AT A GLANCE

Summerfield was originally known as Bruce’s Crossroads, named for Charles Bruce, a Revolutionary War patriot who settled in the area in 1769. It was renamed in 1812 for Rev. John Summerfield, an evangelist who relocated there.

Summerfield incorporated in 1996, encompasses 26.56 miles and is Guilford County’s third largest municipality. The town owns properties at all four corners of the N.C. 150 (Oak Ridge Road) and Summerfield Road intersection; however, last year Summerfield contracted with Preservation North Carolina to find buyers for the historic Gordon Hardware building and the Martin House which are located on two of its properties, after cost estimates to renovate the buildings proved prohibitive. Negotiations to sell the Gordon building are underway after potential bidders emerged last summer.

Thanks to a 700-foot sidewalk completed in 2019, pedestrians and cyclists traveling on the Atlantic and Yadkin (A&Y) Greenway, which begins in downtown Greensboro and crosses Strawberry Road in Summerfield, can travel through the pedestrian tunnel underneath U.S. 220 to Summerfield Road. Students from Northwest Guilford and Northern Guilford high schools completed a mural inside the 110-foot-long tunnel with an “abstract, bold take on a park scene.”

The town has budgeted $130,000 in the 2022-23 fiscal year for right-of-way progress on the A&Y Greenway (South), which is part of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Another $100,000 has been budgeted for the construction of a dog park.

Town officials are negotiating with the county’s Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education to purchase the historic Laughlin school property as the site for a new town hall and community gathering place. The proposal emerged after the Town Council shelved a plan to build a new $3.5 million town hall due to escalating construction costs. Landowner David Couch continues efforts to win the town’s approval of his plan to turn his 973 acres spanning Summerfield into a residential and commercial development of 11 villages with a network of public trails and open green space. Housing would range from multi-family units to luxury homes and require water and sewer services in the development, according to Couch. The potentially far-reaching impact of the project has prompted much scrutiny and debate among town staff, council members and residents, including vocal opponents of apartments, as Summerfield continues to grapple with the challenge of balancing growth with residents’ desire to preserve its rural character.

Incorporation date: 1996

Size: 26.56 square miles

Property tax rate: 2.75¢ per $100 of property value (town); 73¢ per $100 (county), 13.1¢ per $100 (fire department and service protection district)

Sales tax rate: combined 6.75% (2% for Guilford County; 4.75% for North Carolina)

EDUCATION (age 25 and over)

High school graduate (or higher) degree or higher

Percent of households with a broadband internet subscription: 92.3%

Housing

Median value of owner-occupied housing unit: $387,500

Estimated number of households: 3,950;

Estimated number of family members per household: 2.79

Income

Median household income: $127,661

Families with income in last 12 months below poverty level: 7.4%

Residents without health insurance (under age 65): 5%