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Orange County Observer (Hillsborough): A Democratic weekly published in Hillsborough from 1880. It provides detailed local reporting, with partisan coverage of elections and race. Read issue by issue for this index, 1880–1909.Open the sourceAll sources
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Reconstruction and the New South · 1866–1899
- 1890s
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Caldwell Institute nearly finishes a new school building
Principal J. H. McCracken reported that Caldwell Institute's new building, about 36 by 52 feet with a bay window, was almost done, and thanked the neighbors who had helped build it. The school planned public exercises for the night after Christmas.
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Forty-seven Orange County pensioners receive their state pension warrants
Register of Deeds John Laws began handing out the state's pension warrants to 47 Orange County pensioners, most of them widows, for a total of $976.25. Under the new law the warrants came through each county's register instead of straight from the state auditor.
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Nash and Kollock School closes as a boarding school
The Nash and Kollock boarding school closed at the end of its 1890 to 1891 session after thirty-one years. The Misses Nash and Kollock went on with a day school from August 6, 1891.
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The county board of health re-elects Dr. D. C. Parris superintendent of health
Meeting on the first Monday of the year, the Orange County Board of Health re-elected Dr. D. C. Parris as county superintendent of health.
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Caldwell Institute opens its spring session with 53 pupils
The spring term at Caldwell Institute began with fifty-three pupils, which the trustees called the largest session the school had had. A growing music class led the school to add an assistant music teacher, and the young men formed a debating society named for Dr. Brower.
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Paul C. Cameron is buried from St. Matthew's Church
Funeral services for Paul C. Cameron were held at St. Matthew's Church at 11 in the morning, and former servants of his carried the coffin into the church and to the grave at their own request. University trustees and faculty, Lieutenant Governor Thomas M. Holt and others came from Raleigh and Durham on a special train.
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J. E. Bristowe preaches his first sermon as pastor of the Hillsboro Circuit
The new Methodist pastor preached his first sermon at the Hillsborough Methodist church on a Sunday night and published his preaching plan for the circuit's churches: Hillsborough, Cedar Grove, Walnut Grove, New Sharon, New Bethel and McTyere's.
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Hillsborough Methodists hold a pound party for their new pastor at the parsonage
Methodists and friends met at H. N. Brown Sr.'s house and walked together to the parsonage, bringing household goods and a hand wagon of flour and provisions for the new pastor, J. E. Bristowe. Bristowe answered with a printed card of thanks.
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Paul C. Cameron's will is read and his executors qualify
Cameron's handwritten will, found in his travelling valise, divided an estate the paper thought worth over a million dollars, ordered lands including the old Military Academy grounds sold, and left the house and lands east of Hillsborough to his widow and then to Mildred Cameron. Anne Cameron, Bennehan Cameron, John W. Graham and R. B. Peebles qualified as executors.
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Samuel R. Jordan, a Little River church elder for 23 years, dies
The Little River church session recorded that Jordan died at his home in Orange County on Jan. 19, 1891. He had been ruling elder for 23 years and a member for about forty-six, and also served as deacon, clerk of session and Sunday school superintendent.
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E. A. Rosemond opens his warehouse at Hillsborough
E. A. Rosemond opened his tobacco warehouse on Tuesday, February 10, and the prices paid pleased the farmers, so that Hillsborough looked likely to have a good tobacco market.
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Hillsborough Circuit holds its first quarterly meeting of the year at the Methodist church
Presiding Elder Dr. Yates preached on Saturday and Sunday. Bad roads and rain kept attendance down, and two appointments on the circuit sent no representatives. The writer saw promise in a year with a new pastor and a new presiding elder.
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St. Matthew's rector invites bids to build a chapel
Rector Joseph W. Murphy's notice of Feb. 25 asked for sealed proposals to build a chapel on a tract near the house of Thomas A. Williams, to plans and specifications he held, with the decision to be made known on March 30.
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A New York lawyer named Beckham buys three pieces of Chapel Hill property
Beckham, a New York lawyer drawn to the University by an article on President Battle, visited Chapel Hill and decided to buy three properties there, including the Guthrie place.
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James B. Mason buys Chapel Hill real estate for Northern investors
Mason, a Chapel Hill lawyer, bought several thousand dollars' worth of Chapel Hill property for Northern men of means, who meant to spend part of each year there.
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Robert Reding, a ruling elder for more than 47 years, dies
A church session's tribute dated Feb. 8, 1891 records the death of Robert Reding, its oldest member, who had been a Christian for more than 61 years and a ruling elder for more than 47.
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A mad dog bites a boy at Hillsborough and is killed, and a second dog is killed a week later
On Sunday, March 8, a dog thought to be mad bit a boy near the Methodist church and snapped at other dogs about town before it was killed that night at Sam Crawford's while fighting another dog. Crawford's own dog, bitten in that fight, was killed on Monday, March 16 after it showed signs of madness.
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Hillsborough commissioners order dogs kept confined for twenty days
The town board passed an ordinance requiring owners to keep their dogs confined for twenty days from March 14. The mayor was authorized to collect a $2 fine each time a dog ran at large in town.
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Spring term of Orange Superior Court is not held because Judge Boykin is ill
Judge E. T. Boykin, who was to preside, was sick at Graham and did not come. Sheriff Hughes adjourned court from day to day until Wednesday noon, when a telegram said the judge could not come and told him to adjourn for the term.
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The Hillsborough public school opens in the Academy with Miss Laws as teacher
The public school for Hillsborough was set to open in the Academy building on Monday, March 16, with Miss Laws, said to be an excellent teacher, in charge.
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Williamson addresses Hillsborough's Black residents on a Black exhibit at the Raleigh exposition
John H. Williamson, secretary of the North Carolina Colored Industrial Association, spoke on a Friday evening to promote Black participation in the Southern Exposition planned for Raleigh. A club was then organized and officers chosen; their names cannot be read in the surviving copy.
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Alliance lecturer Terrell addresses Orange farmers at the court house
A Farmers' Alliance lecturer named Terrell, announced as coming from Texas, spoke for nearly two hours in the Hillsborough court house to a large audience of farmers and leading men. W. C. Cole, president of the Orange County Alliance, introduced him.
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County commissioners name tax listers and assessors for each township
At their Monday meeting the Orange County commissioners appointed three list takers and assessors for each township. Hillsborough township got W. M. Jones, John T. Hogan and S. T. Forrest.
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James T. Rosemond of Hillsborough is named a United States commissioner
Judge Dick appointed Rosemond a United States commissioner.
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Hillsborough re-elects Mayor Joseph A. Harris and chooses a seven-man town board
Harris, the editor of the Observer, won the Monday town election as mayor. The new board was James Webb Jr., James A. Cheek, S. J. Lynch, H. N. Brown Jr., H. L. Faucette, O. D. Hooker and T. C. Hayes.
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County commissioners license John U. Smith of Raleigh to sell liquor by the quart in Hillsborough
The commissioners met at the court house on Monday, visited the poor house on Tuesday, and that afternoon granted state and county licenses to sell liquor by the measure from a quart upward. Smith said he would open July 1 in a house he bought from Charles Smith, next door to Faucette's shoe shop.
