Zebulon is 16 miles east of Raleigh at the end of the U.S. 64 corridor. Its motto, "The town of friendly people," seems to be catching on. Named after one of the state's early governors, Zebulon Baird Vance, during the Civil War, the town has grown from 3,000 residents in 1990 to 4,095 today.
According to town records, Zebulon got its start when the Raleigh and Pamlico Sound Railroad Company decided to bring the railroad through a dense pine forest between the Whitley and Horton family farms in 1906. That same year, Edgar B. Barbee and Falconer B. Arendell organized the Zebulon Company for development, which later received its charter on February 15, 1906. The men began to divide up their 49 acres into lots, blocks, streets and avenues. In 1907 the town, consisting of 297.5 acres, was officially recognized as Zebulon. In 1997, Zebulon welcomed its neighbor community, Wakefield, into the town. This most recent annexation increased the city limits to 13 square miles.
Major employers in town include GlaxoSmithKline (pharmaceuticals), Nomaco (plastics) and Devil Dog (clothing).
An ongoing $2 million project to revitalize the historic downtown is improving the streetscape; many shop owners are following suit and fixing up their storefronts. Landmarks include Whitley Furniture (still run by family members), Zebulon Drugs and Debnam Hardware, with its original wooden floors.
Annual events include the Art in the Park Festival in April, the Whitley Park Music Series featuring live concerts on the second Sunday in August, September and October, and the much-anticipated Christmas parade. Sports is a source of town pride, as well as recreation; the town operates four parks. The popular Carolina Mudcats, a double-A minor league baseball team, is based in Zebulon's Five County Stadium.
Housing in Zebulon averages $80,000 to $250,000 and include historic and older homes downtown and the community of Pineview. Whitley Manor, with some 30 lots, features mostly custom-built homes in the $300s. On the outskirts of town, there’s The Meadows of Wakefield, Tippett Creek, Fox and Hounds and Red Oak.