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Orange County Indexed

Chronology

Key events from Orange County history: 100 highlights to start, then the full chronology of 9,006 dated events and 77 storylines, each connected to the index. A storyline gathers many dated events into one history, such as the Regulator crisis. Browse all 77 storylines. Every entry names its source. See all 667 sources.

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8 dated events match your filters.

Searched the full chronology of 9,006 dated events and 77 storylines, not only the highlights. Showing 1–8.Back to highlights

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8 dated events
1908Early twentieth century
  1. Early twentieth century · 1900–1944
  2. Andrew Henry Patterson becomes the university's professor of physics

    Chapel Hill

    Andrew Henry Patterson, an 1891 graduate of the university, came from the University of Georgia in 1908 to be professor of physics and held the chair for the rest of his life.

  3. Andrew Henry Patterson becomes dean of the School of Applied Science

    Chapel Hill

    From 1911 Patterson was also dean of the university's School of Applied Science, a post he held until his death in 1928.

  4. Andrew Henry Patterson builds a house on East Franklin Street

    Chapel Hill

    Patterson was one of several faculty members and townspeople who built new homes in the East Franklin Street residential district in these years.

  5. The Chapel Hill Red Cross elects A. H. Patterson chairman at its annual meeting

    Appointment, election or service · Chapel Hill

    At its annual meeting on Thursday, November 21, 1918, the chapter elected Dr. A. H. Patterson chairman, with Alice Noble vice-chairman, Nellie Roberson secretary and Dudley Carroll treasurer. Earlier that fall George Howe had resigned for his duties on the University's Student Army Training Corps committee, and J. M. Bell had taken his place.

    Part of Orange County in the First World War, 1917–1919 · 84 events

    People: George Howe · Alice Noble · Dudley Dewitt Carroll · James Munsie Bell

  6. Acting dean of students A. H. Patterson reports on drinking at the spring dances

    Chapel Hill

    When complaints about drinking at the revived spring dances reached President Chase, Patterson, whom Chase had made acting dean of students, blamed most of it on visiting alumni and said there was little he could do about the newer dances.

    People: Harry Woodburn Chase

  7. Chapel Hill welcomes home its World War soldiers alongside Confederate veterans

    Naming or commemoration · Chapel Hill

    On Saturday, May 10, 1919, a parade of Confederate veterans, returned soldiers and sailors, former student soldiers and town groups filled Franklin and Columbia Streets. Over 2,000 people crowded Memorial Hall to hear Archibald Henderson, L. P. McLendon and Joseph Hyde Pratt, with William Cain presiding.

    Part of Orange County in the First World War, 1917–1919 · 84 events

    People: Archibald Henderson · Joseph Hyde Pratt · Andrew Henry Patterson

    Subject: Memorial Hall

  8. The diocesan convention votes to enlarge the Chapel of the Cross

    Construction or physical change · Chapel of the Cross, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill

    Meeting in Durham, the Diocese of North Carolina endorsed the parish's building plan and named a fund committee, and the Bishop of East Carolina named another. A July appeal put the cost at $70,000 to lengthen the old church at the chancel end and add a large assembly room behind the Battle Memorial Parish House.

    People: Andrew Henry Patterson

    Subject: Chapel of the Cross

  9. Chase cancels all campus dances after reports of drinking at a Durham dance

    Law, policy or court · UNC, Chapel Hill

    After newspapers described liquor and broken fixtures at a German Club dance at Durham's Washington Duke Hotel following the 1925 Thanksgiving game, the club disciplined twenty-five students and alumni, and Chase called off all campus dances until Easter or later. He followed with a chapel talk urging students not to drink.

    People: Andrew Henry Patterson

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A dated event is a fact, filed on the page of the subject it belongs to: a person, a place, a theme, or a named event or history. Pages are subjects, with their own works and sources; the Place, community, or institution filter also gathers the institutions that recur in the entries without a page of their own. The page opens on the highlights; a search or any filter looks through every dated event and storyline, and each filter’s counts say how many entries choosing it would show alongside the others. A storyline is a longer history that gathers related dated events, and each storyline’s page lists its own. Counts give dated events and storylines separately. Dates come from the sources named on the cards and from the index’s event pages; where sources disagree, the card follows the county records. Entries marked approximate or needing research say so on the card; the rest were checked against the source named on it. The correction link under the entries opens the contact form; name the entry and its date and the Friends will check the source. Suggest an event →

Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 4, 2026.

Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026