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Hillsborough's town board votes 4 to 3 against a liquor license for John U. Smith
Smith of Raleigh brought petitions from many citizens asking to retail liquor in the town, and Major John W. Graham and C. E. Parish spoke for him. James Webb Jr. moved to grant the license, but the board refused by four votes to three.
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A coal car axle breaks and wrecks seven freight cars west of Hillsborough
On Saturday an axle on a coal car broke as a freight train ran down a sharp grade on the North Carolina Railroad a few miles west of town. Seven cars were wrecked, the track was torn up, and the passenger train passed on a temporary track about six hours late. Hal Bullock, a Black brakeman, was slightly hurt.
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Caldwell Institute holds its commencement through a week of rain
Rev. Mr. Crawford of Trinity College preached on Wednesday and spoke Thursday morning, W. W. Kitchin of the Roxboro bar gave the Thursday address and presented the medals, and pupils gave essays, music and dialogues that night. A correspondent credited Principal J. H. McCracken with building a school of about 80 pupils and a new schoolhouse in a year.
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Hillsborough's A.M.E. church makes a second appeal for money to finish its repairs
The pastor, P. J. Jordan, asked friends of the congregation for funds to complete long-needed repairs to the church. The editor added a note backing the appeal and saying the people who worship there deserved help.
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Commissioners and justices decline money for the Raleigh exposition and set the 1891 county levy
Meeting in joint session, the commissioners and justices voted unanimously not to give money to the Southern Inter-State Exposition at Raleigh. They also voted 13 to 2 to work the public roads by an alternative system, with a special road tax of 7 cents on the $100, and set a county tax of 25 cents on the $100 and a $2 poll tax.
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County commissioners license John U. Smith to retail liquor in Hillsborough although the town board did not back him
The county commissioners granted Smith a license to retail liquor in the town. They ruled that the revenue act of the last legislature gave them the right even though the town commissioners had not recommended him. Counsel appeared for Smith and C. D. Turner for the town.
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The Misses Nash and Miss Kollock's school gives a musical entertainment
The Wednesday night entertainment, directed by a music teacher, drew a large audience, and the Observer said it was much enjoyed.
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Cedar Grove Academy holds its 1891 commencement
Rev. L. L. Johnson was to preach the commencement sermon on Sunday, and Judge R. W. Winston and W. W. Kitchin gave addresses. Irene Hughes won the principal's gold medal and C. C. McDade the silver, and the fall term was set to open August 27.
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Chapel Hill citizens organize an association to advertise the village
The association aims to make known Chapel Hill's health, climate and schools. The Observer described it as non-speculative and led by the village's best citizens, and expected it to become an annex of the immigration and Southern Inter-State bureaus at Raleigh.
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University trustees elect George T. Winston to succeed President Battle
At a well attended meeting at Chapel Hill the trustees chose Prof. George Tayloe Winston president of the university. He took the place of Kemp P. Battle, who had resigned to take the chair of history.
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The list of Orange County claimants for the refunded federal direct tax reaches the clerk of court
The list of claimants for the refunded federal direct land tax, covering Orange County as it stood before the 1881 division, was received by the Clerk of the Superior Court. Orange claimants were to receive $14,298.37 in all, and the county list held more than 1,100 names.
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The county Board of Education is sworn in and keeps W. V. Andrews as chairman
The county Board of Education met, took its oath of office before the commissioners' chairman, and re-elected W. V. Andrews chairman for two years. The new board was made up entirely of the old members: Andrews, George J. Faucette and D. S. Parker, with Superintendent John Thompson as secretary.
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The state experiment station director certifies an analysis of the Occoneechee mineral spring water
H. B. Battle, director of the state agricultural experiment station, certified an analysis of the water from the spring on Julian S. Carr's Occoneechee Model Stock Farm, better known as the Norwood Mineral Spring. The paper added that Carr had already put a rustic house over the spring and placed seats for visitors.
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A dwelling about a mile and a half east of Hillsborough burns
A dwelling house about a mile and a half east of Hillsborough was destroyed by fire on a Tuesday night. It was insured for $900.
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The Orange County Farmers' Alliance elects officers and endorses the sub-treasury plan
At its meeting in the court house on Friday, July 10, the Orange County Alliance chose officers for the coming term and adopted resolutions backing the sub-treasury plan and all the Alliance demands.
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A federal hearing at Hillsborough holds William R. Clark for selling liquor without a license
U.S. Commissioner James T. Rosemond heard the government's case against Wm. R. Clark for selling liquor without a license. He held Clark under a $200 bond to answer at the next term of the U.S. Court at Greensboro.
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Col. George W. Tate's map of Orange County is published
Col. George W. Tate had the county map published and told the paper it would soon be ready for delivery. The county justices had voted $250 toward it in June 1890.
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E. F. Crawford of Hillsborough becomes deputy collector for Chatham and Orange
The internal revenue collector for the district dropped two deputies, and E. F. Crawford of Hillsborough became the deputy collector for Chatham and Orange counties.
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University trustees elect Carl Harrington professor of Latin
The University trustees, meeting in Raleigh, elected Prof. Carl Harrington of Wesleyan University in Connecticut to be professor of Latin at Chapel Hill. He was to succeed George T. Winston, who had become president of the University.
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Orange Superior Court opens its summer term under Judge R. W. Winston
The summer term of Orange Superior Court opened on Monday, August 10, with Judge R. W. Winston presiding and Solicitor Parker for the State. The docket held more than 100 cases but only three jail cases, and it combined the business of two terms because the March term had not been held.
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Black Methodists hold a two-day Grand Rally at Hillsborough and raise about $175
The Black Methodist congregation held a Grand Rally on Sunday and Monday, August 30 and 31, and raised about $175. Rev. J. E. Bristowe, pastor of the white Methodist church, was to preach in their church on Sunday afternoon, with seats set aside for white visitors.
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Rev. Y. Yoshioka of Japan lectures at the Hillsborough Methodist church
Rev. Y. Yoshioka, a native of Japan, lectured to a large audience at the Hillsborough Methodist church on Japanese manners and customs and on mission work in Japan. He had been in America only since the previous October, and the paper praised his English.
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Caldwell Institute opens its fall term with about sixty students
Caldwell Institute opened under Principal J. H. McCracken and had about sixty students in its first weeks, with more still arriving. The paper called the school's prospects very bright.
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County authorities refuse to pay for an Orange exhibit at the Southern Exposition
The county authorities voted unanimously not to appropriate any money for an Orange County exhibit at the Southern Inter-State Exposition at Raleigh. The paper said that any display from the county would have to be paid for by private citizens.
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Paul C. Cameron's heirs establish ten scholarships at the University
The heirs of the late Paul C. Cameron set up ten Cameron scholarships at the University of North Carolina as a memorial to him. The Raleigh News and Observer, quoted by the Observer, called him a friend and benefactor of the University for over half a century.
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Sherman Snipes is convicted of highway robbery at the August term
Sherman Snipes, a Black youth reported as about 14 or 15, was found guilty of highway robbery at the August term and sentenced to the penitentiary. He had been arrested in July for taking money from an elderly farmer on the road near Hillsborough.
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The Bingham School post office is discontinued and its mail sent to Mebane
A school post office in Orange County was discontinued, and mail for it was to be addressed to Mebane. The post office appears to be the one at Bingham School, which left for Asheville in 1891.
