Ailey Young Park

Ailey Young Sign Ailey Young Playground Ailey Young Playground Ailey Young Picnic Shelter Ailey Young ballfield

Located at 800 E Juniper Ave. in the Northeast Community, Ailey Young Park sits on 15 acres of land and includes a baseball field, basketball courts, charcoal grills, picnic tables, and a playground.

 
Overview

Located at 800 E Juniper Ave. in the Northeast Community, Ailey Young Park sits on 15 acres of land and includes a baseball field, basketball courts, charcoal grills, picnic tables, and a playground.

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Amenities and Features

  • baseball field
  • basketball courts
  • playground
  • picnic tables
  • charcoal grills

Reminders

  1. All parks are open daily from dawn to dusk.

  2. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.

  3. Smoking is limited to parking areas only.

  4. Use of personal grills (gas and/or charcoal) is prohibited.

  5. Dogs must be on a leash. Also, please clean up after your dog. Dog waste receptacles and bags are provided. 

  6. View our complete listing of park rules and safety

History

Ailey Mae Young (1903-1992) was born in 1903 and was a daughter of Allen and Louzania Young. In the 1920s and 30s, she taught at her father’s school, the Wake Forest Normal and Industrial Institute. Her father opened the school in 1905 as the Presbyterian Mission School. This school grew to become, the first private school for African American children in Wake Forest. In the 1920s and 30s, at the school’s peak, there were over 300 students that attended. After the 1930s, the school declined due to the Great Depression and the opening of a new public school for African American children (The Wake Forest Gazette).

After teaching at her father’s school for several years, Ailey Mae Young went on to teach in public school until she retired. In 1971, after her retirement, she was elected to the Wake Forest town board. She was the second woman and first person of color to be elected. In 1975, she was reelected, and in 1976 received the town’s Citizen of the Year award (The Wake Forest Gazette.) Ailey Mae and her sister, Maude (1901-1981) a librarian at the Richard B. Harrison Library in Raleigh from 1941-1968, built their house near the site of the school their father built on E. Spring Street. They lived at this location until their deaths.

Ailey Young Park is located at 800 E Juniper Ave in the Northeast Community and contains 15 acres of land and includes a baseball field, basketball courts, charcoal grills, picnic tables, and a playground.

The Town of Wake Forest also owns the Ailey Young House, named for Ailey Mae Young’s grandmother. It was the childhood home of Ailey Mae’s father Allen Young. The house is located on North White Street, north of Spring Street and south of the town cemetery and is the only standing building associated with Allen Young.

Researched and written by Olivia Wilkerson, Youth in Government Representative, Wake Forest Historic Preservation Commission

 References

  • Archeology, NC Office of State. Rediscovering the Ailey Young House, Continuing the Legacy of the Young Family of Wake Forest. n.d. 28 June 2021. <https://archaeology.ncdcr.gov/rediscovering-ailey-young-house-continuing-legacy-young-family-wake-forest>.

  • Forest, Town of Wake. Ailey Young House. 2021. 30 June 2021. <https://www.wakeforestnc.gov/planning/historic-preservation/ailey-young-house>.

  • Gazette, The Wake Forest. Just a Little History, Allen Young, A Remarkable Man. Wake Forest: The Wake Forest Gazette, 2018. 29 June 2021. <https://wakeforestgazette.com/just-little-history-allen-young-remarkable-man/>.

  • Gazette, The Wake Forest. "History of the Ailey Young House." The Wake Forest Gazette. Wake Forest: The Wake Forest Gazette, 19 August 2015. 28 June 2021. <https://wakeforestgazette.com/history-of-the-ailey-young-house/>.

Ailey Young Park
919-435-9560

Hours of Operation

  • Open dawn to dusk