Wake Forest, North Carolina

Wake Forest is a town and suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake County in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is located just north of the state capital, Raleigh. The population was 12,588 at the 2000 census. In 2009, the estimated population was 27,915. In 2007, the town was listed by Forbes Magazine as the 20th fastest growing suburb in America, with a 73.2 percent increase in population between 2000 and 2006. Wake Forest was the original home of Wake Forest University for 122 years before it moved to Winston-Salem in 1956.

History
In 1820, Dr. Calvin Jones, originally from New England, bought 615 acres (2.5 km²) of forested land in Wake County, North Carolina. The sparsely populated area became known as the Forest of Wake, or Wake Forest. Jones sold his farm to the North Carolina Baptist Convention for $2,000, who opened the Wake Forest Manual Labor Institute, later Wake Forest College, on the site. The Raleigh & Gaston Railroad, completed in 1840, established a depot in nearby Forestville, that stimulated the school and surrounding village. College leaders convinced the railroad to move the depot even closer to the college in 1874, leading to more economic development. This community was incorporated as the "Town of Wake Forest College" in 1880. In 1909, the word "College" was removed from the name of the town. The college moved to the much larger city of Winston-Salem NC in 1956. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary began offering classes on the original campus of Wake Forest University in 1950, and occupied the entire campus when the university completed its move.

Government
Wake Forest operates under the Council-Manager form of government. The citizens elect a Mayor and Board of Commissioners as the town's governing body. The Town Manager is appointed by the Board to serve as the chief operating officer administering all municipal affairs. The current mayor is Vivian A. Jones and current Council Members include Chris Kaeberlein (Mayor Pro Tem), Anne Hines, Frank Drake, Pete Thibodeau and Margaret Stinnett.

A new town hall facility opened downtown in September, 2010. The facility is located at 301 South Brooks St. The Police Department remains at 225 South Taylor St. nearby.

Town management expects the building to receive LEED certification in early 2011. The US Green Building Council says, “LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project meets the highest green building and performance measures.”

According to a brochure posted on the Town's official website, up to 70% of anticipated power usage in the facility will be offset by green power sources, including wind and solar power. Construction included lots of natural lighting, planned air distribution and energy efficiency measures.

Geography
Wake Forest is located at °N, °W (35.973289, -78.518789).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20.5 km²). 7.8 square miles (20.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (1.27%) is water.

Wake Forest is located in the northeast central region of North Carolina, where the North American Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain regions meet. This area is known as the "fall line" because it marks the elevation inland at which waterfalls begin to appear in creeks and rivers. Its central Piedmont location situates Wake Forest about three hours west of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, by car and four hours east of the Great Smoky Mountains of the Appalachian range.

Climate
Wake Forest enjoys a moderate subtropical climate, with moderate temperatures in the spring, fall, and winter. Summers are typically hot with high humidity. Winter highs generally range in the low 50s°F (10 to 13 °C) with lows in the low-to-mid 30s°F (-2 to 2°C), although an occasional 60°F (15°C) or warmer winter day is not uncommon. Spring and fall days usually reach the low-to-mid 70s°F (low 20s°C), with lows at night in the lower 50s°F (10 to 14°C). Summer daytime highs often reach the upper 80s to low 90s°F (29 to 35°C). The rainiest months are July and August.

Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 12,588 people, 4,617 households, and 3,407 families residing in Wake Forest. The population density was 1,614.4 inhabitants per square mile (623.1/km²). There were 5,091 housing units at an average density of 652.9 per square mile (252.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 79.63% White, 15.78% African American, 0.21% Native American, 2.03% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.78% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.08% of the population.

There were 4,617 households out of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 39.3% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

The town government estimates the current population at more than 26,000.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,307, and the median income for a family was $60,408. Males had a median income of $45,630 versus $30,205 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,746. About 6.3% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 15.7% of those age 65 or over.

Primary and secondary education
The town is served by seven public schools which are administered by the Wake County Public School System. Public schools include:
 * Heritage Elementary School
 * Jones Dairy Elementary School
 * Wake Forest Elementary School
 * Heritage Middle School
 * Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School
 * Heritage High School  (opened August 2010) 
 * Wake Forest-Rolesville High School

Franklin Academy is a public charter school (K-12). Private schools include Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic School, serving grades K-8. Wake Forest is also home to two Montessori schools, Wake Forest Montessori and Children's House Montessori.



Higher learning
Wake Technical Community College is an area 2 year college with a north campus on Louisburg Road in Raleigh. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention. It began offering classes in 1950 on the original campus of Wake Forest University and is commonly known by its acronym, SEBTS.

Historical locations
The DuBois Center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The W.E.B. DuBois School opened in 1926 for the African-American community in Wake Forest before racial segregation ceased in 1971. After the school outgrew the facility and moved to a new location, the building was vacant for a decade until the DuBois Alumni Association purchased the building and made it into a community center.

Wake Forest Historical Museum, also known as the Calvin Jones Historical House, was built in 1820 and was the residence of the first President of Wake Forest College and the center of activities that took place at the school. The museum displays the history of the town of Wake Forest as well as Wake Forest University. The house contains collections of photos, books, college publications, furniture, documents, professors’ writings, and medical, law and sports memorabilia.

Library
The Wake County Public Library System operates a branch in Wake Forest.

Parks and recreation
Wake Forest is home to the Falls Lake State Recreation Area. Falls Lake Park contains the 12000 acre Falls Lake and 26000 acre of woodlands.

Wake Forest is served by ten parks and community centers. They include the following:
 * Plummer Park
 * Joyner Park
 * Tyler Run Park
 * Holding Park and Wake Forest Community House
 * J.B. Flaherty Park
 * Taylor Street Park and Alton Massenburg Center
 * Ailey Young Park
 * H.L. Miller Park
 * Kiwanis Park
 * Smith Creek Soccer Center

Wake Forest is also home to many private recreation facilities such as The Y, The Polar Ice House and MVP Sports all located in The Factory.

Passenger

 * Air: Wake Forest is served by Raleigh-Durham International Airport, which is located 20 mi southwest of the town in northwestern Wake County.
 * Interstate Highway: Wake Forest can be accessed by I-85 and I-40. The town is located to the east of I-85 and north of I-40.
 * Wake Forest is not served directly by passenger trains. Amtrak serves nearby Raleigh.
 * Local Bus: The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.

Roads

 * Wake Forest is located off of US 1 (also known as Capital Boulevard in northern Wake County), a major north-south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States.
 * Other highways that run through the area include NC 96 and NC 98.

Media
WCPE-FM, located in Wake Forest, is a classical music station that provides its programming over the air, via the Internet, and via C-band and Ku-band satellite. The town's independently-owned community newspaper, The Wake Weekly, has an average circulation of more than 8,400 copies per week.