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Orange County Indexed

Chronology

Key events from Orange County history: 100 highlights to start, then the full chronology of 6,171 dated events and 63 storylines, each connected to the index. A storyline gathers many dated events into one history, such as the Regulator crisis.

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  1. Civil rights era · 1945–1975

  2. 1950s
  3. Publication, speech or performance · Occoneechee Hills, near Hillsborough Joffre Coe publishes an archaeological survey of the Occoneechee Hills area

    Coe's study The Cultural Sequence of the Carolina Piedmont, in a volume edited by James B. Griffin, reported a survey and excavation near the Occoneechee Hills outside Hillsborough carried out under the Archaeological Society of North Carolina.

  4. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Orange County sells $250,000 in bonds for a new courthouse

    The courthouse bonds brought the county's net bonded debt to $1,378,000 at the end of 1952. The new courthouse was then rising beside the old one on the same axis, sharing a courtyard.

  5. Construction or physical change · Roseman House, 311 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough Service station operator Roseman builds a brick Ranch house on West Tryon Street

    Mr. Roseman, who ran a gas station downtown, built a brick Ranch house with an attached carport at 311 West Tryon Street in 1952, replacing an earlier frame house.

  6. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough The county builds the classroom building and cafeteria later used by A. L. Stanback School

    A classroom building and a cafeteria on the Hillsborough campus that became A. L. Stanback School, the grades 6-7 school by 1983, date from 1952 under Superintendent G. Paul Carr.

  7. Appointment, election or service · First Baptist Church, Hillsborough Hillsborough Baptist Church ordains J. G. Goodwin Jr.

    J. G. Goodwin Jr. was ordained in the Hillsborough church and later went as a missionary to Korea.

  8. Competition or sporting achievement · Occoneechee Speedway, Hillsborough Tim Flock wins the 100-mile Grand National at Occoneechee

    Tim Flock, driving a 1951 Hudson Hornet, took the lead on the 45th lap and won the 100-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Occoneechee Speedway before 5,000 spectators, with his brother Fonty second.

  9. Property or economic transaction · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Orange Speedway, Inc. takes over the Hillsborough track

    Bill France Sr. became president of the new Orange Speedway, Inc., with Ann France as secretary-treasurer and Enoch Staley as vice-president; the other three original partners were no longer with the track. It was known as Orange Speedway from 1954.

  10. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Orange County commissioners turn to professional appraisers for a property revaluation

    In August 1952 the commissioners heard a representative of the Southern Mapping and Engineering Company and told county accountant and tax supervisor Ira Ward to draft a contract. By January 1953 they had decided with Ward that values would be set at current market value as of January 1, 1953, with a board of assessors overseeing the appraisers.

  11. Property or economic transaction · Hillsborough The county board buys the Cameron Park property in Hillsborough for a new elementary school

    The board paid Rebecca Wall $18,000 for the Cameron Park property and named the school to be built there Cameron Park.

  12. Protest or organizing · Hillsborough About forty groups report on the Rural Progress Program at a county meeting in Hillsborough

    In 1952 farm, civic and church groups competed to raise family farm income by $1,000, improve every home and finish a community project. Results and awards were given at a county-wide meeting in Hillsborough on October 30, and the program was repeated in 1953.

  13. Founding or opening · Hillsborough Fairview Baptist Church is organized in Hillsborough

    Fairview Baptist Church was organized in Hillsborough in October 1952 under pastor James Clegg and put up a 250-seat building that year.

  14. Competition or sporting achievement · Occoneechee Speedway, Hillsborough Fonty Flock wins at Occoneechee weeks after his Darlington victory

    Fonty Flock, winner of the Southern 500 at Darlington, won the October Grand National race at Occoneechee Speedway weeks after his 500-mile Darlington victory.

  15. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Heights, Hillsborough Hillsborough Heights is laid out, with a street named for James J. Freeland

    The African American neighborhood on Terrell, Central, Forrest, Coley and Freeland streets, below US 70 on the west side of North Nash Street, was laid out in the 1950s. Its Freeland Street was named for the builder, who probably put up houses there.

  16. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, Hillsborough Hillsborough Presbyterian Church adds Strudwick Hall, a fellowship hall named for Shepperd Strudwick

    In C. H. Reckard's pastorate the church built a fellowship hall to his drawings and named it for Shepperd Strudwick, elder, Sunday school superintendent and clerk of session.

  17. Construction or physical change · Mt. Zion A.M.E. Parsonage, 211 West Corbin Street, Hillsborough Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church builds a parsonage on West Corbin Street

    Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church builds a brick parsonage at 211 West Corbin Street in 1953, under its pastor the Rev. J. R. Bridges. The church still owns the house.

