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Garner, North Carolina
Town
Downtown Garner Water Tower over East Main Street
Downtown Garner Water Tower over East Main Street
Official seal of Garner, North Carolina
Seal
Motto(s): 
"A Great Place to Be"
Location in Wake County and the state of North Carolina.
Location in Wake County and the state of North Carolina.
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Wake
Incorporated 1905
Government
 • Type Council–Manager
Area
 • Total 18.32 sq mi (47.44 km2)
 • Land 18.27 sq mi (47.32 km2)
 • Water 0.05 sq mi (0.12 km2)
Elevation
325 ft (99 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 31,159
 • Density 1,705.38/sq mi (658.44/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code
27529
Area code(s) 919
FIPS code 37-25480
GNIS feature ID 2406547

Garner is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States and a suburb of Raleigh. The population is 31,159 as of the 2020 census. The city limits are entirely within Wake County, though portions of unincorporated Wake County, as well as the Cleveland community in northern Johnston County, have Garner mailing addresses. It is part of the Research Triangle region of North Carolina and serves as a bedroom community for the region.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.8 square miles (38.3 km2), of which 14.7 square miles (38.2 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.34%, is water.

Garner is located entirely within Wake County. There are unincorporated areas of Wake County and Johnston County that have Garner postal addresses, including a portion of the unincorporated, but densely populated, Cleveland Community.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1910 284 —
1920 376 32.4%
1930 476 26.6%
1940 768 61.3%
1950 1,180 53.6%
1960 3,451 192.5%
1970 4,923 42.7%
1980 10,073 104.6%
1990 14,967 48.6%
2000 17,757 18.6%
2010 25,745 45.0%
2020 31,159 21.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Garner racial composition
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 15,905 51.04%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 9,163 29.41%
Native American 132 0.42%
Asian 681 2.19%
Pacific Islander 17 0.05%
Other/Mixed 1,468 4.71%
Hispanic or Latino 3,793 12.17%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 31,159 people, 11,642 households, and 7,637 families residing in the town.

History

Land near the town of Garner was first settled around 1751. In the 1850s, the North Carolina Railroad was built, and before the 1870s, a wood-and-water stop was established in present-day downtown Garner. The community of Garner's Station received a post office in 1878 and was incorporated in 1883, but the community had its charter repealed in 1891.

In 1905, the charter was reinstated as the Town of Garner. The first mayor was J.B. Richardson, and the first aldermen were H.D. Rand, J.J. Bagwell, H. Bryan, M.C. Penny, and J.S. Buffaloe.

In 1912, the telephone came to Garner. The town is off of US 70, which in 1917 became the first paved highway to be built in North Carolina. An explosion and partial roof collapse of a ConAgra Foods plant on June 9, 2009, killed four and injured some 40 workers.

The Downtown Garner Historic District, Edenwood, and Meadowbrook Country Club are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Employment

According to Garner's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town were:

# Employer # of Employees
1 Wake County Public School System 1,280
2 Pepsi Bottling Ventures 400
3 Walmart 350
4 Lowe's Home Improvement 335
5 Sigma Electric Mfg Corp 300
6 Target 290
7 Hamlin Company 250
8 Food Lion 220
9 Ameri Gas 198
10 Town of Garner 170

In 2020, Amazon began operations at a new Fulfillment Center in Garner and is expected to hire 3,000 full time employees.

Transportation

Roads

Several major roads and highways serve Garner:

  • Interstate 40 passes by the north and east sides of Garner. The town can be accessed via South Saunders Street (Exit 298-A), Hammond Road (Exit 299), Jones Sausage Road (Exit 303), or US 70 (Exit 306-B).
  • U.S. 70 serves as the main east–west highway through Garner. Most of the businesses and shopping centers lie on U.S. 70.
  • U.S. 401 splits from U.S. 70 at the town's northwestern corner and runs to the west of the town.
  • N.C. 50 enters the town with U.S. 401 and U.S. 70 at the northwestern corner, then splits from U.S. 70 at Benson Road, serving as a major north–south arterial through Garner, and paralleling I-40 into Johnston County.
  • N.C. 42 is an east–west highway south of Garner. Though outside of the town limits proper, it serves many addresses in unincorporated parts of Wake and Johnston counties with Garner addresses.
  • Timber Drive is an extension of Hammond Road that serves as a major arterial to connect residential areas of Garner with U.S. 70 and I-40.
  • Garner Road is a former alignment of U.S. 70 that parallels it along the town's northern edge.

Public transportation

Garner is served by the GoRaleigh bus routes 7 and 40x, both serving the shopping centers around Garner Station. In October 2019, GoRaleigh bus route 20 replaced the rush-hour-only service of GoTriangle bus route 102 with all-day service. Route 20 connects Downtown Garner with Downtown Raleigh as well as the shopping centers at White Oak, Timber Crossing, and Forest Hills, the Garner Town Hall, the Southeast Regional Library, and the Garner Police Station.

Addition service is provided to seniors and those with disabilities through GoWake Access. This service provides door-to-door service to eligible residents that may have difficulties using traditional public transportation.

Rail

Amtrak passes through Garner but does not have a scheduled stop; the nearest station is Raleigh Union Station.

Air

The nearest commercial airport with regular passenger service is Raleigh-Durham International Airport. General aviation services can also be found at the Triple W Airport in Fuquay-Varina or the Raleigh East Airport in Knightdale.

Education

The following schools serve students in and around Garner. Most, but not all, are located within the town limits of Garner. With few exceptions, school districts in North Carolina are organized at the county level, and students are often assigned to schools without regard to which municipality they live in.

Wake County public schools:

  • Aversboro Elementary School
  • Bryan Road Elementary School
  • Creech Road Elementary School
  • East Garner Elementary School
  • Rand Road Elementary School
  • Smith Magnet Elementary School
  • Timber Drive Elementary School
  • Vandora Springs Elementary School
  • Vance Elementary School
  • East Garner Middle School
  • North Garner Middle School
  • Garner Magnet High School
  • South Garner High School

Johnston County public schools:

  • Polenta Elementary School
  • West View Elementary School
  • Cleveland Middle School

The original campus of the Governor Morehead School, a state-operated school for blind white students and blind and deaf black students, was in Garner. In 1923 white blind students were moved to Raleigh. The desegregation plan in the 1960s called for all deaf students to be moved to North Carolina School for the Deaf and Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf, while blind students were moved to Raleigh.

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Garner (Carolina del Norte) para niños

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