Rolesville Town

Wake County, North Carolina

Rolesville Town Hall is located at 502 Southdown Circle, Rolesville, NC 27571.
Phone: 919‑556‑3506.

Neighborhoods

First incorporated in 1837, Rolesville is named for William Roles who was an early landowner and merchant. He owned a general store as well as a cotton gin. He was prominent in local affairs serving as postmaster, founder of the Rolesville Academy, and deacon of the Baptist Church.

Rolesville was enlarged, extended and re-incorporated in 1941, and again in 1945.

Community [1]

The incorporated town boundaries of Rolesville, North Carolina encompass an area of 1.6 square miles, making it the smallest municipality in Wake County. However, the boundaries of the community of Rolesville are fluid, as described by community members and people providing services to the town. Many residents who live outside the town limits in surrounding unincorporated areas of Wake County consider themselves to be members of the Rolesville community. One community member remarked "When I think about the town, what I am thinking of extends beyond the actual town limits" and another described the Rolesville community as encompassing a four-mile radius around the town. Also, the town boundaries are currently being expanded to include new housing developments with hundreds of homes and new residents.

Many people described being a member of the Rolesville community in non-geographic terms, such as being involved with community institutions such as the town government and Rolesville Baptist Church. Residents who are not a part of these institutions, which were described as being the heart of the community historically, may not feel like a part of the community. In addition, many newcomers to Rolesville are from Raleigh or other nearby areas. One resident said that due to connections in Raleigh and a lack of "ownership" in Rolesville, these newcomers may not be a part of the community. In general, the way in which residents defined the Rolesville community was integrally tied with the length of time they had lived in the area and their connection to local institutions.

1. Ashley Hammarth, Liz Lyons, Kristin Munro-Leighton, Emily Piltch, Tammy Williams and Amy Woodell, Rolesville, North Carolina, Wake County—An Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis: Findings and Next Steps of Action, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004, www.unc.edu, accessed March, 2011.

Nearby Towns: Wake Forest Town •