North Ridge - Sketches From Its Past and Present (1992) by Mary Best
FOREWORD
Preparation for the sketches which follow began earlier this year when I learned that Raleigh Bicentennial Foundation was encouraging communities within the city to pursue their histories. I attempted the project on behalf of the North Ridge Garden Club as our contribution to the neighborhood in honor of Raleigh's 200th Anniversary. A grant from the Bicentennial Foundation financed a search of News and Observer-Raleigh Times files and also reproduction of a limited number of copies for distribution.
Much of what is recorded was based on other's recollections from years past which were kindly shared with me. Omissions were sometimes necessary because sources were unavailable, and points of emphasis were occasionally determined more by availability of information than by significance to the development of the community.
Many people contributed to this study in one way or another: Tom Bradshaw, Bruce Cauthen, Sandra Clontz, Bill Cox, Evelyn Dughi, Karen Duke, John Edwards, Helen Gaither, A.C. Hall, Marshall Hartsfield, Alex MacFadyen, Billy McCombs, Louis Mitchell, Junious and Ethelyn Nichols, Beverly Norwood, Mary Pierce, Jim Purser, Beverly Stone, Pam Strickland, Carl Swarr, Pearl Whicker Swygert, Ann Taylor, Joan Techet, Ann Thompson, Bryan Upchurch, Betty Vogler, Lucille Watkins. To all of these I am grateful.
Mary Best
President
North Ridge Garden Club
October 1992
In the mid-sixties when planning for North Ridge began, farmland and timber covered the area, and the Raleigh city limits ended several miles south. Ed Richards was winding up development of North Hills and looking for another challenge. North Hills, Inc., headed by Richards, along with Cameron-Brown Mortgage Co., silent partner, tackled this farsighted project in Neuse River Township as a joint venture. It would become the largest residential development in Raleigh, covering nearly a thousand acres and including a country club, 36-hole golf course, shopping center, office buildings, elementary school, apartment complex, and well over 800 homes.
North Ridge, Inc., was established May 18, 1966, by change of name from Highland Forest of Raleigh, a corporation which had been formed 6 month earlier. Several names for the new community were considered, but Mr. Richards made the final choice. "North" had pleasant associations for him, having just successfully completed North Hills.
Land for the development was purchases from a number of different sources though much of it at one time had been owned by the Harp family. Jim Harp's homeplace was near where the North Ridge Country Club clubhouse now stands. The family cemetery of about a dozen graves was moved from that site. Sam Harp's land, which was north of Jim's, was about where Harps Mill Road is now. Some of the first land was purchased for $800 an acre after placement of options for 6 to 12 month at $20 an acre. Mr. Junious E. Nichols, who still lives on Litchford Road near North Ridge, sold developers between 1966 and 1968 about 118 acres of land which had been in his family for several generations.
Mr. R. Bruce Cauthen, an architect who was Ed Richards' chief land planner, designed the community, and John A. Edwards & Company did the engineering . Plans for the subdivision in near final form are shown in the map on Page **.
While adequate water for the community probably could have been supplied from wells, one of the early development problems involved sewage disposal because the clay soil in the area would not percolate adequately for septic tanks. Minutes of the city council meeting of January 17, 1966, reflect the city manager's explanation of a proposal by the developers of Highland Forest, which soon became North Ridge, and North Haven subdivision to install a complete water and sewer system connecting to the city's lines. At this meeting the council indicated its willingness to work out an agreement with the developers to allow the total acreage cost to be applied against the total water and sewer system that would be required to drain the sewer into Lead Mine Creek. Reimbursement was to apply to the elevated storage tank, lift station, sewage pump station and force main, plus the cost of the outfall going down into the creek. Subsequently, the developers spent several million dollars on the system (a part of which also served Sanderson High School), the cost for which they were later partially reimbursed under the acreage fee policy. Because several pumping stations were required to carry sewage over the ridge to the main line at Falls of Neuse Road, the location of these partially determined the initial development.
