Wendell wants historic recognition

Business district rich in old family businesses, but town is growing

Staff Photo by Scott Sharpe
A well-known landmark to Wendell residents, Buck's Service Station on Main Street is a place to stop and pick up the latest news in town.


By SABRINA JONES, Staff Writer, The Raleigh News & Observer, June 1998

WENDELL -- Wendell is seeking national attention for its history as a tobacco hub.
     For more than a year, the town has been working on its application to have its downtown business district at Main and Third streets listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The district would feature Perry's Hardware & Power Inc., a business housed in an early 20th-century brick tobacco warehouse, the oldest still standing in Wake County.
     Former Mayor June Perry ran his family's hardware store there from 1960 until he retired in January 1997 and his son took over.
     Up the street, Jimmy Buchanan sold more than 1 million gallons of tobacco-curing oil to farmers at Buck's Service Station, one of the oldest stations in Wake County, before he died three years ago.
     There is also Kannon's Clothing Inc., the dry goods store opened in 1916 by Lebanese immigrant Isaac George Kannon, who went from selling thread and buttons along railroad tracks to operating the oldest family-owned store in Wendell. The store still attracts customers from as far away as Rhode Island.
     Residents of the close-knit town often gather for picnics in the town park at J. Ashley Wall Town Square.
     Wendell's population has soared over the past 10 years, growing from about 2,100 to 3,600. In 1997, about 41 permits were issued for new houses. A subdivision of moderately priced homes is planned for the West Town area of Wendell. Town officials hope to build a new community center at Wendell Park.
     Officials have ironed out a comprehensive land-use plan.
     The plan includes the recruitment of industries, blueprints for street and highway development and a revision of subdivision regulations.
     Last year, the town Board of Commissioners approved the controversial name change of Wilson Avenue -- the two-lane avenue from the Wendell exit off U.S. 64 to east of the Little River -- to Wendell Boulevard. Wake County officials had recommended renaming the avenue to make it easier for emergency vehicles to find their way around town.