Great Depression adversely affected the population. The Bank of Cary, which had been founded in 1921, closed down. The town went bankrupt in 1932. However, due to the efforts of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, several areas of Cary were conserved as green space. For example, the William B. Umstead State Park was created by the CCC by repurposing abandoned farmland along the Crabtree Creek.