The March 1, 1967, News and Observer carried an article about the previous day's meeting of a group of business leaders at which Ed Richards outlined his plans to build the North Ridge Country Club at a cost of $1.5 million. (Construction delays and other factors ran the actual cost much higher.) In addition to the 18-hole 6,800-yard golf course, which was already being built, the 1,000-acre site would include tennis courts and a swimming pool as well as the clubhouse. Richards' plans also included 900 large residential lots, though he emphasized to the group that the subdivision would be secondary to the development of a fine country club. The membership drive for North Ridge Country Club in May and June of 1967 produced 310 founding members. The initiation fee then was $400 and the monthly dues were $15.
Before satellite annexation were provided for by the North Carolina General Statues in 1973, cities were permitted to annex only contiguous areas. To make possible annexation of the area, since North Ridge was at this time several miles outside the Raleigh city limits, the city requested special enabling legislation for satellite annexation. This legislation was granted on June 20, 1967, and is recorded in Chapter 989 of the 1967 Session Laws.
At the city council meeting on September 5, 1967, city manager W.H. Carper reported receipt of a petition from North Ridge, Inc., for annexation of a large area to the east of Falls of Neuse Road, north of Raleigh, under provisions of the Satellite Bill enacted by the 1967 General Assembly. A motion to officially receive the petition and to authorize the city administration to develop plans about how facilities and services would be provided passed unanimously.
At a staff meeting in mid-September, 1967, the city manager requested all department heads to study the demands which might be made on each department by the possible annexation of North Ridge. To assist in their determinations, director of planing A.C. Hall sent out an inter-office memo on September 22, 1967, which contained these statistics about the area: residential acreage 750, golf course acreage 200, street mileage 16.5.
On December 5, 1967, the director of planing forwarded to the city manager replies received from utilities, police, public works, traffic engineering, fire, and parks departments. He summarized that none of the departments felt that the cost of serving the area would be appreciably increased because of its distance from the existing city limits.
The director of public utilities did recommend, however, that North Ridge be kept on the outside water rate to offset additional expense. The subdivision was to become the first in Raleigh with all utility lines underground.
Chief of Police Tom Davis estimated the need for 8 additional police officers based on an estimated population of 5,300 and acreage of 965 for North Ridge. At that time the population of Raleigh was 109,000, street mileage was 430, and acreage within the city limits was 24,000.
Because Fire Station Number 9 (located on Six Forks Road at North Hills) was more than 3.5 miles from the area and Station Number 4 (at Wake Forest and Six Forks Roads) was more than 4.5 miles, fire chief J.B. Keeter recommended placing a station within the area. His estimated expenditure for such a station for the first year was $189,840. This cost included $15,000 for land, $65,000 for the station, $37,500 for a truck and hose, as well as salaries for personnel to man the station ($6,768 for captains, $5,856 for drivers, and $5,040 for firemen). Station Number 15 was opened on Spring Forest Road in 1973 and has served the North Ridge area ever since.
The two public hearings required prior to annexation of North Ridge were held on August 19, 1968, and September 16, 1968. Since the law required a 90-day wait after the second public hearing on the question, the first annexation took place on December 16, 1968. (By this same ordinance, 109.4 acres of North Haven were annexed.) While the city council had agreed to take in the entire area of North Ridge, it granted the request of the developer to annex in several stages. The annexation dates for the entire subdivision are shown on the map on Page XX.
Zoning for the residential portion of the development was R-10, but restrictive covenants limited construction on most lots to single-family dwellings except in the apartment complex and a block for duplexes on Harps Mill Road.
The country club's initial 18-hole course (presently "The Oaks" #1-5 and #15-18, and "The Lakes" #1-3 and 13-18) was designed by George Cobb, of Greenville, South Carolina. It was officially opened for play in April 1968, and the club's initiation fee was raised to $750. The layout of the golf course was determined to a large extent by maximum exposure for residential lots and to some extent by Caroline Power and Light Company's easement for the high-voltage power lines that cross the community. An amusing recollection of golf course construction was of hordes of people, including many young school children hired for the purpose, picking out rocks by hand and removing them from the fairways. Apparently, the soil was so rocky that machinery designed for the purpose was not successful in clearing it of rocks.
