Editing Holly Springs, North Carolina (section)

===20th century===
In 1906, the town addressed the need for a larger and better-equipped facility to educate the children. Under the leadership of Raymond A. Burt, J. Carter, and the Women's School Betterment Association, 10 acres (40,000 m<sup>2</sup>) near the springs were purchased (this was, in time, the site of the library and cultural arts center). The first bell rang for classes in 1908.

By this point, Alford was a wealthy man, and he had dreams of turning Holly Springs into an industrial town<ref>page 60 http://www.alfordassociation.org/ACTION/aact4559.pdf</ref> of 10,000 people.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} The town's population had not increased a great deal, holding at around 300, but the business community and the schools were drawing outsiders. The flourishing village was once again struck down by war with the start of [[World War I]]. The young men went off to fight, and many others went away to work in war-related industry. In 1923, Alford died, leaving the town without an effective voice in political circles. Then came the [[Great Depression]]. The Bank of Holly Springs, established before the turn of the 20th century, failed in 1924. Holly Springs experienced difficulty during this time, although [[Works Progress Administration]] funds were used to build a school auditorium. The town missed out on the new federal road-building projects being carried out to provide employment.

[[World War II]] did what World War I had done, drawing more young people away from Holly Springs to war and/or to cities for jobs. At the close of the war, Holly Springs was faced with a stagnant population. During the early 1950s, while most [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] cities and towns were booming, Holly Springs remained at a standstill.

During the early 1960s, with a population stabilized at around 580, the town installed fluorescent streetlights about the same time that [[North Carolina Highway 55|Highway 55]] (Main Street) was widened. A general clean-up effort netted the town an award from a state appearance committee. Racially, the town became less balanced with a stronger minority population existing to the late 1980s. During this period, several black businesses were flourishing; a dry-cleaning business, barbershop, three neighborhood stores, and the local gathering place of the "Packhouse" built by one of the town's prominent black citizens by the name of George Grigsby, for whom Grigsby Avenue (previously called Old Fuquay Road) was named. The town board consisted of many of its prominent black citizens, among them Burnis Lassiter, Cora Lassiter, James Norris (Holly Springs' first black mayor), John McNeil, Edison Perkins, George Kimble, and "Preacher" Beckwith. Later, in the 1980s other prominent black citizens joined the town council, among them Nancy Womble, Reverend Otis Byrd, and Parrish "Ham" Womble, who served on the council for 28 years and was also interim mayor for a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hollyspringsnc.us/gov/officials.htm |title=Town Council, Holly Springs, NC |access-date=October 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215085759/http://www.hollyspringsnc.us/gov/officials.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2011 }}</ref>

During this period, the town hired Dessie Mae Womble, the first black female chief of police in North Carolina. As segregation gave way to integration, the Holly Springs School for Blacks was closed, and many of its students were sent to surrounding communities to further their educations. This was the beginning of an era of [[desegregation busing in the United States|busing]] for the community, which continued until the late 1990s, when Holly Springs Elementary School on Holly Springs Road was opened.<ref name="Town History, Holly Springs, NC"/>

The town built its first sewage plant in 1987, then real growth occurred. Holly Springs, in line for the spillover from increased populations in [[Cary, North Carolina|Cary]] and [[Apex, North Carolina|Apex]], suddenly boomed; its population increased from 900 in 1992 to an estimated 6,000 in 1998 to nearly 25,000 in 2010.<ref name="Census 2010"/>