At A Glance
What was likely once a footpath for Native Americans evolved into a farming community named after the oak trees running along the highest ridge in Guilford County. Oak Ridge gained fame as a place of higher learning when in 1852 citizens “desirous of promoting the cause of education” established Oak Ridge Institute, which in 1971 became Oak Ridge Military Academy; it is now the oldest private military school in North Carolina.
In 1998 Oak Ridge residents voted to incorporate their community in order to have a say in how their town was governed and how it would be residentially and commercially developed.
Incorporation date: 1998
Size: approx. 15 square miles
Property tax rate: 8¢ per $100 of property value (town),
73¢ per $100 (county), 0.77¢ per $100 (fire department)