Initial plans for the community included a 16.34 acre site for an elementary school on Harps Mill Road near Falls of Neuse Road. The Wake County Board of Education purchased that site from the developers, and construction of North Ridge Elementary School began in 1968 for a capacity of approximately 600 students. The school opened the following year. The original two buildings housed a cafeteria, media center, administrative offices, and 12 classrooms serving Grades 1 through 6.
The school's first principal was Corbett C. Stewart. He was followed in 1971 by W. Earl Watson, who was followed in 1976 by Dr. Cornelius M. Swart. Ann Hooker became principal in 1984.
The North Ridge Apartments, on Newmarket Way, opened June 26, 1969. Located on an 11.7 acre site, the luxury complex consisted of 118 two-and three-bedroom townhouses in 18 buildings. They were built by Abe Greenberg and managed by Kavanaugh Management of Durham. In April 1970, a mutual fund, USIF Real Estate, purchased the apartments, but the previous owner (Kavanaugh-Greenberg Co. of New York) continued to manage them on a leaseback basis. In May 1981, the apartments were converted to condominiums.
Though the North Ridge Country Club clubhouse, which was designed by Leif Valand, had opened informally on November 25, 1969, a black-tie grand opening was held on January 30, 1970, and reported by Marion Gregory for the News and Observer the following morning. Les Brown and his Band of Renown played for two dinner dances and a concert during the weekend. Also featured was Phil Crosby, one of Bing's sons. Among those playing in Saturday's pro-celebrity golf tournament in addition to Brown and Crosby were former Duke star Mike Souchak and North Ridge pro Ken Worthington. The club by this time had grown to 560 members and dues increased to $30 a month.
In Ed Richards' previous developments his companies had done the major portion of the construction, but in North Ridge most of the lots were sold to other builders, who did the construction. These various builders in turn tended to set tone of the development. One of the results of this diversity for the community is the variety of home styles reflected. Among the early builders were Howard Perry, Edd K. Roberts, Bryan Upchurch, D.K. and R.W. Collins, Frank Robuck, and Bobby Whitfield. Several of these still reside in North Ridge in homes which they built. Mr. Richards lived in his home overlooking the thirteenth green of "The Lakes" until his death February 1, 1987.
Development of the residential area was planned for 3 main phases with approximately 300 homes being constructed in each phase. Building in Newmarket (the area south of the golf course) began on Newmarket Way, Briar Patch Lane, Hedgelawn Way, and Horsepen Place. The first phase to be opened in Haymarket (the area north of the golf course) included Hunting Ridge Road and Foxfire Place (where Hunting Ridge ended at that time), Buckhead Drive, Tanbark Way, Harps Mill Road (which ended then at Audubon), Plateau Lane through Baystone Court, Fiesta Way through Gala Court, and Audubon Drive through Hillwood Court.
To identify the new subdivision, entrance signs were installed at Spring Forest Road and Newmarket Way as well as Harps Mill and Falls of Neuse Roads. Also a trailer was placed at Tanbark Way and Harps Mill Road to serve as a sales office. Bryan Upchurch, who built one of the first houses in the development, remembers paying $5,750 for that lot on Buckhead Drive.
At that time the only commercial establishments near the area were the Phillips 66 service station at Sandy Forks and Falls of Neuse Roads and an adjacent 7-11 convenience store to the south. There were several small dwellings nearby, but most of the remaining area (including Falls Village and North Ridge Shopping Center) was farm fields or forests. A sawmill, which operated until the late 1960's, was located on Buckhead Drive. Early residents reported seeing packs of wild dogs running through the neighborhood.
The North Ridge Garden Club was formed in October 1970 "to promote the beautification of and develop pride in the community". Bobby Rutherford, who had a keen interest in gardening, was instrumental in organizing the club with help from the Hickory Hills Garden Club. She served as the club's first president, and the early meetings were held in the basement of her home on Buckhead Drive. After the membership increased, the North Ridge Country Club became the meeting place.
