When you mention Wake Forest, most people
outside the Triangle think of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. But
there's another Wake Forest well-known to Triangle residents. This quaint town
located on U.S. 1 just five miles north of Raleigh (15 miles north of downtown)
is the actual birthplace of the university.
Established in the early 1800s, the town was once the second largest municipality in Wake County, behind Raleigh. In 1820, the Wake Forest Academy for Boys was founded on 600 acres of land. The school was sold to the North Carolina Baptist Convention in 1834 and was renamed Wake Forest College four years later. While growth continued and the town was chartered in 1909, things slowed when the college moved to Winston-Salem in 1946, accepting a grant from the Reynolds Foundation (of R.J. Reynolds) to relocate its campus.
Wake Forest has regained something of a college atmosphere with more than 2,000 students enrolled at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, located on the original site of Wake Forest College. In December 2002, Magnolia Hill, the stately 1928 home of the Southeastern Seminary president, won first prize in the town’s Historic Christmas Tour of Homes. Spring also beckons the community to the campus with a series of outdoor concerts.
Education also has brought fame to the historic town of Wake Forest. In 2000, a middle school teacher competed on ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” and persistently plugged the town.
But that national exposure isn’t the only reason Wake Forest is again emerging as a hot spot. Among the town's attractions are less-expensive land and proximity to Raleigh. Wake Forest's 14,000 residents find the city has an ideal mix of small-town charm and big-city conveniences.
The Wake Forest Chamber's motto is "Proud of
the Past, Focused on the Future," and it is evident all around town why this
motto is appropriate. Wake Forest has a certain ambience created by a blend of
tradition and progress. Job and business opportunities abound with industries
and retail development such as the Capital Commerce Center.
Take a stroll downtown and browse in the Not Just For Kids bookstore. Or stop for lunch at the very popular Olde English Tea Room, Burkenstock's or the Forks Cafeteria, offering banquet seating for 400. La Foresta Italian Café and Pizzeria also is a favorite spot, as is historic Shorty’s Famous Hot Dogs (since 1916!).
Families throughout the region enjoy the
Triangle Metro Zoo, a 30-acre nature and animal park that features lemurs and
other primates, a giraffe, a Bengal tiger, Himalayan bears, exotic birds,
zebras, a giraffe and an 8,000-square-foot petting barn. A mainstay of annual
events is the town’s “Meet in the Street” arts and crafts festival that’s been
going on for more than 20 years. There’s also Arbor Day and July 4th
celebrations.
Wake Forest is a delightful combination of historic homes along tree-lined streets (Greek Revival, Queen Anne and bungalows), as well as communities such as Stony Bend, Riverstone, The Oaks at Waterfall Plantation and Heritage.
Wakefield Plantation, a massive golf course community with homes from $150,000 to millions, isn’t in the city limits but it’s just right across U.S. 1 from Wake Forest. It features the only tournament players club in the Triangle, as well as a sports club, pools, schools and shopping.