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.