Morrisville is known as a small, sleepy town in central North Carolina. However, this town in the heart of the state's most technological area has a long and colorful past. The Morrisville community traces its origin to its location on the state's colonial east-west road and became a town, naming itself after resident Jeremiah Morris, with the arrival of the North Carolina Railroad in 1852. Its strategic stop along the railroad brought warring armies during the Civil War, and afterward, residents hoped the railroad would make Morrisville a prosperous town of the New South. Progress came slowly, and Morrisville became a farming community frozen in time for the next 100 years. With the rapid growth of the Research Triangle in the 1980s, Morrisville found itself enveloped by a quickly changing community. Located by the state's largest airport and a major interstate, Morrisville became the new center for several technologically advanced research facilities and home to many new families enjoying the town's rural charm.
In 1991, historian Ernest Dollar became interested in Morrisville history through efforts to save part of the town's 1865 Civil War battlefield. Expanding his interests, Dollar has written several articles and produced video documentaries highlighting the town's rich past.