Archer Lodge is more than 160 years old. But it's still a small, rural community.

"It's just a very tight community. Everybody works together," said resident Donna Parrish.

Concerns about growth and change prompted residents to try to create their own town.

The center of the proposed town would be the intersection of Buffalo Road and Covered Bridge Road and it would spread out for nine square miles.

"Self-government is really the foundation of this country. That's what it was all about. It was making our decisions for ourselves. Not somebody across an ocean. And in our case not somebody that is not here within our community," said Carlton Vinson, a member of a committee that has worked to incorporate Archer Lodge during the past three years.

Residents feared that larger towns would eventually annex Archer Lodge.

"We don't want Clayton and Wendell to gulp us up and put a high tax on us," said resident Harold Barnes.

The proposed town would tax residents. But the tax would be $.08 per $100, about one-seventh of Clayton's rate.

The town would use the money to offer police and fire protection. And it would create a planning and zoning department.

"It's going to be more of what we want than what they would want," said resident Donna Parrish.

The process of creating a new town can take years. Plans have to be approved by the state legislature. Archer Lodge got that approval earlier this year.

The final step is a referendum Tuesday.

About 2,500 registered voters will decide Archer Lodge's future. More than 50 percent have to vote yes for the plans to move forward.

Voting will take place at Archer Lodge Middle School and River Dell Elementary School.