Wendell (pronounced win-Dell) is 12 miles east of Raleigh on U.S. 64. Quaint and village-like, it was once described by a local TV producer as "Mayberry-ish" - an old-fashioned place where kids play safely.
Wendell, incorporated in 1903 and named for writer Oliver Wendell Holmes, has an entire downtown block with a national historic designation. Some of its landmarks are Perry's Hardware and Power and Kannon's Clothing Inc., both of which have been in business for decades. The town celebrated its 100th birthday in 2003 with a year of special events.
Another landmark is Buck’s Service Station (one of the oldest in Wake County), where Jimmy Buchanan sold more than one million gallons of tobacco-curing oil to farmers before he died three years ago. There is also Kannon's Clothing Inc., a dry goods store that opened in 1916 by Lebanese immigrant Isaac George Kannon. He went from selling thread and buttons along railroad tracks to operating the oldest family-owned store in Wendell, which still attracts customers from as far away as New England.
Residents of the close-knit town gather for
picnics, festivals and weddings in the town park at J. Ashley Wall Town Square.
And people from neighboring counties drive to Wendell for the Brightleaf
Festival every autumn.
Families also enjoy the H.T. Moody Nature
Trail that winds throughout the wooded lands directly behind the playground at
the town square and ends behind the Wendell Community Center. The town recently
opened the doors to this $1.2 million community center, the first of its kind in
eastern Wake County.
Wendell's population has soared over the past 10 years, growing from 2,822 in 1990 to 4,284 in 2002. New communities, like Holly Pointe and Greystone with single-family homes ranging $100,00 to $140,000, preserve the town's atmosphere and quality of life for its residents. There are also pricier subdivisions with homes set on larger lots, such as Blair Hills (homes from $200s to $350 on two-acre lots) and Old Wendell (prices starting around $250,000).
One of Wendell's closest neighbors is Lizard Lick, a tiny crossroads community that got its name after passers-by saw lizards sunning and licking themselves on rail fences.