In 1851, landowners in the St. Mary’s District of Wake County witnessed the arrival of the railroad. The first business was operated by Henry Fort, a former slave, farmer, and cabinetmaker. A post office was established in 1878. The General Assembly incorporated the town in 1883, then known as Garner’s Station, but in 1901 Garner’s Station incorporation was repealed. By 1896 the population was 250. Garner Depot was constructed in 1902 to serve passengers and became a shipping point for baled cotton. In 1905, the town was reincorporated as the Town of Garner. The artesian well was located approximately five feet north of the plaque, and the town’s corporate limits were south, east, and west of this well and north to the railroad tracks. Downtown Garner Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.