Cary began in 1750 as a settlement called Bradford's Ordinary. About 100 years later, the North Carolina Railroad was built between New Bern and Hillsborough and the railroad went through the settlement. Allison Francis Page, a farmer and lumberman, and his wife, Catherine Raboteau Page bought 300 acres (1.2 km²) of land surrounding the railroad in 1854 and named it Cary. Page made the first streets in Cary and built a sawmill, a store and a post office. In 1868, he built a hotel for railroad passengers coming through Cary. Cary officially became a town on April 6, 1871, and Page became the first mayor.