Holly Springs is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 41,239, a 67% increase from 2010.

History

Etymology

The town's name refers to the free-flowing springs that merge into a stream and small lake surrounded by large, mature holly trees.

Early history

The Tuscarora Indians used the area around Holly Springs as a hunting ground prior to colonial settlement. This tribe fled North Carolina around 1720 to escape the influx of Europeans, and eventually became the sixth nation of the Iroquois.

The town of Holly Springs grew around freshwater springs, believed to be the original "holly springs", near the intersection of what is now Avent Ferry Road and Cass Holt Road. These roads linked Raleigh to the Cape Fear River and ultimately to Fayetteville, as well as linking Hillsborough to Smithfield.

19th century

By 1800, the crossroads had spawned a village, including a general store built by Richard Jones, a Baptist church, and a Masonic lodge. In 1805, the Baptist minister Needham Norris built his house on land granted to his father, a Revolutionary War veteran. These buildings were soon followed by a sawmill and cotton gin. Archibald Leslie, a Scottish tailor, arrived in the community around 1817, opened a tailoring business and a store, and soon began construction of a house near the springs. This 38-room mansion, now known as the Leslie-Alford-Mims House, is located off Avent Ferry Road near Town Hall. Holly Springs Baptist Church, established in 1822, was the town's first successful church. The Masonic Lodge #115 was formed in 1847, and in 1854 a two-story lodge building was erected. This building also served as one of the town's first schools. Holly Springs Academy opened its doors in 1854 to prepare young men for admission to Wake Forest College.Two years later, the first floor of the lodge was used as a school for local girls. The lodge was honored with a historical-site plaque in the fall of 2006.

During the Civil War, North Carolina seceded from the Union. Captain Oscar R. Rand recruited willing men of all ages to join Governor Zebulon Baird Vance's 26th Infantry Regiment in the Confederate States Army. On a single day at the Battle of Gettysburg, during the assault known as Pickett's Charge, 13 of the 14 commanding officers died. Only 81 soldiers, out of a unit of 880, survived. With the men of the town gone, both schools in Holly Springs closed, and Holly Springs became a virtual ghost town. When the Union Army retreated northward, Holly Springs lay in its path. Bands of marauding robbers known as "bummers" raided the area farms and homesteads, taking food, supplies, silver, clothes, and anything of value.

Also during the war, for a two-week period, a segment of the Union Army encamped near Holly Springs and set up headquarters in the Leslie-Alford-Mims House. Mrs. Leslie reportedly hated the Yankees bitterly, but loved her home more, so she treated them with cool civility. This may have protected the house from destruction, the fate of many other grand southern houses. Mrs. Leslie is said to have “charmed the soldiers so that they didn't burn the house down, but they did get the chickens.” Union troops turned the Norris-Holland house into a field hospital for Union soldiers, nursed by Mary Ann Matthews Holland.

The little community of Holly Springs had appeared to be on its way to becoming a bustling town, but the Civil War ultimately left the community economically devastated. Some families moved away. The exodus was encouraged by construction of the Chatham Railroad through the village of Apex, giving that neighboring town a link to the outside world, which Holly Springs did not have. Historian M. N. Amis described Holly Springs in 1871 as "a deserted village."

The Town of Holly Springs was incorporated in 1877.

In 1875, George Benton Alford moved his successful mercantile business from Middle Creek Township to Holly Springs, and was instrumental in beginning an economic revival in the community. A year later, he bought the Leslie house, which was the centerpiece of the village. Over the years, he made significant additions and improvements to the house until it became one of the largest mansions in Wake County, one of the few with its own ballroom.

Alford, a businessman and politician, started several businesses, including a mercantile store, a sawmill, a cotton gin, and the Holly Springs Land and Improvement Company, and eventually, the General Assembly granted the town a charter. He started a newspaper, The Cape Fear Enterprise, which he used to promote the town. He also got other prominent men in the community to join him in seeking a charter of incorporation for the Cape Fear and Northern Railroad, which became the Durham and Southern Railway.

During this period, the town hired Dessie Mae Womble, the first black female chief of police in North Carolina. As segregation gave way to integration, the Holly Springs School for Blacks was closed, and many of its students were sent to surrounding communities to further their educations. This was the beginning of an era of busing for the community, which continued until the late 1990s, when Holly Springs Elementary School on Holly Springs Road was opened.

On April 16, 2011, a large tornado touched down close to the Holly Springs town center, uprooting trees and destroying homes and buildings.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.78%, is covered by water. Neighboring towns include Apex to the north and Fuquay-Varina to the south.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Holly Springs had a population of 41,239. The median age was 35.2 years. 32.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 8.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.5 males age 18 and over.

99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Holly Springs racial composition

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 30,249

| 73.35%

|-

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 3,512

| 8.52%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 82

| 0.2%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 2,239

| 5.43%

|-

!scope="row"| Pacific Islander

| 14

| 0.03%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/mixed

| 2,252

| 5.46%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 2,891

| 7.01%

|}

There were 13,396 households in Holly Springs, including 11,202 family households and 9,307 married-couple family households. Of all households, 54.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 18.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies opened a production plant in 2025.

Arts and culture

thumb|Holly Springs Branch Library

Holly Springs Community Library, part of the Wake County Public Library system, and a cultural-arts facility opened in early December 2006.

The Harrington-Dewar House, Holly Springs Masonic Lodge, and Leslie-Alford-Mims House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A historic marker was placed at the Norris-Holland-Hare House by the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program.

Sports

The Holly Springs Salamanders, founded in 2015, are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Coastal Plain League.

Parks and recreation

thumb|Sugg Farm

thumb|W.E. Hunt Recreation Center

Public recreation facilities include:

  • Bass Lake Park
  • Capital Area Greenway
  • Holly Springs Cultural Center
  • Jones Park
  • North Main Athletic Complex
  • Parrish Womble Park
  • Sugg Farm Park
  • W.E. Hunt Recreation Center

Education

Public charter schools

  • Pine Springs Preparatory Academy

Public schools

Wake County Public School System:

  • Holly Grove Elementary School
  • Holly Ridge Elementary School
  • Holly Springs Elementary School
  • Oakview Elementary School
  • Holly Ridge Middle School
  • Holly Grove Middle School
  • Holly Springs High School

Private schools

  • The New School Montessori Center
  • Primrose School at Holly Grove
  • Thales Academy at Holly Springs

Notable people

  • Andrew Capobianco, Olympic diver, won silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics
  • Daniel Dhers, professional BMX rider
  • Brad Fritsch, professional golfer
  • C. J. Leslie, professional basketball player
  • Kiara Leslie, WNBA player
  • Cornelia Alice Norris, socialite and genealogist
  • Hoke Norris, journalist and author
  • Carlos Rodón, MLB pitcher
  • Andrew Wantz, MLB pitcher
  • Susana Žigante, women's soccer player, member of the Croatia women's national team

References

  • <cite>Town of Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce: Town History</cite>
  • <cite>Town of Holly Springs: Town History</cite>
  • Town of Holly Springs official website
  • Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce