I moved to Cary, North Carolina in 1968, 53 years ago. The changes are startling.
Image courtesy of The Friends of Paige-Walker Hotel & Town of Cary Click on image to enlarge.
The photographs are the front cover of the publication “CARY through the years.” The top building is the original Cary High School, 1903. The bottom building is what began as the new Cary High School which was approved in 1913. It later became Cary Elementary School and is now the Cary Arts Center.
By the way, 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the Town of Cary.
My family and I left New York in 1968 to transfer to North Carolina because of the establishment of Research Triangle Park (RTP).
My wife and I bought a house in Cary in October 1968. It was a standard ranch on about 1/3 acre and we paid about $20,000.
We raised our two daughters in that house and lived there for 17 years. In 1985, we bought another house, but still in Cary. Oh, yes, it cost us a little more than $20,000.
Cary, North Carolina In 1968
Image courtesy of The Friends of Paige-Walker Hotel & Town of Cary
Click on image to enlarge.
When I moved to Cary, the population was about 7,000. We had three stoplights we didn’t need. We had four police officers, including the chief, and two patrol cars. The police station and jail were in a very small house with bars on the bedroom windows. There was one fire station.
There were two doctors. You had to drive into Raleigh for things such as X-rays. Or a hospital. Or a dentist.
As far as shopping goes, there was an A&P grocery store, a drugstore, a Ben Franklin “five & dime” store, a hardware store, and a few other small businesses. We also had a couple of gas stations.
There was one very small motel, two small restaurants, a pizza/beer joint, and a Dairy Queen. If you wanted something as ritzy as Burger King or such, you had to drive into Raleigh.
There was no ABC store but there was one in a close by small town. And it closed at 6:00 pm. The ABC store in North Raleigh stayed open until 9:00.
The people were extremely friendly. You didn’t know everybody but a passerby would nod and say, “Mornin’.”
What I am telling you is that Cary was a wonderful little town and a marvelous place in which to raise my two daughters.
Cary Growth
Population over the years:
– 1940: 1,100
– 1950: 1,100
– 1960: 3,400
– 1970: 7,400
– 1980: 22,000
– 1990: 44,000
– 2000: 95,000
– 2010: 135,000
– 2018: 168,000
By the way, the population of Raleigh in 1969 was 147,000. That is to say, Cary today has a larger population than Raleigh had in 1969.
The 2021 Raleigh population is 483,500.
The 2021 Raleigh metropolitan area, which includes Cary, is 1,498,000.
Cary In 2021
Population in 2021 is almost 175,000. A large police force housed in a rather large municipal building, and I don’t know how many fire stations.
Doctors and dentists all over the place. A big hospital and I live about ten minutes away from where I can get an X-ray.
There are all kinds of shopping. Restaurants and bars are abundant.
There are two ritzy developments with each having a full-blown country club.
My little town, once a place of mostly modest, single-family homes, is seeing a surge of large and rather expensive houses, and condo after condo being built. And they aren’t cheap.
Many children of long-term Cary parents cannot afford to purchase a home in Cary.
Traffic is terrible, at least for a small-town boy.
Some of our pleasant little streets are now four lanes with a middle turning lane.
One of our pleasant little streets is now a complete loop around Cary.
There is also an outer Cary Parkway which partially encircles the town.
What It All Boils Down To
Things change. As the old saying goes, “Grow or die.”
I like the convenience of not having to drive into Raleigh to purchase items I want or go to a nice restaurant.
I don’t like all the traffic but you can’t have it both ways.
But, down deep, I miss strolling down the sidewalk and seeing a friendly face nodding and saying, “Mornin’.”