  18. Statistic or record · Bellevue Manufacturing Company, South Nash Street at Eno Street, West Hillsborough The Bellevue mill employs 355 workers on two shifts

    In 1953 the mill had 355 workers on two shifts, and the company still owned its mill village, whose houses now had indoor plumbing.

  19. Disaster or outbreak · 118 West King Street, Hillsborough Fire damages the Hillsboro Lunch on West King Street

    A Sunday night fire, blamed on spontaneous combustion, broke a front plate glass window and damaged the partition between the kitchen and the lunch room. Owner Bill Chance said he was fully insured and would reopen once repairs were made.

  20. Property or economic transaction · Dud's Tavern, 633 Cornelius Street (US 70), Fairview, Hillsborough Matthew Strum takes over Dud's Tavern

    Dud's Tavern advertised that it was under the new ownership and management of Matthew Strum, offering home-cooked food along with gas, oil and auto service.

  21. Construction or physical change · Orange County Courthouse, 106 East Margaret Lane, Hillsborough Masons lay the cornerstone of the new Orange County courthouse at the county bicentennial

    On the opening day of the county's bicentennial week, Grand Master Edwin T. Howard and Eagle Lodge No. 19 laid the cornerstone in the half-finished courthouse. Chief Justice William A. Devin gave the address.

  22. Naming or commemoration · First Baptist Church, Hillsborough First Baptist Church of Hillsborough celebrates its centennial

    The congregation marked its hundredth year in November 1953 under Charles E. Maddry, with its new educational building finished for the occasion.

  23. Construction or physical change · 201 West King Street, Hillsborough First Baptist Church of Hillsborough completes its educational building

    First Baptist Church finished a brick educational building at the rear of its sanctuary at West King and South Wake streets, about a year after work began, in time for the church's centennial in November 1953.

  24. Property or economic transaction · Ruffin-Roulhac House, Churton and Orange streets, Hillsborough William Sterling Roulhac dies and leaves the Ruffin house to his wife Charlotte

    William Sterling Roulhac died and left the property to his wife, Charlotte Trant Roulhac, who owned it when the town of Hillsborough began negotiating to buy it for government offices.

  25. Life event · Jones Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Jones Grove Church Road off Coleman Loop Road, Hillsborough vicinity Rev. Joe B. Brooks, founding pastor of Jones Grove, dies

    Joe Bethel Brooks, a farmer who helped found Jones Grove Missionary Baptist Church in 1926, led it as pastor until his death.

  26. Migration or settlement · 157 East King Street (William Reed's Ordinary, Seven Hearths), Hillsborough Dr. Robert Murphy and his wife move into the Peter Taylor house on King Street

    Dr. and Mrs. Robert Murphy moved from Chapel Hill into the Peter Taylor house on King Street in Hillsborough, and Mrs. M. B. Roberts gave a tea to welcome them. The Murphys went on to restore the house, later known as Seven Hearths.

  27. Disaster or outbreak · Dud's Tavern, 633 Cornelius Street (US 70), Fairview, Hillsborough Dud's Tavern reopens after a July fire

    Mr. and Mrs. Dud Walters thanked the Hillsborough and Mebane fire departments for helping save Dud's Tavern from a July fire and announced that business would resume on Sunday, August 1.

  28. Appointment, election or service · Jones Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Jones Grove Church Road off Coleman Loop Road, Hillsborough vicinity Rev. George W. Davis of Durham becomes pastor of Jones Grove

    Rev. George W. Davis took charge of the Jones Grove congregation after Joe Brooks's death and served for twenty years, a period that saw the frame church replaced.

  29. Property or economic transaction · Tract north of the town cemetery on Highway 70, Hillsborough Hillsboro leases the Exchange Club twelve acres for a community park

    The town board gave the Hillsboro Exchange Club a fifteen-year lease at $1 a year on a twelve-acre tract bought for cemetery use, north of the town cemetery on Highway 70, so the club could develop a community park.

  30. Founding or opening · Orange County Courthouse, 106 East Margaret Lane, Hillsborough Orange County formally opens its new courthouse in Hillsborough

    About 500 people came to the opening ceremonies and open house, held on the first day of the first court term in the new building. County offices had finished moving in from the old courthouse the week before.

  31. Construction or physical change · Old Orange County Courthouse, 104 East King Street, Hillsborough The county school superintendent's office moves into the old courthouse

    Superintendent G. P. Carr and his staff finished moving into the first floor of the 1845 courthouse, which had been renovated after the other county offices left for the new building in October.

  32. Statistic or record · Bellevue Manufacturing Company, South Nash Street at Eno Street, West Hillsborough The Bellevue company's stock is worth $219,600, well under half its 1926 value

    Still listed under the Bellevue name in 1955, the company had stock valued at $219,600, with 14,712 spindles and 499 looms.

