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APEX NC

The town of Apex has grown rapidly in the past decades, owing a lot of this expansion to its proximity to the Research Triangle. 

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Town of Apex

Apex, North Carolina, or the Town of Apex, is located in Wake County southwest of Raleigh with the Town of Cary generally between them both. Apex was incorporated in 1873 and the “Apex” name is derived from the town being the highest point for the Chatham Railroad between Raleigh and Deep River, an apex. The historic Chatham Railroad Apex train depot built in 1867 was the highest point on the railroad’s line. The Apex town motto is “The Peak of Good Living.”

The rail line that was laid through Apex had a substantial economic impact on the area and region’s economy. The work began in 1855 by the Chatham Railroad, which was a chartered railroad by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1851. At that time, Raleigh had rail lines servicing the city’s railway transportation hub from east and west through the North Carolina Railroad, and the north was serviced by the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad. The rail line to be built through Apex was the first traveling in a southernly direction.   

The original business reason for the Chatham Railroad laying rail lines through Apex was to connect Raleigh with the coal fields located along the then border of Chatham County and Moore County near present day Sanford, NC. These coal fields were called the Deep River Coal Fields. The rail line was to run to Gulf, NC located on the Deep River, a tributary of the Cape Fear River. Gulf, a small settlement near Goldston, NC, is a wide bend in the Deep River. By connecting to the Deep River, the rail line’s customers would have ready access to the Cape Fear River and eventually Wilmington, NC’s ports. 

Chatham Railroad was unable to complete construction of the rail line on account of the American Civil War. The rail line was eventually completed in 1870 with some route changes because of economic considerations. The completed line was financed primarily through $3,200,000 in bonds issued by the state of North Carolina. 

In 1871, Chatham Railroad changed its name to the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad. The newly named railroad’s objective was to build a rail line from its existing rail network to Augusta, Georgia. A rail line from Raleigh through Columbia, SC ending in Augusta, GA. However, this rail line never went further than the North Carolina and South Carolina state line at Gibson, NC.

This rail line crossing through Apex was an important part of the economic development of Apex along with the rest of North Carolina after the American Civil War. Over the following half century lumber, coal, cotton, and other commodities traveled out of and through Apex. 

The efficiencies of the railroads drove agricultural and industrial development in North Carolina to an unprecedented level. Railroads were the catalyst for development and a higher standard of living in North Carolina’s rural regions lacking good roads, if they had any roads at all, for economic conveyance.

For the first half of the 20th Century, Apex remained a prosperous small town with very few changes as evidenced by the 1900 U.S. Census showing 349 residents and the 1950 U.S. Census indicating 1,065 residents. In the second half of the 20th Century Apex’s growth has mostly been driven by the economic development of her neighbors to the north, Raleigh, and the Research Triangle Park (RTP). As Raleigh grew during the 1950s and 1960s, Apex started to become a bedroom community for her larger Wake County sister community. Beginning in the 1970s through the year 2000 the growth of the nearby Research Triangle Park had a major impact on Apex. The U.S. Census for 1970 placed the population at 2,192, and the U.S. Census for 2000 placed the population at 20,212. In thirty years, a population increase of around 90%. Even more astonishing is the population growth between 2000 to 2019. The 2019 estimated population was 59,300, an estimated increase in population of 39,088 in 19 years. Since the 1970 U.S. Census that would be a population increase of around 97%.

The Research Triangle Park was established in 1959 by academics from North Carolina State University and Duke University. Their objective was to develop a “park” where both universities could perform research together, along with other local institutes of higher learning. These academics overall objective was to create a place of innovation and development. 

The “Triangle” in Research Triangle Park is derived from the three leading research institutes of higher learning in the area, Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Apex is located to the south of this triangle. 

The growth in the Research Triangle Park since inception has been beyond phenomenal with all the surrounding towns feeling the effects of population growth and the side effects of this growth.

The Research Triangle Park is the largest research park of its kind in the United States and one of the largest in the world. The Park is home to more than 200 global companies including SAS Institute, Verizon, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Met Life, ABB, Inc., HCL American, and American Airlines.

Apex’s population in the 1880 U.S. Census was 228. The 2010 U.S. Census placed Apex’s population at 37,476. The estimated 2019 population was 59,300.

Apex is located in the bottom left portion of Wake County. The main roads in Apex are US 1, US 64, and NC 55. Apex is easily accessible to US Interstate 40 via US 1 (8 Miles). NC 540 is a toll road connecting to US Interstate 540. Apex to Raleigh, NC (16 Miles), Durham, NC (23 Miles), Chapel Hill, NC (23 Miles), Charlotte (128 Miles), and Washington, DC (80 Miles). 

Apex is 8 miles from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). Currently the following airlines serve Raleigh-Durham: Air Canada Express, Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, American Eagle, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, United Airlines, and United Express. Apex does not have an Amtrak station, however nearby Cary, NC does have an Amtrak station with regular service.

The Apex educational systems are well rated from primary to secondary. There are 11 top ranked colleges or universities in the Apex area with the majority having collegiate sports programs. 

Apex PeakFest: The first Saturday in May the PeakFest is held in the downtown area of Apex. The streets are closed off for food vendors, children’s rides, arts & crafts, and other fun activities. 

Apex is home to a number of parks and greenways. 

Apex Community Park

Apex Jaycee Park

Hunter Street Park & Trackside Skate Plaza

Kelly Road Park

Nature Park

Salem Pond Park

The Apex Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources department manages both youth and adult sports programs: Baseball, Basketball, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, and Volleyball.

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