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Town Center Plan
January 2007
Appendix 2
Introduction
The first residents in the area that is now Morrisville likely settled here to
be near to Crabtree Creek and the early roads that passed nearby. Tignal
Jones is one of the earliest and largest known landholders in the area,
which was named for him.
The crossroads here is likely what attracted surveyors for the North
Carolina Railroad to bargain with Jeremiah Morris in 1852. Morris
granted the railroad right of way across his property and donated three
acres of land for the construction of a water station, woodshed, and a
yard for other buildings. In return, he negotiated a post office and the
position of postmaster for himself.
Once established, the railroadcarried travelers andgoods fromMorrisville
and environs to distant destinations and markets. For a time it also
provided daily service to Raleigh, where many residents found profitable
work.
1
N.C. Division o f Archives and History
Map made in 1850 by surveyors for the North Carolina Railroad