If you’ve visited TLC’s Bailey & Sarah Williamson Preserve recently, you may have noticed a few changes, including a new entrance and a new street name. The street where the nature preserve’s main visitor parking entrance is located has recently been renamed from Mial Plantation Road to Old Country Mial Road. This change, effective as of June 2025, aims to honor the area’s agricultural heritage while fostering a more inclusive community identity.
New address for Bailey & Sarah Williamson preserve:
4409 Old Country Mial Road, Raleigh, NC 27610
The road, which runs through the historically rural Shotwell area southeast of Raleigh, was named for the Mial family, who established Walnut Hill Plantation in 1775 on the land where Williamson Preserve is now located. While the plantation part of the name is gone, Mial now recognizes the large community of descendants of all the people who worked this land who still call the area home today – including Mials who are descended from the enslaved people at Walnut Hill.
Updated kiosk signage will be installed over the summer and mapping services are currently in the process of reflecting this change. Preserve visitors should also note that due to ongoing roadwork on Major Slade Road, the Williamson parking lot can only be accessed via Smithfield Road and Old Country Mial Road (see map below).
About Williamson Preserve
Only minutes from bustling Raleigh, the 447-acre Bailey & Sarah Williamson Preserve is an expansive natural oasis amid the farmland and forests of Johnston and Wake counties. The 16.6 miles of multiuse trails here allow for a variety of ways to experience this preserve and is a favorite destination for many local mountain bikers. Along with beautiful trails, ponds, and forests, Williamson also functions as farmland for several beginning farmers, demonstrating a unique balance of recreation and regenerative farming in a historic agricultural community.