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The University opens its fall term with President Winston's first address to the students
The University of North Carolina opened on Thursday, September 3, with a flattering turnout and more than 100 freshmen among those registered. President George T. Winston spoke to the students in Memorial Hall about the changes and new rules.
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A new tobacco barn full of tobacco burns in Cedar Grove Township
A new tobacco barn belonging to Col. W. G. Robson of Cedar Grove Township was destroyed by fire on Saturday morning, September 12. It was full of good tobacco.
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The Orange County Teachers' Institute meets at Hillsborough under Prof. E. A. Alderman
The county Teachers' Institute opened at Hillsborough on Monday, September 21, conducted by Prof. E. A. Alderman, and ran through the week. Teachers were required by law to attend, and Alderman was to give a public address on Friday, September 25.
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A new station house is finished at University Station
A new station house was finished at University Station on the North Carolina Railroad, ending the use of a box car for travelers to Chapel Hill. The Durham Sun, quoted by the Observer, called it small but as neat as any on the line.
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Julian S. Carr rebuilds the Occoneechee mineral spring with a marble basin and a rustic spring house
On his new Occoneechee Farm, Carr had the old mineral spring cleaned out and extended, set a marble basin in it, laid a cement floor and covered it with a rustic spring house with seats for visitors. The Orange County Observer described the finished work in September 1891.
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Several cases of fever are reported among Black residents at Cheek's Crossing
Several cases of fever were reported among the Black residents at Cheek's Crossing near Hillsborough. Three weeks later the paper noted one or two mild cases of fever in town.
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The pianist known as Blind Tom is billed for a concert at Masonic Hall
The pianist known as Blind Tom, advertised as a musical prodigy and described as traveling under the care of his former owner's widow, was billed for a concert at the Masonic Hall. A later issue speaks of a large audience.
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University enrollment reaches 231, with 53 reading law
By mid-September the University of North Carolina had 231 students, 53 of them reading law. The paper hoped to see 500 students by the start of the next year.
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George T. Winston is inaugurated as president of the University of North Carolina
Winston is installed at a public inauguration at Chapel Hill. Col. Thomas S. Kenan of the Alumni Association presides because the governor is detained, the president of Wake Forest opens with prayer, and Johns Hopkins president Gilman and editor Walter Page give addresses. The retiring president, Kemp P. Battle, briefly reviews the university's history.
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Orange Superior Court opens its fall term with Judge Winston presiding
The fall term opened on a Monday with a state docket, a civil docket and an appearance docket to work through. The county commissioners had drawn the jurors at their meeting the week before.
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Royal Arch Masons reorganize Lafayette Chapter at Hillsborough
On an order from the Grand High Priest, the companions of Lafayette Chapter met in their hall with visiting companions from Greensboro and Durham, reorganized the chapter and elected officers. Working under a dispensation, the chapter then received petitions and conferred the degrees on eight men.
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Orange Superior Court quashes an indictment of the Durham Fertilizer Company because a grand juror had not paid his taxes
At the fall term the state's case against the Durham Fertilizer Co., charged with shipping fertilizer without tags, is thrown out on the defendant's motion. One of the grand jurors who found the bill had not paid his taxes for 1884, and the company is discharged.
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Rev. J. M. Lowder preaches his first sermon as pastor of the Hillsborough Circuit
The new Methodist pastor preaches at the Hillsborough church on Sunday morning, and that night his predecessor, Rev. J. E. Bristowe, preaches his farewell sermon before leaving for the Aurora Circuit.
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Rev. Joseph W. Murphy resigns as rector of St. Matthew's Church because of ill health
Murphy tells the vestry that poor health forces him to give up the parish, to take effect on Easter Monday. The vestry first asks him to withdraw the resignation and wait until the Easter meeting, but he repeats that the change is necessary, and the vestry accepts it, effective April 18, 1892.
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A model sheep fold is finished at Julian S. Carr's Occoneechee Farm
The sheep house at Occoneechee Farm is described as just completed: a frame building closed on the north, east and west and open to the south, with a hay rick down the middle of the first floor, feeding troughs, separate pens for parts of the flock, and a picket-fenced yard. A trench of packed stone under the fence guards against dogs.
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The county commissioners advertise for bids to build a bridge near Dimmock's Mill
A notice signed by commissioner D. H. Hamilton says the board will let the contract for a bridge near Dimmock's Mill to the lowest bidder on the first Monday in January 1892, with specifications available from him. A week earlier the paper had said the public bridge at the head of the mill pond needed the commissioners' attention.
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The county commissioners meet and call a joint meeting with the magistrates for January
At their December meeting the commissioners pass on the bonds of officials due for renewal, hear reports from various officers, and call a joint meeting of the magistrates and commissioners for the first Monday in January 1892 to take up matters of importance to the county.
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County commissioners elect Dr. D. C. Parris coroner
The coroner, Dr. A. C. Jordan, did not qualify for the office, so the Board of Commissioners chose Dr. D. C. Parris to fill the vacancy at its Monday meeting.
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Magistrates and commissioners decline a new plan for working the county roads
At a called joint meeting the plan the commissioners proposed for working the public roads was not adopted. The alternative plan adopted the previous June stayed in force.
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W. S. Snipes opens Cedar Grove Academy's spring term as its new principal
Cedar Grove Academy opened its spring term on Monday under a new principal, W. S. Snipes, a University of North Carolina graduate. The school's notice said competent assistants would be employed.
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Joseph A. Harris Jr. opens a store in the old Brown building near the court house
Joseph A. Harris Jr. opened a store in the corner building by the court house that H. N. Brown Jr. & Bro. had used, and was receiving his stock and getting ready for business.
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The Orange County Observer moves its office to rooms over Joseph A. Harris Jr.'s store
The Orange County Observer moved its printing office in late January 1892 to new quarters over Joseph A. Harris Jr.'s store, opposite the court house.
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W. A. Hayes buys Dr. O. Hooker's drug business at Hillsborough
Dr. O. Hooker sold his drug business to W. A. Hayes. By the end of January Hayes had moved his stock into the store Hooker had used.
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Miles Toomer, a Black man, is found fatally burned near the Methodist church in Hillsborough
Toomer was found on the night of Saturday, February 13, with his clothing almost entirely burned away, and he died. Coroner Dr. D. C. Parris called a jury, which heard witnesses Monday and Tuesday, and Lewis Ruffin was sent to jail on Tuesday night.
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Coroner's jury holds Lewis Ruffin for a higher court in the death of Miles Toomer
On Monday, February 22, the jury found that Toomer died of burns, with the origin of the fire unknown to it. On the alleged confession of Lewis Ruffin it found cause to hold him for a higher court, and he was returned to jail to await the grand jury of the March term.
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County commissioners award the contract for a new bridge near Dimmock's Mill to A. J. Gordon
The contract for a wholly new bridge near Dimmock's Mill went to A. J. Gordon. The timbers were to be first-class heart pine, with flooring of white or post oak.
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A freight car loaded with cotton burns at University Station
A car of cotton attached to a freight train burned at University Station on Friday, March 4. The cars behind it were uncoupled before the fire spread to them.
