Historic District and Properties

Background

The early history of Apex stems from a railroad station that was chartered in 1854, although the first train did not pass through town until 1869. The first settlers came to the area in the 1860s, and the town was incorporated in 1873. The town was named Apex because the community was the highest point on the Chatham Railroad between Richmond, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida. Another justification for the name Apex comes from the fact that water which falls on one side of Salem Street flows to the Neuse River, while water falling on the other side of the street flows to the Cape Fear River.

A small community developed around the railroad station, and the dense forests in the area were cleared for farmland. As one of the first towns to develop around the state capital of Raleigh, Apex became an active trading and shopping center. Since the train station was located in the heart of a vast pine forest, Apex became a shipping point for such products as tar, turpentine, and lumber. By the turn of the 20th century, the little town of Apex boasted a population of 349.

Tobacco farming became an important part of the local economy in the early 1900s when a plant disease forced many tobacco farmers in Person and Granville counties to relocate. Many of the farmers discovered that the land around Apex produced excellent tobacco crops and decided to move to the area. The first tobacco auction market in Wake County was established in Apex in 1905.

The town’s early growth was shaped by two disastrous fires in the early 1900s. In February 1905, a fire destroyed a number of frame commercial buildings in the town. A second fire on June 12, 1911, destroyed much of the business district, including the Merchants and Farmer’s Bank, the postmaster’s house, and many of the old frame stores. The fires provided merchants with a strong incentive to replace the old frame structures with fireproof brick buildings.

In 1912, the Apex Town Hall was built on the corner of Salem Street and Templeton Street. The building served many other needs over the years, including housing the police station, jail, farmer's market, firehouse (in the rear), a ticket office, and even a second floor gathering place for teenagers to meet and dance. By 1913, the 100 block of Salem Street was rebuilt with pressed-brick front stores and, in 1914, the Union Depot was rebuilt.

Criteria

An historic structure is defined by the following criteria:

• Individually listed
  • Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the U.S. Department of Interior or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register);
• Listed as a contributing structure
  • Listed as a contributing structure in the National Register of Historic Places as identified in the National Register Nomination for the Apex Historic District (1994); the National Register Nomination for the Apex Historic District Boundary Increase (1995); the National Register Nomination for the Apex Historic District Boundary Increase II (2001); and the National Register Nomination for the Apex Historic District Boundary Increase III (2008);
• Certified
  • Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the significance of a registered district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
• State inventory
  • Individually listed in the State inventory of historic places (State Historic Preservation Office);
• County register
  • Listed in the Wake County Register of Historic Places (Capital Area Preservation);
• Local inventory
  • Individually listed in a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified:
    • By an approved State program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or
    • Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

Maps

A map showing the National Register Historic District Boundaries (PDF) for Apex, as well as the individually listed properties, is available online for viewing.

A PDF map showing the State Inventory of Historic Structures (PDF) for Apex, New Hill, and nearby communities is also available for online viewing.

Some historic sites located outside of the National Register Historic District have been designated as Historic Landmarks. Please take a tour of the landmarks by viewing the Wake County Landmark Properties interactive map.

Enjoy these virtual stories and walking tours that immerse you in the story of communities that made Apex "The Peak of Good Living".

• A "Peak" at Apex's History
• Fairview Community
• Friendship Community
• Green Level Community
• Low End Community
• New Hill Community
• Olive Chapel Community
• Whops Community

Awards

This section is still under development.

Rehabilitation and Relocation

Adaptive Reuse maintains the character of the structures, while allowing for modifications to the structure for a different use. Certain structures, due to particular circumstances with regard to locations, type or size of building and/or architectural style may no longer be useful for the purposes for which they were originally designed and designated. Obsolescence of previous use, changing land use patterns or changing of zoning districts may initiate the change from one use to another. Please refer to Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Section 6.3.1(I) (PDF) for details regarding the applicability of adaptive reuse.

Variances, approved by the Board of Adjustment, may be issued for the repair or rehabilitation of historic structures (as defined in Article 12 (PDF) of the UDO) upon the determination that the proposed repair or rehabilitation will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure and the variance is the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.

Historic structures within the National Register Historic District may not be relocated. Historic structures not located within the National Register Historic District may be relocated to a different location within the Town of Apex Planning Jurisdiction, as identified by all current and future land classifications on the Town of Apex 2045 Land Use Map (PDF), subject to the following standards.

• An historic preservation easement and a rehabilitation agreement shall be granted to a qualified holder of historic preservation agreements as defined by NCGS Chapter 121, Article 4. Said easements shall be drafted, regulated, and enforced consistent with NCGS Chapter 121, Article 4 and shall be submitted to the Planning Director for review prior to being recorded by the applicant.
• The historic structure shall be situated on a site that is compatible in character with its original setting. The structure’s existing and proposed setback and orientation shall be considered when determining the compatibility of the proposed site. The building shall be set back no greater than twice the minimum front yard setback required by the zoning district of the property on which the building is proposed to be located.

In the summer of 2003, the Town of Apex received enabling legislation (SB 181) authorizing it to adopt ordinances regulating the demolition of historic structures. The Town of Apex will not accept development applications relating to any property within the Town’s municipal corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction on which an historic structure has been demolished (as defined in UDO Article 12 (PDF)) within the immediately preceding 48 months, measured from the date of the Town’s final inspection of such demolition activities pursuant to the North Carolina State Building Code. These regulations do not apply to single-family residences, which might be demolished for the purpose of building another single-family residence, but they do apply to any site and/or subdivision plan, including parking lots, that would require a development plan to be approved by the Town. The relocation of historic structures shall not be considered a demolition if the relocation is conducted in accordance with UDO Section 2.3.6.C.2.b (PDF).