Benson offers small town living with a Main Street and rural roads
A small town of about 4,000 residents between Raleigh and Fayetteville, Benson has both a charming downtown and rural outskirts. The town was established around a railroad in 1887 as business owners were attracted to its prime location between two major cities. Designated as a Main Street Community, the town’s center promotes local businesses and hosts family-friendly events. Benson embraces its history of hard work by traveling back in time each year to celebrate Mule Days, an event that brings in more than 60,000 visitors. Today, this Johnston County community still attracts residents looking for proximity to the surrounding cities, and Interstate 95 and Interstate 40 make those commutes more manageable. “It’s a very commuter-friendly and accessible town,” says Rose Podgradski, a broker with Buy Homes with Rose LLC who has lived in Benson for a decade. “Main Street has some older homes with vintage charm, but there are a lot of new developments coming to Benson because it's more affordable."
The annual Benson Mule Days entertains thousands of town visitors
The community has been coming together for 75 years to celebrate the annual Benson Mule Days, a four-day event in September that embraces the town’s rural past. “Mule Days is amazing. You just have to be comfortable with being country for a day,” Podgradski says. “From Thursday to Sunday, people come from all over the country on their horses or pull their horses behind on a trailer. I’ve talked to people who said it took them four days to get here on their horse and buggy. You’ll even see people at the Taco Bell drive-thru on their horses.” The event lineup includes a rodeo, a golf tournament, carnival rides, live music, and a parade, which Podgradski argues is the best part. “The parade is long, but it’s entertaining. The local Sudan Dunn Clowns do crazy things on horseback, and The Shriners are volunteers that drive in circles in little miniature racecars, raising money for kids in hospitals. Anyone who arrives on a horse can tag on at the end.”
Older bungalows line downtown and new Craftsmans dot the outskirts
Housing styles in Benson vary depending on their location. Ranch-style homes and bungalows near the town’s center are often older, many built in the 1950s, and offer classic elements like wide front porches, detached garages and colorful interior tiling. Ranch-style homes around the outskirts of town were typically built later in the ‘70s through ‘90s and offer more space. There are also newly-constructed Craftsman homes on the south side of Benson with attached garages and nearly an acre of land. These 1,200- to 1,500-square-foot single-floor properties generally range in price from $175,000 to $315,000 for a 2025 build.
Buyers looking for something bigger can find 2,000- to 3,000-square-foot New Traditionals and Farmhouse Revivals further out in the countryside with two-car garages on more than an acre. Most of these two-story houses were either built or remodeled between 2020 and 2025 and go from $330,000 to upwards of $600,000.
Local boutiques, eateries and museums line Main Street
The downtown area along Main Street and the narrow, gridded streets that connect to it feature locally-owned shops and eateries. “Main Street is lined with antique shops and a lot of niche boutiques,” says Podgradski. “On the same road, Cornerstone Cafe is probably the most well-known eatery with coffee and sandwiches. And Fainting Goat Brewing Company does music bingo and trivia nights, as well as live music and food trucks.” Nearby, Sister’s II Ice Cream serves homemade ice cream. A few blocks from there at the other end of Main Street near Interstate 95, Daddy D’s BBQ is a family-owned Benson favorite. This retail-heavy area also features several takeout and fast-food spots, convenience markets and a Food Lion.
Main Street is also home to the Benson Museum of Local History, which explores the town’s agricultural past, baseball legacy and World War I history. “It’s a cool museum, and you can learn a lot there,” Podgradski says. She also mentions that there’s no shortage of churches in town, with the more historic institutions being on Church Street. Benson Baptist Church sits on the corner with Romanesque architecture and stained-glass windows, and Benson Methodist Church also stands tall on a corner lot with towering spires.
Benson parks offer play areas and stage space for sings
Centrally located, Dr. PK Vyas MD Community Park is the town’s main park that features a playground, basketball courts, athletic fields and a running track. “Nearby, Benson Singing Grove has a stage where they do summer concerts, and behind the stage is a playground,” Podgradski says. The stage also hosts the State Annual Singing Convention, which brings thousands of people to Benson to listen to one of the oldest and largest gospel choir sings in the country. A couple of blocks away, Benson Community Swimming Pool offers a family-friendly way to cool off in the summer for a membership fee. East of town near the interstate, Benson Dog Park has fenced-in areas for small and large breeds.
Students attend Johnston County public schools, including South HS
Johnston County Schools, graded a B-plus by Niche, serves students living in Benson. They can begin at Benson Elementary School, which receives a B, before progressing to Benson Middle School, which holds a B-minus. South Johnston High School, locally referred to as just South, receives a B-minus. South’s building was completed in 1969 to integrate the area’s former all-white and all-black public high schools.
Commuters use the I-95 and I-40 junction as a pit-stop
U.S. Route 301 cuts north-to-south through Benson, running parallel to Interstate 95. The interstate makes Fayetteville a 30-mile commute south. Just east of town, Interstate 95 meets Interstate 40, which can lead residents to Raleigh about 30 miles north. This interchange makes for a popular pit-stop. “Benson gets a lot of people driving from New York to Florida,” Podgradski says. “It’s a good pull-off halfway.” According to data reported to FBI Crime Data Explorer, Benson has a slightly higher crime rate than the state and national averages.
Written By
Mary Beth Greene