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Orange County Sunday School Convention meets at the Hillsborough Baptist church
The county convention of Sunday schools met in Hillsborough on Saturday, March 12, with reports from 21 schools. It elected officers, with J. W. Gore of Chapel Hill as president, and named delegates to the state convention at New Bern.
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Orange County citizens ratify the People's Party platform at Hillsborough
A large gathering met in Masonic Hall, adopted the People's Party platform without dissent after some debate, and named a county executive committee with one member from each township. Thomas J. Oldham chaired and A. P. Cates was secretary.
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Hillsborough's Black baseball club beats Chapel Hill's Black club
The Black baseball clubs of Chapel Hill and Hillsborough played a match game at Chapel Hill, and the Hillsborough club won, scoring 19 runs.
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Hard frost kills most of the fruit around Hillsborough
Cold and frost on the nights of April 9 and 10 killed nearly all the fruit around Hillsborough and badly damaged the early vegetables.
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People's Party holds township meetings across Orange County
At Hillsborough the party met at the court house with S. T. Forrest in the chair and J. F. McAdams as secretary, chose delegates to the county convention, and organized a township executive committee. Meetings in Little River and Cedar Grove townships the same day were said to be about as well attended as such meetings usually are.
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Orange Democrats hold county convention and bar two People's Party delegates
The Democratic county convention met at the court house with every township represented and Sheriff J. K. Hughes in the chair. Two delegates who said they stood on the St. Louis platform and would vote for no one outside it, Thomas J. Oldham and W. Jesse Morrow, were declared ineligible, and delegates to the congressional and state conventions were chosen.
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Fire destroys C. L. Lindsay's stable at Chapel Hill
A night fire burned a large stable at Chapel Hill kept by C. L. Lindsay to the ground. The paper put the loss at $2,000 to $3,000.
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Caldwell Institute holds its 1892 closing exercises
Over two days the school held a lecture, a pupils' concert with recitations and a calisthenics drill, an address, and a medal presentation, including a scholarship medal given by Julian S. Carr. A correspondent called the evening crowd the largest ever at Caldwell.
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Three young men are held for the grand jury on a charge of burning Lindsay's stable
At a hearing before Justice J. H. Watson at Chapel Hill, three young Black men were charged with burning C. L. Lindsay's stable. The evidence was judged enough to hold each for the grand jury at the next Superior Court, and they were jailed at Hillsborough.
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Orange justices and commissioners set the 1892 levy and elect John Thompson school superintendent
At the annual joint meeting of the justices of the peace and the county commissioners, with Major D. H. Hamilton in the chair, the county and road tax rates were set and John Thompson was elected county superintendent of public education without opposition.
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Orange People's Party holds its county convention and votes to nominate a full county ticket
About 150 members met at the court house. A delegate convention chaired by A. P. Cates chose ten delegates to the district convention at Durham, and a mass meeting under E. H. Wilson voted unanimously to put up a full county ticket and favored a full state ticket.
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Orange County People's Party holds its county convention and names a ticket
The party met at the court house in Hillsborough and nominated E. C. Thompson of Hillsborough township for sheriff and D. M. Sykes for treasurer. It also chose delegates to the party's senatorial convention at Prospect Hill and its State convention at Raleigh, and left the choice of a surveyor to the county executive committee.
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Orange County Democrats hold their county convention and name a ticket
Meeting at the court house, the convention chose C. W. Johnston of Chapel Hill township as chairman and Joseph A. Harris as secretary. It nominated Hughes for sheriff, John Laws for register of deeds, D. M. Laws for treasurer, Dr. D. C. Parris for coroner and George W. Tate for surveyor, named James Norwood for the House, and recommended Thomas M. Cheek for the district's Senate seat. A resolution also asked the governor to appoint Maj. John W. Graham to the Supreme Court seat left empty by the death of Justice Davis.
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Hillsborough Democrats organize a Cleveland and Carr Club
About fifty Democrats met at the court house, adopted a constitution and by-laws, enrolled as members and chose C. E. Parish president. The club voted to join the State Association of Democratic Clubs and to meet every Tuesday night at the court house.
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Hillsborough's liquor suit against John U. Smith is compromised and dismissed at the August court
At the August term of Orange Superior Court, which opened Monday, August 8, the town's case against John U. Smith ended in a compromise and dismissal, with the costs charged to Smith. The case concerned his selling liquor in town without a town license.
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Black Republicans meet apart after the county convention and name John M. Whitted for the House
As soon as the Republican convention adjourned, the court house bell called a second meeting of Black men who said they had not been treated fairly by the party's "ring." The meeting nominated John M. Whitted for the House of Representatives, and Loudon A. Whitted and Swain Kirkland spoke and pledged him their support.
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Orange County Republicans hold their county convention
The convention met at the court house with mostly Black delegates and chose Henry N. Brown Sr. as chairman. It nominated Walter C. Lloyd for treasurer and James N. Parker for coroner, both of Chapel Hill township, sent James A. Cheek and Thomas F. Lloyd to the State convention, and left the surveyor's nomination to the county executive committee.
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Democrats of the 18th Senatorial District meet at Hillsborough and nominate two candidates for the State Senate
Delegates from Alamance, Caswell, Durham and Orange met in Hillsborough. H. A. Reams of Durham presided and Joseph A. Harris of the Observer was secretary. Thomas M. Cheek of Orange and a Burch of Alamance were nominated by acclamation, and Maj. John W. Graham and Reams made speeches.
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Hillsborough organizes a local Bible society after a visit from the American Bible Society's district superintendent
The Rev. Dr. Law, district superintendent of the American Bible Society, preached at the Methodist church and explained the society's work, after which a local society was organized. A secretary and treasurer were chosen, members signed up, and others were told they could join through the secretary.
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Durham school principal James A. Whitted is buried at Hillsborough
Prof. James A. Whitted, principal of Durham's Black graded school, died at Durham on October 20 and was brought to Hillsborough for burial the next day. The Observer quoted the Durham Globe on the respect he held among both white and Black residents and noted his many relatives and friends in Orange County.
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People's Party holds a parade and speaking at Hillsborough
About 163 mounted supporters took part in a People's Party parade at Hillsborough on Friday, October 28. The party's candidate for governor, Wyatt P. Exum, did not appear; elector candidate James M. Templeton spoke for nearly two hours in the court house.
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Hillsborough's mayor resigns and the town board fills the office twice in three days
At a called meeting on Saturday, October 29, Mayor W. H. Newman resigned and Commissioner James Parks was elected mayor. On Monday, October 31, Parks resigned as well, and the board unanimously elected a successor to fill both vacancies. The Observer headed the item as three mayors in three days.
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Orange County Democrats hold a mounted parade and rally at Hillsborough
On Tuesday, November 1, delegations from the county's Democratic clubs rode into Hillsborough and paraded down Churton Street behind a Kernersville brass band, with C. M. Parks as chief marshal and more than 330 riders in line. Fabius H. Busbee and Charles B. Aycock spoke; Julian S. Carr was called north and did not appear.
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A deep snow and a hard freeze bring Hillsborough its coldest weather since
Ten to twelve inches of snow fell on Hillsborough on December 27, 1892, and two days later the thermometer stood about six degrees below zero, the coldest weather since the winter of 1880-81. The snow lasted until a hard rain melted most of it on New Year's Day.
