Morrisville is a town located primarily in Wake County, North Carolina, United States (a small portion extends into neighboring Durham County). According to the 2020 census, the population was 29,630. Morrisville is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region, located midway between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The Research Triangle region encompasses the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area. The operational headquarters of Lenovo is located in the municipal limits.

History

The area was originally named in 1852 after Jeremiah Morris. Morris donated land to the North Carolina Railroad for a depot, water tower, and other buildings. The town continued to grow as a result of the rail line and its location at the intersection of roads leading to Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and Hillsborough.

On April 13, 1865, in the Battle of Morrisville, United States cavalry under the command of Gen. Judson Kilpatrick skirmished with the retreating Confederate armies at Morrisville Station. The Confederate troops were successful in evacuating their remaining supplies and wounded to the west toward Greensboro, but Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's cavalry forced the Confederates to leave the train behind and retreat toward Durham and the eventual surrender of the largest Confederate force of the war at Bennett Place.

The town was officially chartered in 1875 but was disincorporated in 1933. Eventually the town charter was restored in 1947.

Morrisville History (as listed on historical marker):

<blockquote>

Morrisville Station: "On April 16, 1865, Union cavalry under the command of General William T. Sherman, captured Raleigh and pursued the retreating Confederate cavalry west along the railroad. Rearguard skirmishes erupted at points along the Hillsborough Road until the combatants reached Morrisville. Using cavalry and artillery, Union forces attacked a Confederate train loaded with supplies and wounded. Before withdrawing, the Confederate cavalry repelled the attack long enough to allow the railcars of wounded to escape while abandoning the supplies. This was the last major cavalry engagement in Sherman's campaign. The next night, a courier from the Confederate commander, General Joseph E. Johnston, rode into the Union camp at Morrisville with a truce proposal. Subsequent negotiations between Johnston and Sherman led to the largest Confederate surrender of the Civil War at the Bennett Farm in Durham on April 26."</blockquote>

The history marker notes it was given in memory of Commissioner C.T. Moore.

On December 13, 1994, Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 crashed in Morrisville, killing 15 of the 20 people on board.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.62%, is water.

Morrisville is located in the northeast central region of North Carolina, where the North American Piedmont and Atlantic Coastal Plain regions meet. This area is known as the "Fall Line" because it marks the elevation inland at which waterfalls begin to appear in creeks and rivers. As a result, most of Morrisville features gently rolling hills that slope eastward toward the state's flat coastal plain. Its central Piedmont location situates the county approximately three hours west of Atlantic Beach by car and four hours east of the Great Smoky Mountains.

The central core of Morrisville is located along the upper portion of Crabtree Creek, which then feeds into Lake Crabtree, located in the southeastern part of the town.

Climate

Morrisville enjoys a moderate subtropical climate, with moderate temperatures in the spring, fall, and winter. Summers are typically hot with high humidity. Winter highs generally range in the low 50s°F (10 to 13 °C) with lows in the low-to-mid 30s°F (-2 to 2&nbsp;°C), although an occasional or warmer winter day is not uncommon. This is canceled out, however, with several days where highs do not get out of the 30s. There are usually one or two substantial snowfalls per winter, occurring mainly in February. Spring and fall days usually reach the low-to-mid 70s°F (low 20s°C), with lows at night in the lower 50s°F (10 to 14&nbsp;°C). Summer daytime highs often reach the upper 80s to low 90s°F (29 to 35&nbsp;°C). The rainiest months are July and August.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Morrisville had a population of 29,630. The median age was 33.9 years. 27.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 7.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.8 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 11,104 households and 6,781 families in Morrisville. Of all households, 44.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 55.8% were married-couple households, 17.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Morrisville has become one of the most diverse towns in the state particularly due to the expansion of the technology industry. The racial makeup of the town was 54.0% White, 12.9% African American, 0.4% Native American, 27.2% Asian, 2.0% from some other race, and 3.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.9% of the population.

There were 7,641 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 50.3% of all households were headed by married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43, and the average family size was 3.11.

Prior to its disestablishment, Midway Airlines had its headquarters in Morrisville.

The Morrisville Chamber of Commerce serves as the economic development arm for the town.

Employers

The computer technology, clinical trial and telecommunications industries have strong presence in the area. Major employers in 2019 included:

  • Catalent Pharma Solutions
  • ChannelAdvisor
  • Credit Suisse
  • Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies
  • Labcorp
  • Lenovo
  • Metabolon
  • NetApp
  • Oracle
  • PPD, Inc.
  • Spectrum
  • TrialCard Inc
  • UNC Rex Healthcare
  • Worldwide Clinical Trials

Arts and culture

National Register of Historic Places

The Morrisville Christian Church, Williamson Page House, and Pugh House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Parks and recreation

thumb|Shiloh Park

Morrisville is home to eight parks, two community centers, four greenways and a fitness center. Morrisville has several youth sports groups, such as youth basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, and cricket.

List of Parks

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+

!Name

!Size

!Notes

|-

|Morrisville Community Park

|

|Includes Hatcher Creek greenway in addition to rentable shelters, athletic fields, gazebo and picnic shelters

|-

|Shiloh Community Park & Luther Green Center

|

|-

|Crabtree Creek Nature Park

|

|-

|Ruritan Park

| and sand volleyball courts. Owned by Ruritan Club and maintained by town.

|-

|Cedar Fork District Park

|

|-

|Church Street Park

|

|-

|Northwest Park

|

|-

|Raleigh-Durham International Airport Observation Park

|

|Includes observation platform and picnic area.

|-

|Cedar Fork Community Center

| The current mayor is TJ Cawley and the mayor pro tem is Satish Garimella. Morrisville Council members include Steve Rao, Vicki Scroggins-Johnson, Satish Garimella, Anne Robotti, and Donna Fender.

The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners has its headquarters in Morrisville.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Public Transit

thumb|200px|right|Triangle Transit GoTriangle operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill. The Morrisville Smart Shuttle, operated by GoCary, serves the town with on-demand fare-free transit.

Morrisville is not served directly by passenger trains. Amtrak serves the nearby municipalities of Cary and Raleigh. The North Carolina Railroad passes through the town.

Air

Raleigh-Durham International Airport is located in northwestern Wake county on I-40, just to the north of Morrisville.

Roads & Highways

  • is a major highway that goes through town and provides easy access to Cary, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
  • runs through the eastern part of the town.
  • serves the Morrisville area and is located to the west of the town. The highway offers access to I-40, North Raleigh, RDU airport and eastern Wake County.
  • is located in the northern part of town and provides easy access to Durham.

Utilities

Water and wastewater services are provided by the Town of Cary. Cary sources water from Jordan Lake. Electricity is provided by Duke Energy and Natural Gas is provided by Dominion Energy. Solid waste collection is contracted by the town to GFL Environmental.

Downtown

In September 2025, Morrisville broke ground on the site of a planned 25-acre high-density town center. The district will include the town's existing historic buildings, dog park, library, and Indian Creek Trailhead and Park as well as residential, office, retail, and civic facilities.

  • Hill Carrow, sports tourism executive
  • Tom Murry, politician, attorney, and pharmacist
  • Mabel Pugh (1891–1986), art teacher, painter, woodblock printmaker and illustrator
  • Vic Sorrell, former Major League Baseball pitcher+
  • Alvin Kallicharran, former West Indies cricket team cricketer.

References

  • Town of Morrisville official website
  • Morrisville Chamber of Commerce
  • Cars & Coffee Morrisville