One of the club's early contributions was the landscaping of North Ridge Elementary School, which was planned and largely financed by the club. Other projects through the years have included a yard-of-the-month contest, promotion of a community watch, landscaping and maintenance of entrance signs, and the sale and lighting of luminaries on Christmas Eve.
Names of the past presidents and the 21 charter members of the club are listed on Page XX.
In 1991 the North Ridge Country Club began construction of its second 18-hole golf course, presently "The Oaks" #6-14 and "The Lakes" #4-12. Gene Hamm served as architect for this addition. The first 9 holes of this course opened for play in 1972.
In the spring of 1975 the North Ridge Beautification Committee in conjunction with the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration undertook a tree-planting project. Kwansan cherries were sold to residents at $15 each or 2 for $25 for planting in individual yards. The double-flowering Japanese cherry trees were also planted at three North Ridge entrances (the Newmarket entrance at Harps Mill and Falls of Neuse Roads, and the Hunting Ridge Road entrance) as well as at North Ridge Elementary School and on the golf courses of North Ridge Country Club. Many of these trees continue to spread beauty throughout the neighborhood early each spring.
There was no special system or theme for street names in North Ridge though some do reflect natural features of the area. Traces of the rock dam and two races to divert water from a stream were found remaining from a grist mill which had belonged to Mr. Sam Harp. Excavation in Bryan Upchurch's front yard also revealed ruts from a wagon trail which had led there. The names Harps Mill, Grist Mill, Rock Dam, Mill Stream, and Watergate resulted from these finds in the area. When the mill was destroyed is unknown. Mr. J.E. Nichols, who was born in 1904, never saw it himself, but he does recall hearing his father speak about it.
Interest in hunting is reflected in the names Buckhead, Staghorn, and Hunting Ridge, the latter so called because the high point on that street had been a favorite starting point for fox hunts, which were popular in the area before being discontinued when traffic endangered to hounds.
Some other street names reportedly came from a London city map and several perhaps from an Audubon bird book.
North Ridge Drive made the news June 23, 1976, in a Raleigh Times article "Third Name Proposed in Street Riddle". Originally called South Partridge Circle, it later became South Partridge Drive. Then the city planning department, deciding that the name was too easily confused with another city street, which was called Partridge Lane, recommended that the name be changed to Chimney Swift Street, and the city council approved this name November 5, 1975.
But residents, complaining about the difficult pronunciation and unpleasant sound of the new name, continued to use their Partridge Drive address. The city even continued to send its water bills to that address in spite of the fact that the name had been changed. Furthermore, two signs marked the street, one with each of the names in dispute. The city put the Partridge Drive sign back up after the name changed to Chimney Swift when it learned that one resident had already mailed out wedding invitations with the old address.
Sometime in 1976 the planning commission recommended to the city council that the name be changed to North Partridge Drive, and on June 15 of that year the city council referred the question to its law and finance committee. This committee rejected the resident's requests to get their original name back but offered their choice of any other name not already used in the city. Council member Miriam Block suggested North Ridge Drive as an alternative, and the city council approved this name July 6, 1976.
In 1977 the members of North Ridge Country Club purchased the club and its assets for $2.4 million from North Ridge, Inc., which until this time had owned and operated it.
Initial plans for the subdivision included a shopping center at the northeast corner of the intersection of Falls of Neuse and Spring Forest Roads. When it was later decided that this area was not large enough for the shopping center, the zoning of that area was changed for offices. Then North Hills, Inc., purchased an additional 50 acres at the southeast corner of the intersection for North Ridge Shopping Center, which it completed in 1980.
The North Ridge Garden Club celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 1990. Through the years the club has regularly made donations from its fund-raising projects to the area schools as well as to Raleigh's greenways, Durant Nature Park, Millbrook Exchange Park, the North Carolina State University Arboretum, the Executive Mansion Rose Garden, the proposed North Carolina Art Museum Garden, and the Daniel Boone Native Garden.