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Rev. P. J. Jordan is ordered away from the Hillsborough A.M.E. church after two years as pastor
On leaving, the Rev. P. J. Jordan publicly thanked Hillsborough's white residents for their support during his two years as pastor of the A.M.E. church; the annual conference under Bishop W. J. Gaines had ordered him to a new charge.
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Rev. D. N. Caviness takes charge of the Hillsborough Methodist church
Rev. D. N. Caviness came to Hillsborough as the new pastor of the Methodist church, which he served together with Cedar Grove, and was to preach his first sermons there on January 8, 1893.
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Dr. William Cameron, Hillsborough physician and Confederate battery commander, dies
Dr. William Cameron, a Hillsborough physician who had raised and commanded an artillery battery at the start of the Civil War, died at his home in Hillsborough on the night of February 6, 1893. He was buried from St. Matthew's Church on February 8.
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A westbound freight train wrecks by the Eno bridge at the Hillsborough depot
About 5 a.m. on February 13, 1893, a westbound freight train wrecked just before it reached the bridge over the Eno at the Hillsborough depot, smashing several box cars loaded with freight. The track was open again within a few hours.
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Rebecca Cameron opens an Orange County subscription for the state Confederate monument
Rebecca Cameron of Hillsborough, Orange County vice president of the North Carolina Monumental Association, issued a public appeal on March 6, 1893, for county gifts to the Confederate monument planned at Raleigh, to which the legislature had given $10,000. She asked donors to send the names of family members who had served, with gifts taken at the Observer office, the Superior Court clerk's office or by mail.
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John Alston pleads guilty in the arson case over E. H. Cooley's property and gets ten years
At the spring term of Orange Superior Court, John Alston, a Black man indicted for arson for setting fire to property of E. H. Cooley, was allowed to plead guilty on March 23, 1893, and Judge H. R. Bryan sentenced him to ten years at hard labor in the state penitentiary. The court had not sat the day before because the judge fell suddenly ill.
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Forest fire destroys Eno Presbyterian Church
Wind-driven woods fires on Saturday, April 1, 1893 burned the Eno Presbyterian church and its session house at the old site near the river. The loss preceded the congregation's move to Cedar Grove, where it built again in 1897 to 1899.
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The Orange County Farmers' Alliance condemns legislators who voted to repeal the State Alliance charter
A committee of the Orange County Farmers' Alliance adopted resolutions calling the legislature's bill to repeal the State Farmers' Alliance charter a scheme to destroy the order and declaring the members who voted for it unworthy of the farmers' support. The resolutions went to the Observer, the Progressive Farmer and the Caucasian.
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UNC Greek professor Eben Alexander is appointed United States minister to Greece
President Cleveland appointed Eben Alexander, professor of Greek at the university, minister to Greece. Alexander left Chapel Hill for his post in June, while his wife and daughter stayed until after commencement.
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Hillsborough re-elects Mayor Joseph A. Harris and chooses a new town board
Hillsborough voters re-elected Joseph A. Harris mayor on May 1, although he had announced that he was not a candidate, and chose seven town commissioners. The new board organized the next day, electing Eugene L. Haskell clerk and E. A. Rosemond treasurer and keeping John Christmas as town constable.
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Caldwell Institute holds its commencement, with an address by Trinity College president John F. Crowell
Caldwell Institute closed its session on May 18 before a large crowd. Rev. J. N. Cole of Raleigh preached the commencement sermon, Trinity College president John F. Crowell spoke on the restoration of rural life, and the school awarded its medals, one of them given in memory of a former student.
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Jefferson Davis's funeral train passes through Hillsborough without stopping
People from the town and the countryside waited at the Hillsborough depot most of the morning of May 30 to see the train carrying Jefferson Davis's remains to Richmond, and were disappointed when it went through at full speed. Several Hillsborough residents attended the ceremonies at Raleigh the same day.
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Former solicitor Isaac R. Strayhorn dies near Hillsborough
Isaac R. Strayhorn, a Hillsborough lawyer and former solicitor, died of pneumonia at his home a short distance from town. He was buried from New Hope Presbyterian Church on May 23.
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Orange County builds a new bridge over the Eno near Hillsborough
The county commissioners advertised in March for bids on a new bridge over the Eno, let the contract in early April, and by late May the bridge was going up near Hillsborough.
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Orange justices and commissioners elect a new county Board of Education
At their joint meeting on June 5, Orange County's justices and commissioners set the county levy, laid no road tax, and elected a Board of Education of George Faucette, J. W. Cole and J. M. Monk. Faucette carried over from the old board, and Cole and Monk replaced W. V. Andrews and one other member.
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Hillsborough merchants Ellen, Koplon & Brother assign their business to a trustee
The Hillsborough dry goods and grocery firm of Ellen, Koplon & Brother made an assignment for its creditors to trustee T. A. Faucette, and the sheriff took possession of the store and its stock. Faucette then advertised the goods for sale at cost.
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Lisbon P. Berry organizes a Sunday school for Black residents at Hillsborough
Lisbon P. Berry, state missionary for the Presbyterian Board of Sabbath School Work and Publication, organized a Sunday school for Black residents of Hillsborough after Rev. L. D. Twine of Durham preached twice in the session room of the Presbyterian church. William Faucette was chosen superintendent, Haywood Boland assistant superintendent and Annie Berry secretary.
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A summer drought damages crops across Orange County
Dry spells in July and again in mid-August hurt crops and gardens in parts of the county, and Cedar Grove reported its crops suffering for rain. The best rain in months fell at Hillsborough on August 23.
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The Hillsboro Exchange becomes an incorporated company under manager O. J. Forrest
The Hillsboro Exchange, a cooperative store in Hillsborough, became an incorporated company with O. J. Forrest as manager. The paper said it was still selling a large amount of goods in spite of the hard times.
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Frank Yun, a Korean educated in Georgia and at Vanderbilt, lectures on Korea at the Hillsborough Methodist church
Frank Yun, a native of Korea educated at Oxford, Georgia, and at Vanderbilt University and about to go home for church work, lectured on Korea's government, customs and people at the Methodist church in Hillsborough. He charged no admission and asked only for a collection.
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The Orange County Sunday School Association holds its fourth annual convention at Hillsborough
The Orange County Sunday School Association held its fourth annual convention at the Methodist church in Hillsborough, with reports from the county's Sunday schools, the election of officers and talks by ministers and laymen. The paper called it well attended.
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The Orange County bar meets to honor the late Isaac R. Strayhorn
Lawyers at the August term of Superior Court met at the court house in Hillsborough and adopted resolutions in memory of Isaac R. Strayhorn, praising his service as a soldier, as state senator for the district and as solicitor, and asked that the tribute be entered in the court's minutes.
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Fire destroys James A. Cheek's ice house at Hillsborough
An ice house belonging to James A. Cheek burned about five o'clock in the morning. A good rain was falling, which may have kept the fire from spreading to the other house on the place; the cause was not known.
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A late-August gale blows down trees and damages corn and tobacco in Orange County
A storm of high wind and heavy rain blew down trees in Hillsborough and across the county and damaged the standing corn and tobacco, though it also ended the summer drought.