  33. Health or relief action · Orange County First Salk polio vaccinations given to Orange County first and second graders

    Local physicians working under the county health department gave the first round of Salk polio vaccine to more than 1,150 Orange County first and second graders. The work began on Monday, April 18, 1955 with about 500 Chapel Hill area children and finished on April 21 with the Hillsboro, Efland and Aycock schools.

  34. Founding or opening · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough A quarter-mile track opens inside Orange Speedway

    A new quarter-mile track built inside the Orange Speedway mile opened with a seven-event NASCAR sportsman and amateur racing program under the direction of Bill France and Enoch Staley.

  35. Health or relief action · Chapel Hill; Hillsboro Orange County first and second graders get their second Salk shots

    The district health department gave second Salk vaccine doses to children who had their first shot in the spring: in Chapel Hill on July 21 and 22 for pupils of the Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Glenwood, Northside, White Cross and Little Red Schoolhouse schools, and in Hillsboro on July 27, with school buses sent to county schools. Turnout at Hillsboro was low, with only 65 children by 11 a.m.

  36. Property or economic transaction · Gravelly Hill, west of Hillsborough The county board deeds the old Gravelly Hill School ground to Mrs. George McAdams

    While disposing of closed schools in September 1955, the county board deeded the old Gravelly Hill School ground to Mrs. George McAdams. Gravelly Hill had taught Black children until the Efland-area schools were merged into Efland-Cheeks in 1952-53.

  37. Founding or opening · Hillsborough Cameron Park School opens in Hillsborough with the lower grades from Hillsboro High

    The new Cameron Park School took all of grades one through four from the Hillsboro High School building, leaving grades five through twelve there, with Fred Rogers, formerly of Efland, as principal. Transfer requests from other districts poured in and drew pupils away from West Hillsborough School.

  38. Property or economic transaction · Faucett House (Chatwood), Faucette Mill Road, Hillsborough vicinity Charles Blake and his wife buy the Coach House and rename it Chatwood

    Charles Blake, a retired MIT professor who banded birds as a hobby, and his wife bought the Faucett House tract in 1956 and named it Chatwood for their interest in birds. In the 1950s they began the rose and perennial garden that became a noted heritage rose garden.

  39. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Curtis Turner wins both NASCAR convertible races at Orange Speedway

    Curtis Turner of Roanoke won both NASCAR convertible circuit races held at Orange Speedway in 1956 and set the convertible qualifying record there.

  40. Construction or physical change · West Hillsborough Eno Mill houses are relocated

    Most company houses moved into nearby neighborhoods.

  41. Disaster or outbreak · Northeast corner of West King and North Hassell streets (216-220 West King Street), Hillsborough Fire guts Dr. Marion B. Roberts's house at King and Hassell streets

    An early-morning fire gutted the two-story house of Dr. and Mrs. Marion B. Roberts on the corner lot at West King and Hassell streets. The News of Orange County called it the worst fire in the Hillsboro Fire Department's history; firemen fought it for more than four hours in sub-freezing weather.

  42. Founding or opening · Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough Patriots of North Carolina hold a mass meeting in Hillsborough and form an Orange County unit

    An overflow crowd of about 300, observers said all white, filled the courtroom in Hillsborough for a Patriots of North Carolina meeting where I. Beverly Lake urged abandoning the public schools for a private system rather than integrate. W. C. George, the Patriots' state president, presided as members named an Orange County executive committee.

  43. Publication, speech or performance · Hillsboro Presbyterian Church, Hillsborough Hillsboro Presbyterian pastor preaches against local stock car racing

    The Rev. C. H. Reckard, pastor of the Hillsboro Presbyterian Church, delivered a sermon criticizing local stock car racing and its effect on young people, one of the clergy protests against Sunday races at Orange Speedway.

  44. Founding or opening · Hillsboro Presbyterian Church, Hillsborough Orange County pastors form a ministerial association

    Pastors of 18 churches in northern and central Orange County met at the Hillsboro Presbyterian Church and formed an Orange County Ministerial Association, electing the Rev. C. H. Reckard president and the Rev. Lawton Pettit of St. Matthew's Episcopal secretary.

  45. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Buck Baker wins the spring 100-miler at Orange Speedway

    Buck Baker, driving a 1956 Chrysler, beat Lee Petty, Fireball Roberts and 29 other drivers in the 100-mile Grand National race at Orange Speedway on Mother's Day.

  46. Naming or commemoration · 420 Calvin Street, Hillsborough The Hillsboro Building and Loan Association becomes Hillsboro Savings and Loan Association

    On a vote of its stockholders, the association changed its name to Hillsboro Savings and Loan Association, announced alongside the largest dividend in its history.

  47. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Fireball Roberts wins the fall race at Orange Speedway

    Fireball Roberts, driving a 1956 Ford, won the 110-lap fall race at Orange Speedway, setting the track record for that distance, with Buck Baker second.

