Wade: One-Mile-Square Town on the Rail Line

Wade is a compact town north of Fayetteville that owes its existence to the railroad era. Settled around the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad and later re chartered in 1913, the town's charter famously described its boundaries as exactly one mile square.

That geometric quirk hints at a place that is easy to understand: a small grid of streets, modest homes, and a tight community.

Setting and access

Wade sits near the Cape Fear River and I 95, providing:

• Quick interstate access for north south travel
• A manageable commute into Fayetteville of roughly 20 to 25 minutes
• Short drives to neighboring small towns and rural countryside

Most residents own cars and routinely travel into the city for work, shopping, and medical care.

Housing

Housing in Wade is simple and generally affordable:

• Older single family homes on deep lots
• Some manufactured housing on the edges of town
• Limited large scale subdivision development

Buyers drawn to Wade tend to be long term local families or newcomers who specifically want a very small town with easy highway access.

Lifestyle fit

Wade may be a match if you:

• Prefer a quiet, close knit community where you recognize most cars that drive by
• Want to be near, but not in, the city
• Appreciate a short hop to I 95 for travel up and down the East Coast

If you need frequent late night food options, extensive shopping, or walkable cultural amenities, you are better off in Fayetteville proper, Hope Mills, or the Ramsey Street corridor.

Wade gives the Fayetteville metro yet another flavor of living: a tiny square on the map framed by tracks and farms, with city conveniences still comfortably close.