Virgin forests and meadows were a peaceful scene for settlers of the early 1800s and the area now known as Wendell was considered "the country." By 1861 enough families lived in the area to create the need for a one-room school known as The Rhodes School. 

    Several families moved nearby, and soon a few stores were erected. A post office was established in 1891. The growing village was named "Wendell" at the suggestion of the schoolmaster, M. A. Griffin, who admired the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes. 

    Wendell was incorporated on March 6, 1903 as an area one half-mile square. In the fall of 1906, the Raleigh-Pamlico Railroad made its first stop in Wendell as the porters and conductors sang out "Wen-Dell" stressing both syllables. The residents soon adapted this same exaggerated pronunciation of their new town.

    Designed by driving four two-horse wagons abreast, Main Street became the heart of the bustling community with the founding of the Bank of Wendell in 1907.

    Granville Wilt was crippling the tobacco crops in other areas, and, knowing of no way to cure the disease, farmers moved to this area to start anew. From this influx of farmers was born the most important industry in Wendell's early history as warehouses were built in 1907 for the first tobacco market in Wake County. 

    In 1911 a two-story brick school building was completed, and Wendell Graded School established the county's first PTA. In that same year, The Clarion newspaper was first published. Electric power arrived in 1913, a water and sewer system was installed in 1919, and the paving of Main Street, Third Street, and what is now 1 Wendell Boulevard in 1926 kept pace with growth.

    An increasing population during the 1930s and 1940s accelerated the growth of Wendell High School. New classes in home economics, agriculture, and vocational training were added. The furniture and garment industries expanded their local operations and citizens prospered. The Women's Club started a library in 1950 as the first in Wake County outside or Raleigh.

    In 1970 came the dedication of a new post office and the completion of the Downtown Beautification Project. Their efforts continued with the opening of J. Ashley Wall Town Square in 1983. The outdoor garden, gazebo, and stage are hosts to festivals and civic functions held throughout the year.

    The library moved into its new building in 1989, and the Village of Wendell Shopping Center opened in 1992.

    With the turn of the century a new post office was built, and the town constructed an 18,000 square foot Community Center at the park.

    You'll love Wendell! City convenience and country living combine to give Wendell an easy, comfortable lifestyle. Located between the mountains and the beaches in Piedmont, NC, Wendell boasts of its long summers and mild winters. An ideal place to live, work, and play.