Not Just a College Town

By Destination Raleigh http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinationraleigh/3897240478/

            It’s that awkward moment when you tell someone you’re from Wake Forest, North Carolina, and they think you’re talking about Wake Forest University. Sometimes I try to explain that while the university did at one time exist in my small town, it is now located in Winston Salem. Other times I just smile and nod because it is not even worth the effort. It angers me that people are not knowledgeable enough to know that the university moved in 1956 (Biddlecom). I can understand people from different states being unfamiliar with the story, but I feel almost ashamed of the people who have lived in North Carolina all their lives and are unfamiliar with the facts. Yes, it does make sense that Wake Forest University would be located in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and it once was, but people should know that the university does not define my small town.

            Wake Forest was founded in 1832 when the North Carolina Baptist State Convention purchased the land from Calvin Jones for two thousand dollars (Biddlecom). The Convention had been looking for a place to start a school where bright young men could be trained into apt ministers. After seeing Jones’ ad in the paper, boasting the richness of the land and the even temperament of the people, they decided to purchase the land to start the school (Biddlecom). They started plans for the Wake Forest Institute that was later re-chartered as Wake Forest College (Biddlecom). The college drew people from all over the state and the enrollment continued to climb. Even during the Civil War when the college had to be officially closed, volunteer teachers continued to hold classes without being paid. Wake Forest as a city never really existed before the railroad line was installed in 1874 (Biddlecom). Prior to that, the city was more like an intermittent dispersal of villages, but after the railroad depot was relocated to Wake Forest, the town was unified around the depot on the east side of the college campus (Biddlecom). The prestige that the Wake Forest College had drawn gained the attention of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, and in 1956, the college was moved permanently (Biddlecom). The campus was then converted into the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is still in operation today.

            Though I was never around when Wake Forest was located in my small town, I can see how it became highly acclaimed in such a short time. The buildings upon which the campus was surrounded are nothing short of beautiful, and the town tucked the college within its folds like most college towns should do. However, now that Wake Forest College is no longer located there at present, and the college currently residing is not as widely attended, I feel that the town still has retained most of its charm. Though I am extremely biased, the article lists several reasons why the town of Wake Forest has always seemed to be a good place to settle, such as “perceived as safe, good schools, and good heritage and historic value” (Biddlecom). I have always walked around downtown where my father’s dental office is located without needing to fear any type of danger. The small town of Wake Forest has always been friendly to me. Most of my friends attended the public school located downtown, though I never had the experience, and they were sufficiently pleased with the results. My favorite part is the historic value of Wake Forest. I like that when I’m walking around, I can see the giant, Victorian plantation houses with placards indicating they are part of the original town. Not much has changed about the town, and not many people value it the way I do, but as far as the nod in the article towards our “lack of pride”, I highly disagree (Biddlecom).

            Supporting my small town means everything to me. Whether it is the people or the town itself, I cannot be sure, but I know Wake Forest will always have a special place in my heart. I can only hope that more people will come to understand that the university is not synonymous with Wake Forest, which the town stands alone and is separate and unique. The university once did play a large part in initiating the growth of the town, but now the people who call it home do their part to foster and care for the place they love.

Work Cited

Biddlecom, Cara, Zulfiya Chariyeva, Melissa McMahon, Kasey Poole, and Nikie

Sarris. Town of Wake Forest. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 10 May 2005. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. <http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/cdpapers/WakeForest2005.pdf>.