Cary, North Carolina

Cary is the second largest city in Wake County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 94,536. Town records show a population of 117,442 as of October 2006.

1 Geography
2 Government
- 2.1 Mayors
3 Demographics
4 Business
5 Education
- 5.1 Primary and secondary education
- 5.2 Higher education
6 Culture and community
7 Transportation
- 7.1 Major roadways
8 Entertainment
9 Shopping
10 Sister cities
11 Interesting facts
12 See also
13 References
14 External links

[edit] Geography

Cary is located at 35°46′44″N, 78°48′1″W (35.778919, -78.800208)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the City has a total area of 43.5 mi² (112.6 km²). 42.1 mi² (109.0 km²) of it is land and 1.4 mi² (3.6 km²) of it (3.17%) is water.

[edit] Government

Cary has a council-manager government; the mayor and council members serve a term of four years, with half of the council seats being up for election each odd-numbered year. Four of the six council seats are elected by district; the remaining two seats are at-large representatives.

The current town council consists of Mayor Ernie McAlister and Representatives Jennifer Robinson (District A), Nels Roseland (District B), Jack W. Smith (District C), Marla Dorrel (District D), Michael A. Joyce (at-large), and Julie Aberg Robison (at-large). Joyce announced his resignation on July 19, 2006.

[edit] Mayors

A. F. Page, 1871
J. P. H. Adams, 1884
R. J. Harrison, 1887
John Nugeer, 1897
E. C. Hayes, 1900
T. F. Wilkinson, 1902
R. J. Harrison, 1903
H. B. Jordan, 1904
N. C. Hines, 1910
J. M. Templeton, Jr., 1912
G. S. Leacock, 1914
T. H. Taylor, 1916
W. G. Crowder, 1921
E. P. Bradshaw, 1921

Cary officially adopted a flag in 2001.

W. H. Atkins, 1921-25
G. H. Jordan, 1925
E. P. Badshaw, 1925
Dr. F. R. Yarborough, 1927-28
A. N. Jackson, 1928-29
H. H. Waddell, 1929-33
Dr. J. P. Hunter, 1933-35
M. T. Jones, 1935
T. W. Addicks, 1935
L. L. Raines, 1935-37
R. W. Mayton, 1937-47
Robert G. Setzer, 1947-49
H. Waldo Rood, 1949-61
Dr. W. H. Justice, 1961-62
James Hogarth, 1962-63
Dr. E. B. Davis, 1963-69
Joseph R. Veasey, 1969-71
Fred G. Bond, 1971-83
Harold D. Ritter, 1983-87
Koka E. Booth, 1987-1999
Glen Lang, 1999-2003
Ernie McAlister, 2003-present.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 94,536 people, 34,906 households, and 25,132 families residing in the town. The population density was 867.2/km² (2,246.0/mi²). There were 36,863 housing units at an average density of 338.2/km² (875.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 82.17% White, 6.15% African American, 0.27% Native American, 8.08% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.47% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.28% of the population.

There were 34,906 households out of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the town the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 38.6% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $75,122, and the median income for a family was $88,074. Males had a median income of $62,012 versus $38,819 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,974. About 2.1% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.8% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

In terms of higher education, 68.0% of adult residents in Cary (25 and older) hold an associate degree or higher, and 60.7% of adults possess a baccalaureate degree or higher. Cary has the most Ph.D.s per capita in the U.S. for towns larger than 75,000 people.^{[citation needed]} The home ownership rate (owner-occupied housing units to total units) is 72.8%.

[edit] Business

Samuel Fenton Cary, the namesake of the city.

Major Employers in Cary:

Siemens
SAS Institute
MCI WorldCom
Cotton Inc, industry tradegroup
Western Wake Medical Center
American Airlines Reservations Center
Kellogg's Snacks
John Deere Worldwide Commercial & Consumer Equipment Division
Oxford University Press

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary and secondary education

Green Hope Elementary School, in Western Cary

Cary High School- It was established in 1907 and is the first public high school in North Carolina. It has an enrollment of 2,500 students (2005-2006)
Green Hope High School (and Elementary School)
Panther Creek High School [1]
West Cary Middle School
Reedy Creek Middle School Formally East Cary Middle School which will be reopening in 2007
Davis Drive Middle School
Cary Academy
Cary Christian School
Resurrection Lutheran School Currently k-5

[edit] Higher education

[edit] Culture and community

Rural neighborhoods in Cary are rapidly developing...

...into affluent neighborhoods, embodied by this Gazebo in Preston, Cary. These two images are less than 1/4 mile apart.

Despite its size, Cary Town Council has elected time and time again to keep the designation of "town". This correlates to the Town of Cary's underlying desire to make Cary seem quaint and family-oriented, despite its continued growth through annexation and suburban development. As of 2006, Cary is the largest municipality in the state to bear the "town" designation.

The town's reputation as a bedroom community for transplants from outside the South has led to humorous backronyms for its name such as "Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees" or "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees" and "Can't Afford Raleigh Yet." [2] Some observers have noted this as Cary's crisis of identity, especially when compared with its neighbors in the Research Triangle. Chapel Hill has a reputation as a bastion of liberal academia, Durham as a blue-collar post-boom industrial city, and Raleigh as the state's center of arts and government, but Cary has yet to come into its own identity other than that of a suburban bedroom community, despite or perhaps because of its meteoric rise in population. One of the major reasons for its large population of residents immigrant to North Carolina is the town's proximity to the Research Triangle Park and the many other localities hosting biotech, pharmaceutical and high tech companies, making it an ideal location for people moving to the Research Triangle area for work.