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A new preparatory school for Chapel Hill elects Jerome Stockard principal
Chapel Hill settled on having a high-grade preparatory school to feed the university, and Professor Jerome Stockard was elected its principal, with the academy to open at the start of the fall term.
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Weldon M. Strowd replaces J. F. Shumaker as postmaster at University Station
Weldon M. Strowd was appointed postmaster at University Station in place of J. F. Shumaker, who had been removed from the office after his arrest in August.
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The Orange County Board of Health elects Dr. C. D. Jones superintendent of health over Dr. D. C. Parris
Meeting at the court house in Hillsborough, the county Board of Health chose Dr. C. D. Jones county superintendent of health on the second ballot after a tie with Dr. D. C. Parris, who had held the post for several years. The board then elected Parris its president and Jones its secretary.
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Lemuel Lynch, Hillsborough's first mayor and its oldest citizen, dies
Lemuel Lynch, the Hillsborough silversmith who had been the town's first mayor, died at his home after a long illness in his 86th year; the paper believed him Hillsborough's oldest citizen. His funeral was held from the Presbyterian church the next afternoon.
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David Craig, for many years an elder of New Hope church, dies
David Craig died at his home near New Hope church. He had been a leading ruling elder of the New Hope Presbyterian congregation for many years.
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Eugene L. Hassell takes charge of the Hillsborough post office and moves it to Churton Street
After a summer-long contest in which an earlier appointee, Mr. Parrish, was never commissioned, Eugene L. Hassell received his commission as Hillsborough postmaster in succession to Nate W. Brown. He took charge at once and moved the office into the Churton Street building occupied by James Webb, just south of Maj. John W. Graham's law office.
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Heavy rains wash out parts of the University Railroad
Heavy September rains did damage around Hillsborough, and washouts badly damaged the University Railroad, the branch line between University Station and Chapel Hill.
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Fire destroys Major John W. Graham's house at Montrose
Major John W. Graham's house east of Hillsborough burned to the ground on the night of October 19, with almost nothing saved and no insurance on a loss of about $15,000. It was the second Graham house lost to fire on the Montrose site, after the governor's house in 1862; the family moved into the old law office until the present house was built.
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Jackson Crabtree's Hillsboro Roller Mills starts grinding flour
The Hillsboro Roller Mills, a new flour mill owned by Jackson Crabtree, started its machinery after about five weeks of building. The Salem Machine Works of Salem, Virginia, built and started the mill, and its first run turned out three grades of flour.
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Superior Court convicts Umstead Jones of second-degree murder for killing Bob Morrow
At the fall term of Orange Superior Court a jury found Umstead Jones, a Black man, guilty of second-degree murder for killing Bob Morrow, also Black, with a mattock. Judge George H. Brown Jr. sentenced him to twenty years at hard labor in the state penitentiary, and Sheriff John K. Hughes took him to Raleigh on November 6.
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A. P. Burch and Brother of Chapel Hill make an assignment for their creditors
The Chapel Hill firm of A. P. Burch and Brother made an assignment for the benefit of its creditors. The partners gave up all their property and did not even keep the homestead exemption the law allowed them.
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Hillsborough's town commissioners levy the 1893 town tax
At their regular meeting the town commissioners set the 1893 town tax on real and personal property and on each poll. One commissioner resigned at the same meeting, and the board put off choosing his successor until its next meeting.
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The Hillsboro Book Store moves into new quarters on Churton Street
The Hillsboro Book Store moved into new quarters on Churton Street with a new glass front trimmed in white and red. The paper called it one of the neatest places in town.
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Fire destroys E. A. Rosemond's warehouse and livery stable and a Churton Street store in Hillsborough
A Saturday night fire destroyed E. A. Rosemond's wooden warehouse and livery stable, with buggies, feed, guano and salt, and the two-story wooden building on Churton Street occupied by the merchants Newman & Smith. Bucket lines and a brick wall stopped it from spreading through the business district, while neighbors carried out a law library, the post office, a barber shop and store stocks.
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Rev. James E. Fogartie resigns the Chapel Hill Presbyterian pastorate
The Rev. Mr. Fogartie resigned as pastor of the Presbyterian church at Chapel Hill to go to Greenwood, South Carolina.
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Thomas F. Lloyd buys the Farmers' Alliance store at Chapel Hill
Thomas F. Lloyd bought the Alliance store at Chapel Hill and hired S. W. Andrews to run it for him.
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University trustees make the Law School a regular department
The university trustees made the Law School a regular department on the same footing as the others. At the same meeting they authorized and funded a four-week summer course open to both sexes and adopted a plan to raise a library endowment.
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Isaac Ellen of the Hillsborough firm Ellen, Koplon & Brother dies
Isaac Ellen, a partner in the Hillsborough merchants Ellen, Koplon & Brother, died at his home on Churton Street after the grippe turned to spinal meningitis. His body was taken to Durham the next morning.
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Townspeople save the Hillsborough Baptist parsonage from fire
Fire from a stove pipe caught the Baptist parsonage, home of John H. Roach's family, and was put out when neighbors tore up the tin roof and poured on buckets of water. The paper noted that the town had no fire company and fought fires with buckets alone.
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The grand jury refuses to indict William Merritt on a charge of trying to wreck a train
The Orange grand jury returned no true bill against William Merritt, a white man accused of trying to wreck a North Carolina Railroad train between Hillsborough and Efland on December 13, 1893.
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James Jones pleads guilty to second-degree murder for killing Robert Haithcock
At the spring term of Orange Superior Court James Jones, a Black man, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Robert Haithcock, also Black, whom he had shot in Cedar Grove township on January 28, and was sentenced to thirty years in the state penitentiary.
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Hard freezes kill the fruit and early vegetables around Hillsborough
Severe freezes on the nights of Monday and Tuesday, March 26 and 27, killed all the fruit and early vegetables around Hillsborough, part of a cold snap that ruined the fruit crop across the South.
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The law firm of Merritt, Bryant & Merritt opens an office in Hillsborough
The Roxboro law firm of J. S. Merritt and Victor S. Bryant took in William D. Merritt, a new graduate of the university law school, and opened an office in Hillsborough on King Street next to the Observer printing office, where William D. Merritt was to be at all times. William D. Merritt was admitted to practice at the March term of court.
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Eight men convicted in federal court of selling liquor without a license are jailed at Hillsborough
A deputy marshal brought eight prisoners from the United States court at Greensboro to the Hillsborough jail to serve sentences for retailing liquor without a license. Seven had sold at Chapel Hill and one at Hillsborough; L. Graham Sykes drew the longest term, ten months and a fine.
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Fire destroys Frank Smith's sawmill in Cedar Grove township
Fire destroyed Frank Smith's steam sawmill in Cedar Grove township, and he lost a good deal of lumber and about ten thousand shingles.
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Orange County Populists meet at Hillsborough to debate fusion with the Republicans
Populists meeting at Hillsborough debated fusing with Orange County's Republicans, adjourned without a decision and named a committee to call another meeting. The Observer heard that most Populists favored fusion.
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Hillsborough elects former Republican postmaster N. W. Brown mayor
Hillsborough's town election made N. W. Brown mayor and chose seven commissioners, among them W. H. Newman, E. A. Rosemond, Dr. J. S. Spurgeon, J. G. Cooley and James A. Cheek. The new board met the next day and made John Hayes constable and Rosemond treasurer.
