APEX, NORTH CAROLINA

'Apex' is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, a satellite city of Raleigh. The population was 20,212 at the 2000 census and is at an estimated 31,453 in 2007^[1]. The town motto is "The Peak of Good Living."

Contents

Geography

History

Government

Demographics

Schools

Neighborhoods

Transportation

Passenger

Roads

References

External links

Geography

Apex is located at (35.731952, -78.852878).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.5 km² (10.6 mi²). 27.3 km² (10.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.57%) is water.
Neighboring towns include Cary to the north and northeast, Raleigh to the east, and Holly Springs to the south.

History

The town of Apex was incorporated in 1873, named for its location as the highest point on the Chatham Railroad between Richmond, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida. Apex grew slowly through the succeeding decades, despite several devastating fires, including a 1912 conflagration which destroyed most of the downtown business district. The town center was rebuilt and stands to this day, now one of the most intact railroad towns in the state. At the heart of town stands the Apex Union Depot, originally passenger station for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and later home to the locally-supported Apex Community Library. The depot now houses the Apex Chamber of Commerce
Apex suffered mild setbacks during the Depression-era, but growth began again in earnest in the 1950s. The town's position in proximity to North Carolina's Research Triangle Park spurred additional residential development, yet the town managed to preserve its small-town character. Still, during the decade of the 1990s, the town's population quadrupled to over 20,000, placing unprecedented demands upon Apex's infrastructure.
In October, 2006, a chemical fire in an Apex waste processing facility generated worldwide headlines when much of the town was temporarily evacuated^[3]. Fortunately, there were few serious injuries, and residents were soon able to return home.^[4].
Sanice Personay is a unique holiday celebrated in the town of Apex, North Carolina. People generally celebrate in the streets in home-made costumes. ^[5]
Apex was ranked 14th on a July 2007 CNN/Money magazine list of the nation's top 100 small towns.^[6]

Government

Apex's Council-Manager form of government comprises a mayor and five councilmen (one who serves as Mayor pro tem) who are elected at-large for four-year terms. A professional Town Manager and staff direct all Town departments.
Keith Weatherly is the mayor of Apex, he was first elected to the post in 1995 after serving for 2 years on the council. He is currently serving his 3rd term.
Mayor pro tem: Mike Jones (4th term)
Councilmen:

★ Bryan Gossage (1st term)

★ Bill Jensen (2nd term)

★ Gene Schulze (2nd term)

★ Bill Sutton (1st term)
Town Manager: Bruce Radford
Asst. Town Manager: Mike Wilson
Town Clerk: Georgia Evangelist
Director of Public Works: Tim Donnelly

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,212 people, 7,397 households, and 5,584 families residing in the town. The population density was 740.4/km² (1,918.2/mi²). There were 8,028 housing units at an average density of 294.1/km² (761.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.06% White, 7.55% African American, 0.29% Native American, 4.27% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.11% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.21% of the population.
There were 7,397 households out of which 46.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.2% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the town the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 44.8% from 25 to 44, 15.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $71,052, and the median income for a family was $78,689. Males had a median income of $55,587 versus $37,057 for females. The per capita income for the town was $28,727. About 1.2% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

★ AV Baucom Elementary

★ Olive Chapel Elementary

★ Salem Elementary School

★ Salem Middle School

★ Apex Elementary School

★ Apex Middle School

★ Apex High School

★ Middle Creek High School

★ St.Mary Magdalene Church School

★ Turner Creek Elementary School

Neighborhoods

This is a listing of Apex Neighborhoods with external links:

★ Amherst

★ Beckett Crossing

★ Cameron Park

★ Castlewood

★ Charleston Village

★ Crockett's Ridge

★ Hollands Crossing

★ Haddon Hall (Haddon Hall Wikipedia article)

★ Homestead Park

★ Scotts Mill

★ Shepherd's Vineyard

★ Waterford Green

★ Whitehall Manor

★ Village at Crockett's Ridge

Transportation

Passenger

★ Air: Raleigh-Durham International Airport is just north of Raleigh on I-40.

★ Interstate Highway: I-40 is accessible from Raleigh by US-64 and from Durham by NC-55.

★ Apex is not served directly by passenger trains. Amtrak serves the nearby municipalities of Cary and 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.

★ Bicycle: The NC-DOT ''Cape Fear Run'' bicycle route connects Apex to Wilmington and closely parallels the RUSA 600km brevet route.

Roads

★ The 'Apex Peakway' will be, when completely finished, a loop road orbiting downtown Apex. The Peakway was conceived as a means of relieving traffic in the downtown area and providing a bypass for commuters traveling from one side of the town to the other. It is currently the only "peakway" in North Carolina, taking its name from Apex's town motto: "The ''Peak'' of Good Living". When finished, the Apex Peakway will 5.86 miles in length; so far 2.44 miles have been constructed ^[7].

★ I-540 is planned to be connected to southern Apex in 2008 ^[7].

★ US 64 and US 1 are both freeways in the Apex area. NC 55 travels through the center of town.

References

1. Town of Apex: Facts
2. Town of Apex: Facts
3. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/06/plant.fire/index.html
4. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15150819/
5. http://www.answers.com/topic/sanice-personay/
6. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_top_100.moneymag/14.html
7. Traffic Project Updates: Apex and Cary
8. Traffic Project Updates: Apex and Cary

External links

★ ApexNC.com Community Website

★ Official town of Apex website

★ Councilman Bryan Gossage

★ Apex Chamber of Commerce

★ Fourth of July Fun

★ The Apex Herald, local newspaper

★ Apex Historical Society

★ Triangle Transit Authority

★ Brevet route

★ Unofficial Guide to Apex

★ Apex Fire Department

★ Apex Toastmasters Club

★ Apex HS Alumni