Interestingly for a town with such an educated population, Cary has no colleges based in it. However, it has several high schools, and high school sports are fairly important; for instance the Cary High School Imps wrestling team is an annual contender for the state championship.

In early years it adopted zoning and other ordinances on an ad-hoc basis to control growth and give the city structure. Beginning in 1971, the city created a Planned Unit Development zoning. A PUD allows a developer to plan an entire community before beginning development, thus allowing future residents to be aware of where churches, schools, commercial and industrial areas will be located well before such use begins. Kildaire Farms, a 967 acre Planned Unit Development in Cary was North Carolina's first PUD. It was developed on the Pine State Dairy Farm by Thomas F. Adams, Jr. and was inspired by an early PUD in Farmington, MA. Adams named a section of Kildaire Farms, Farmington Woods in their honor. Cary's emphasis on aesthetics has led to, among other things, the erection of a cellular phone tower disguised as a tree-- the tower is visible above the normal treeline from I-40.

[edit] Transportation

Like many other suburban areas, Cary is dependent on large thoroughfares to transport its people. In fact, many outsiders remark how easy it is to get lost in Cary, due to the sheer number and complexity of what were once farm roads. However, there are alternatives:

Local Bus: C Tran is Cary's bus system. Information can be found here: http://www.townofcary.org/ctran/ctranoverview.htm. The Triangle Transit Authority operates fixed-route buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
Passenger Rail: Amtrak's Silver Star, Carolinian, and Piedmont offer service to Charlotte, New York City, Miami, and intermediate points.
Bicycle: The League of American Bicyclists has designated Cary one of the fourteen recipients of the first Bicycle-Friendly Community awards for "providing safe accommodation and facilities for bicyclists and encouraging residents to bike for transportation and recreation".
Walking: The Cary Greenway Project is a network of sidewalks and paved trails connecting neighborhoods and parks throughout town. These greenways place strict requirements on environmental conditions to preserve a park-like atmosphere. In addition, standard sidewalks and paths exist throughout the city. Urban and commercial development projects are under way to place services and shopping centers closer to residential areas, though a common complaint is the long drive needed to reach most locales.

[edit] Major roadways

Main article: North Carolina Highway System

Interstate 40
US 1
US 64
State Highway 54
State Highway 55
Cary Parkway
Kildaire Farm Road
Walnut Street
High House Road
Harrison Avenue
Maynard Road Loop
Davis Drive (links to Research Triangle Park)

[edit] Entertainment

Major places for entertainment in Cary:

Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park

[edit] Shopping

Crossroads is a shopping district of eastern Cary south of the "crossroads" intersection of the I-40 and US 1 freeways, largely along Walnut Street. Many big box stores are found in the area, including Lowe's and Michaels.
Cary Towne Center is a shopping mall in Cary with a 1,004,210 square feet of retail space (GLA). The mall has 140 in-line stores and has five anchors: JCPenney, Dillard's, Sears, Macy's, and Belk. It is located off of Interstate 40 (exit 291) and the U.S. Highway 1/64 freeway at the intersection of Cary Towne Boulevard, Maynard Road, and Walnut Street. The mall is owned by CBL & Associates Properties.
Waverly Place is a shopping center that is well-known in the area for its design, as seen in a 2007 Doritos commercial [3]. It currently houses a Whole Foods Market, Gold's Gym, and an Eckerd. It formerly housed a Harris Teeter that has since moved across the street and a Carmike Cinemas movie theater.

[edit] Sister cities

Cary has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

Cary is also paired with:

[edit] Interesting facts

Cary is home to the Carolina Railhawks, a Professional soccer team in the USL-1 playing at SAS Soccer Park.
Cary was named in honor of Samuel Fenton Cary, a nationally-known leader of the Temperance movement.
Cary's most prominent former citizen was Walter Hines Page, former U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Cary Academy (no relation to the current school of the same name) is considered to be the first public high school in North Carolina, having opened in 1896.
Kingswood, a former elementary school and 6th grade center, was the first school in the United States to test the year-round school method.
The town's forced annexation policy of surrounding rural land spurred a grassroots campaign named "Stop Cary".
In 2004 the town of Cary was declared the ninth safest of 354 large cities in the nation. It is the only southern city in the top 25. This was the sixth year in a row that Cary has been ranked in the top 10 safest cities in the U.S. [4].
Cary was listed in Money Magazine as one of the best places to live in the Eastern United States in 2003 and #5 place to live in the United States in 2006.
The Doritos Super Bowl XLI amateur commercial Live The Flavor was filmed at Waverly Place in Cary.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wake County Real Estate Records
Official town of Cary website
Cary Chamber of Commerce
Cary Magazine
Kitchen Gadgets is a startup in Cary.
27513: Suburbia Unbound Ntl. Geographic Article
Stop Cary website
The LAB announces its designation of Cary, NC as a bronze recipient of the Bicycle-Friendly Community award
CaryPolitics.org is a website "Committed to intelligent debate about issues that affect all of us".
The Cary Heritage Mueseum
Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 35.778919° -78.800208°
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

Metropolitan area of Raleigh-Durham-Cary (The Triangle)

Primary Cities: Raleigh • Durham • Cary
Other Large Cities: Chapel Hill • Apex • Carrborro • Wake Forest • Clayton • Oxford • Smifthfield • Henderson • Garner • Sanford • Morrisville
Counties: Chatham • Durham • Franklin • Granville • Harnett • Johnston • Lee • Moore • Orange • Person • Vance • Wake
Major Universities: Duke University • UNC-Chapel Hill • NC State • NC Central

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/a/r/Cary%2C_North_Carolina_e6e9.html"

Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Cary, North Carolina