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Henrietta Ellison of Hillsborough's American Missionary Association school wins the Daniel Hand Scholarship
The American Missionary Association's school for Black children at Hillsborough issued its roll of honor, listing pupils from the primary class through the eighth grade, and named Henrietta Ellison winner of the Daniel Hand Scholarship for 1895.
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Caldwell Institute holds its closing exercises
Caldwell Institute closed its session with a sermon by Rev. L. J. Holden and an annual address by Rev. G. T. Watkins on life as a race, then gave the Medal of Progress to A. W. Kinion, a scholarship to Emma Woods and the society medal to F. W. McCracken. Principal J. H. McCracken announced that the next session would open late in August.
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Thomas Webb, former president of the North Carolina Railroad, dies at Hillsborough
Thomas Webb, a Hillsborough lawyer who had been president of the North Carolina Railroad Company and had been helpless from paralysis for years, died at his home in his 67th year. Eagle Lodge buried him with Masonic honors after a service at the Presbyterian church, and the town's stores closed during the funeral.
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Orange County organizes a Vance Memorial Association
A public meeting at the court house formed a temporary Orange County Vance Memorial Association to help raise a memorial to the late Senator Zebulon Vance, with D. H. Hamilton as chairman and C. E. Parish as secretary, and named five-man committees to organize associations in each township.
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Orange magistrates turn down the alternative road system and name a township road committee
At their joint meeting the magistrates and county commissioners heard State Geologist J. A. Holmes on improving the public roads, voted down a motion to adopt the alternative system of working the roads, and had the commissioners' chairman name a committee of one man from each township to draw up a road plan with Holmes's help.
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Hillsborough men reorganize the Orange Guards
Men of Hillsborough and the surrounding country met at the court house to reorganize the Orange Guards; with J. G. Cooley in the chair, nearly thirty signed the roll and a committee was named to enlist more members.
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Foster Utley, the university's superintendent of repairs, dies at Chapel Hill
Foster Utley, superintendent of repairs at the University of North Carolina and a Chapel Hill resident for about fifty years, died there at 74. His youngest son, Louis, was chosen to succeed him in keeping the university's buildings and water works in repair.
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Hillsborough's commissioners tax dogs and fine anyone boarding a moving train
Hillsborough's town commissioners levied a tax on each dog in town and passed an ordinance fining anyone one dollar for getting on or off a train in motion at the depot.
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Julian S. Carr's crews build a hay barn and a rustic club house at Occoneechee Farm
Julian S. Carr kept thirty to forty carpenters and painters at work on Occoneechee Farm, where they had lately finished a large hay barn and were building two new houses, a two-room log house and a rustic club house.
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Rev. H. S. Bradshaw takes charge of the Hillsborough, Fairfield and Little River Presbyterian churches
Rev. H. S. Bradshaw of Tennessee arrived in Hillsborough with his family to serve the Hillsborough, Fairfield and Little River Presbyterian churches as stated supply until the fall meeting of Orange Presbytery.
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Surveyor N. A. Ramsey enters unclaimed land near University Station as state land
Surveying land near University Station for B. N. Duke, Capt. N. A. Ramsey found ten to fifteen acres within half a mile of the station that no deed covered and no owner could be traced for, and he entered the tract at Hillsborough as state land.
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Orange County Democrats meet in convention and endorse A. W. Graham for Congress
Democrats from every Orange township met at the court house in Hillsborough with Major John W. Graham presiding, chose delegates to the state, judicial and congressional conventions, and instructed them to vote for Augustus W. Graham of Oxford for Congress. The county executive committee then re-elected Samuel M. Gattis its chairman.
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C. M. Parks lets a contract for a two-story store on Churton Street
Hillsborough merchant C. M. Parks let a contract for a two-story store on Churton Street to James Nichols, a Black builder, who had begun work by mid-July. The finished building stood by late November.
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The Orange County bar meets to honor the late Thomas Webb
During a recess of superior court, lawyers and citizens met under C. E. Parish and adopted resolutions on Thomas Webb, who had died since the spring term after years of paralysis. They recalled his service as clerk and master in equity, as cashier of the savings institution, and as president of the North Carolina Railroad Company during part of the Civil War and for a year after it.
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Orange County Republicans hold their county convention and name a county ticket
Orange County Republicans met in convention at Hillsborough, chose delegates to their state, district and judicial conventions, and nominated a county ticket that included B. E. Teague of Chapel Hill for sheriff and W. R. Faucett for coroner.
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Josiah Turner Jr. announces he will run again for the House seat from which he had been expelled
In a letter to the Observer, Josiah Turner Jr. told Orange voters he was a candidate to reclaim his vacant seat in the state House, saying he had been expelled not for any crime but for naming Democrats and Republicans who had shared in the Reconstruction railroad bond frauds. He promised to tell the rest during the canvass.
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Orange County Democrats nominate D. C. Parks for the House and a full county ticket
The Democratic county convention, meeting at the court house under chairman Matthew Atwater, nominated David C. Parks for the state House, Samuel M. Gattis for clerk of superior court, John K. Hughes for sheriff, John Laws for register of deeds, D. M. Laws for treasurer, Dr. D. C. Parris for coroner and Col. George W. Tate for surveyor. It also ordered a party vote at every precinct on election day to record Orange Democrats' choice for the two United States Senate seats, and bound its House nominee to vote for the winners.
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Democrats of the 18th Senatorial District meet at Hillsborough and nominate R. H. Boone and E. L. Mitchell
Democrats from Alamance, Caswell, Durham and Orange met at the court house in Hillsborough under district chairman H. A. Reams and nominated R. H. Boone of Durham and E. L. Mitchell of Caswell by acclamation for the district's two state Senate seats.
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The Orange County People's Party nominates its county ticket
After a two-hour caucus in the grand jury room, the People's Party county convention at the court house in Hillsborough nominated a ticket that included Devereux Turner for sheriff, J. W. Hawkins for treasurer and George Crutchfield for surveyor, and left its state Senate choice to the executive committee. A joint debate featuring Rev. P. H. Massey followed.
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Republicans of the 18th Senatorial District meet at Hillsborough and nominate Stephen A. White, leaving the second seat to a Populist
Republicans of the 18th Senatorial District met in convention at Hillsborough and nominated Stephen A. White of Alamance for the state Senate. They left the district's second seat open on the understanding that a Populist would be nominated at Durham. The party's Fifth Judicial District convention met in the town the same day.
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Revenue officers seize James A. Cheek's registered distillery at Hillsborough
A deputy revenue collector seized the registered distillery of James A. Cheek of Hillsborough, the Republican nominee for the legislature, alleging that his warehouse receipts and books did not agree. Cheek's side answered that his son had entered sales in the wrong book.
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H. S. Bradshaw is installed as pastor of Fairfield Presbyterian Church
S. M. Hall of Greensboro installed H. S. Bradshaw as pastor of Fairfield Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning. The same report describes a pastor's installation at the Hillsborough Presbyterian church before a large congregation, with a sermon by D. I. Craig of Reidsville and charges to pastor and people by Hall and Craig.