Currently, the garden club has 44 members from North Ridge, Inverrary, the Landings, and North Ridge Estates. All residents of the area are welcome to join.
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the North Ridge Country Club. Listed on Page XX are names of the 43 active members who joined as founding members in 1967. Since then the initiation fee has risen to $20,000 and monthly dues to $175. Today golfing memberships require a wait.
The club recently opened a large new addition containing an informal dining area, pro shop, and fitness center. The exterior of the original clubhouse is presently undergoing a facelift to relate it aesthetically to the new section.
Throughout the years the club has hosted numerous benefits, including the Annual Rex Classic, a pro-am featuring members of the LPGA and local amateurs, which began in 1988.
Two additional classroom buildings have been added to the North Ridge Elementary School campus, which now serves kindergarten through Grade 5. Present enrollment of 735 makes North Ridge one of the largest elementary schools in Wake County. Average daily attendance last year was the highest in the county. The school also takes pride in its California Achievement Test results, which exceed county, state , and national norms. A very active parent-teacher association gives the school financial support and many volunteer hours.
Approximately a quarter century after the first construction in North Ridge began, development of the subdivision nears its end. Building is presently taking place on the final section of land, 32 lots bordering Manor Oaks Drive near the intersection of Litchford and Hunting Ridge Roads. The real estate market remains active also with resales in the area, recent ones ranging from $123,500 to $629,000.
Even the developers of North Ridge and others with the most optimistic expectations did not imagine in the late 1960's that growth in the area would be so rapid. In fact, many people at that time hearing Ed Richards' plans to build a county club and residential community "way out in the country" north of Raleigh thought the idea was crazy. But the community today and its history attest to the wisdom of that vision.
NORTH RIDGE GARDEN CLUB
PRESIDENTS
Ann Freehafer
Jackie Washington
1992-93 Mary Best
NORTH RIDGE GARDEN CLUB
CHARTER MEMBERS
(Joining prior to February 10, 1971)
Louise Bolash 7600 Harps Mill Road
Ruth Curley 7500 Gala Court
Donna Dils 7604 Harps Mill Road
Joy Guyer 7101 Tanbark Way
Tish Hamill 1216 Hunting Ridge Road
Betty Harbin 6919 Buckhead Drive
Sunny Howe 7100 Tanbark Way
Carolyn MacFadyen 7012 Buckhead Drive
Martha Morgan 7601 Audubon Drive
Becky Morton 7504 Gala Court
Anita Ng 6905 Buckhead Drive
Terry Nyberg 7515 Fiesta Way
Louise Perkins 6920 Buckhead Drive
Inge Phillips 6812 Buckhead Drive
Sally Pillsbury 6816 Buckhead Drive
Bobbie Rutherford 6908 Buckhead Drive
Donna Seward 7308 Fiesta Way
Jean Taylor 6905 Buckhead Drive
Pat Warner 7400 Harps Mill Road
Sue Washburn 6917 Buckhead Drive
Maureen Zammit 7617 Harps Mill Road
NORTH RIDGE COUNTRY CLUB
Current (as of 1992) Members Who Are Charter Members
(Joining May-June 1967)
Jimmy Allen Joe Kapherr
Max Barbour Bill Lee
Tom Bradshaw Mrs. Leah Levine
John Brantly Alex MacFadyen
Ray Bucher Ray Madry
Bobby Caulberg Charlie Maready
Hank Cockrell Fred Prescott
Mo Courie Dwight Preslar
Bill Cox Mrs. Anne Rankled
Giles Crowell Aaron Register
J. D. Davis Richard Saleeby
Mel Davis Paul Sharpe
Willis Davis Ed Shook
Paul DelaCourt Noah Sites
Mel Dillon Bill Snider
Aaron Fussell Carl Swarr
Jim Garland Bob Walker
Maurice Griffin Brick Wall
Marshall Hartsfield Mrs. Lucille Watkins
Mrs. Linwood Herndon Max Williams
Bill Howe Bob Wilson
Bill Ingram
Annexation Map
A reminder! - Send your updated information or other comments to: Dave Shogren.
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