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Swain Kirkland, a Black man of Orange County, announces his candidacy for the state House
Swain Kirkland, a Black man who had sat on the Orange grand jury that August, announced in a card to the voters that, at the urging of Black men in different parts of the county, he was a candidate for a seat in the state House, and promised to campaign through the fall.
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Congressional candidates Augustus W. Graham and Thomas Settle debate in the Hillsborough court house
Democrat Augustus W. Graham and Republican congressman Thomas Settle held a joint debate in the court house at Hillsborough. After Settle's opening speech many Black and some white Republicans left the room noisily, then came back to cheer his rejoinder before Graham closed the discussion.
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Populist district conventions at Hillsborough nominate William Merritt for Congress and W. P. Bynum Jr. for solicitor
The Third party (Populist) convention of the Fifth Congressional District met at Hillsborough and nominated Dr. William Merritt of Person County for Congress, and a Populist judicial convention the same day named W. P. Bynum Jr. of Guilford, a Republican, for solicitor. Democratic papers charged that Marion Butler had the Merritt nomination made to draw votes from A. W. Graham and help Thomas Settle.
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Mrs. M. L. Taylor takes her sister Emma Pogue into her Hillsborough millinery business
Mrs. M. L. Taylor, who had kept a millinery business at Hillsborough for nearly twenty years, made her sister and longtime assistant Miss Emma Pogue a partner, and the firm became Mrs. M. L. Taylor & Sister.
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Republicans and Populists sweep Orange County's election, leaving the Democrats only the sheriff and register of deeds
Orange County went against the Democrats in the general election: Sheriff John K. Hughes held his office by a plurality of 58, and the official count kept Register of Deeds John Laws in office by seven votes over Henry N. Brown Jr. Republicans won the clerk of court, treasurer, coroner and surveyor offices and the county's House seat, and Thomas Settle beat Augustus W. Graham for Congress in the district.
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New clerk of court D. Frank Crawford and treasurer William F. Jackson take office
The county commissioners accepted the bonds of the newly elected Republican clerk of Superior Court, D. Frank Crawford, and treasurer, William F. Jackson, and both men took up their duties at once, succeeding Democrats Samuel M. Gattis and Dudley M. Laws.
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Thomas W. Holden takes over a flour and saw mill east of Hillsborough
Thomas W. Holden moved his family from High Towers in Caswell County to a mill about two and a half miles east of Hillsborough, where he began making flour and meal and set about repairing the saw mill.
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Orange County citizens organize corn relief for drought-stricken Nebraska
A meeting at the Hillsborough court house organized relief for drought-stricken Nebraska farmers and named committees in every township to collect corn and seed, not money, for delivery to Charles S. Cooley at Hillsboro by February 5. By February 9 Cooley had received more than 200 bushels, with more held up by bad roads.
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S. T. Forrest withdraws from the Hillsboro Exchange
S. T. Forrest withdrew from the Hillsboro Exchange, leaving O. J. Forrest to settle its accounts and carry on the business at the same stand on King Street.
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S. T. Forrest & Co. open a general store at Efland
S. T. Forrest & Co. opened a general store at Efland with a fair stock of merchandise, soon after Forrest left the Hillsboro Exchange.
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The Fusion legislature names new magistrates for Orange County's townships
The Republican and Populist legislature elected a slate of new justices of the peace for each Orange County township under its county government act, nearly all of them Republicans and Populists, and the new magistrates began taking the oath in early April.
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University enrollment reaches 403, passing the antebellum record
President George T. Winston reported to the trustees that the university's roll held 403 students in its centennial year, two more than its largest enrollment before the Civil War, drawn from 72 North Carolina counties and a dozen states.
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Fire destroys C. B. Grimes's shuttle factory near the Hillsborough depot
Fire destroyed C. B. Grimes's shuttle factory near the railroad station, burning about $2,500 worth of shuttle blocks and damaging the engine, while hundreds of townspeople looked on with no buckets or ladders to fight it. Sparks set the depot warehouse and, that night, the old H. P. Jones factory alight, but both were saved.
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John Crawford opens a grocery store opposite the Hillsborough court house
John Crawford opened a grocery store opposite the west side of the court house, one door north of Laws's furniture store, and the paper reported his trade growing.
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G. E. Thurston succeeds J. W. Massey as the Southern Railway agent at Hillsborough
The Southern Railway transferred its Hillsborough station agent, J. W. Massey, to Selma and put his brother-in-law G. E. Thurston of Raleigh in charge of the Hillsborough station.
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James Webb Jr. and Allen J. Ruffin hire an architect for a cotton mill at Hillsborough
James Webb Jr. and his partner Allen J. Ruffin went to Providence, Rhode Island, and engaged an architect named Makepeace, a native North Carolinian, to design their Hillsborough cotton factory. The mill was to stand on the knoll just west of the Southern Railway station, with brickmaking to start at once and building the next spring.
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Orange County farmers organize a Farmers' Mutual Insurance association
A Farmers' Mutual Insurance association was organized in Orange County to insure isolated farm property at cost, with Matthew Atwater as president, John K. Hughes as secretary and treasurer, and supervisors for the townships. Its agent's illness held up the work until January 1896, when R. S. Phipps and C. F. Webster took the agency and began writing policies.
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James A. Wilkerson gets four years for the Cedar Grove robberies
At the fall term of Orange Superior Court, James A. Wilkerson, a white man from Cedar Grove, pleaded guilty to larceny and receiving in three cases and was sentenced to four years at hard labor in the state penitentiary. Four Black men and a white man tried at the same term for larceny and receiving were found not guilty, and another Cedar Grove larceny case was continued when no jury could be seated.
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N. W. Brown's suit to unseat Hillsborough mayor Joseph A. Harris goes forward in superior court
At the fall term of Orange Superior Court, Judge Starbuck overruled the demurrer in a suit brought by N. W. Brown, the defeated Republican candidate for mayor of Hillsborough, and gave leave to answer within 30 days. Brown asked the court to declare the office vacant because mayor-elect Joseph A. Harris had not filed an itemized statement of his election expenses within ten days of the election, as the law required.
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Superior court disposes of the charge of setting fire to the University Station depot
At the fall term of Orange Superior Court, a man named Shumaker, charged with setting fire to the depot at University Station, submitted, and judgment was suspended on payment of the costs.
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Chapel Hill mayor John H. Watson dies in office
John H. Watson, mayor of Chapel Hill and for about 20 years a justice of the peace, died suddenly at Chapel Hill and was buried after services at the Methodist church conducted by Rev. L. S. Massey. Born in Chapel Hill, he had run a stage line to Durham during the war, kept a Durham hotel and then the University Hotel, and was a charter member of University Lodge and a Methodist steward.
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New Hope Presbyterian Church celebrates its centennial
New Hope Presbyterian Church held its centennial with a day of services, dinner in the grove and a centennial address by Rev. M. McG. Shields of Burlington; Rev. H. S. Bradshaw of Hillsborough spoke on missions. The day also brought in the children's missionary corn crop, 14 and a half bushels grown from 2,000 grains handed out the spring before.
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New Hope's women organize a missionary society
At New Hope Presbyterian Church's centennial, Mrs. Harris of Chapel Hill organized the women of the congregation into a missionary society.
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