  48. Construction or physical change · Northern Heights, Hillsborough Northern Heights is developed as a Black neighborhood north of US 70

    The subdivision on Rainey, Harper, Homemont, Riddle and Dixie streets followed the usual post-war pattern of curving streets and even lots, but like neighboring Homemont it sat beside a dump and went without paved streets or town services until the 1970s.

  49. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Methodist Church, Hillsborough Shepperd Strudwick carves the cross for the Hillsborough Methodist sanctuary

    Shepperd Strudwick, a Presbyterian elder who took up wood carving late in life, made the cross for the Methodist sanctuary as well as one for his own church.

  50. Protest or organizing · Reverie Lingerie plant (Uzzle building), U.S. 70 northwest of downtown, Hillsborough Workers at the Reverie Lingerie plant in Hillsborough go on strike for a union

    Employees of Reverie Lingerie, a New York-owned undergarment plant opened in Hillsborough in 1955, walked out and set up a picket line to win recognition for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. The company asked for a labor board election, which the union opposed, and the strike lasted about six months.

  51. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough The General Assembly lets Hillsboro convey the library lot to the Hillsboro Library Association

    A 1957 act authorized the Hillsboro town commissioners to convey the lot at Tryon and Churton streets holding the Hillsboro Library to the Hillsboro Library Association, and an adjoining lot to the Presbyterian church. Either lot would revert to the town if it stopped being used for the purpose named in the act.

  52. Disaster or outbreak · Former West Hillsboro School, West Hillsborough Fire destroys the old West Hillsboro School, then a mill-owned apartment house

    About 11:30 on a Monday night the three-story frame building that had been the West Hillsboro School, later made into 13 apartments, burned to the ground. A taxi driver saw the flames and woke the five people inside, who escaped.

  53. Law, policy or court · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough The General Assembly bans Sunday racing in Orange County

    After protests by the Rev. C. H. Reckard and other Orange County clergy, the legislature passed a law on May 8, 1957 banning racing on Sundays, though Sunday races were being advertised again at Orange Speedway by 1961.

  54. Construction or physical change · 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough Work begins on a two-story gymnasium building for Hillsboro High School

    T. W. Poe and Sons of Durham won the contract on June 10, 1957 and began a $180,000 physical education building with classrooms and locker rooms below and a gymnasium above, due for completion in December.

  55. Construction or physical change · West Union and North Nash streets, Hillsborough The county takes bids for a gymtorium and twelve classrooms at Central High School

    H. F. Mitchell Construction Company was low bidder for two buildings at Central High, a twelve-classroom addition and a gymtorium seating about 1,200, designed by Archie Royal Davis. The whole project came to $266,094, and the gymtorium was nearly finished in February 1958.

  56. Disaster or outbreak · Reverie Lingerie plant (Uzzle building), U.S. 70 northwest of downtown, Hillsborough An explosion and fire destroy the strikebound Reverie Lingerie plant

    On a Friday night an explosion and fire wrecked the Reverie Lingerie plant, ending the six-month strike and the jobs of about eighty workers. The paper counted a lost local payroll of about $173,000 a year.

  57. Construction or physical change · 118 West King Street, Hillsborough Bozo and Lillian Taylor open a second dining room at the Hillsboro Lunch

    R. T. (Bozo) Taylor Jr. and Lillian Taylor, then running the Hillsboro Lunch, opened a newly renovated dining room next to their old quarters, giving them two dining rooms for daily meals and catering. The Hillsboro Merchants Association soon began holding its luncheon meetings there.

  58. Founding or opening · Hillsborough The Orange County Historical Museum opens

    The Hillsborough Garden Club, led by Mrs. Clarence Jones, founded the Orange County Historical Museum, which opened in November 1957 on the second floor of the 1845 Orange County Courthouse after the county commissioners approved the space and gave $250. The museum moved to its Churton Street home in 1983.

  59. Construction or physical change · Central High School (now Hillsborough Elementary), 402 North Nash Street, Hillsborough Central High's new gymnasium is finished after the fire

    After the main building of Central High School burned in 1958, Archie Royal Davis designed a new school building and a gymnasium for the site; the gymnasium was finished in late 1958.

  60. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, Hillsborough Hillsborough Presbyterian Church builds and moves into a new manse

    A new manse drawn by pastor C. H. Reckard was finished and occupied early in 1958.

  61. Construction or physical change · Mount Bright Baptist Church, Hillsborough Mount Bright Baptist Church buys its first electronic organ and moves to full-time services

    In Fred J. Boddie Jr.'s three-year pastorate the congregation bought its first electronic organ and moved to a full-time schedule of services.

  62. Property or economic transaction · Bellevue Mill Village, West Hillsborough The Bellevue mill village is platted and its houses sold to private owners

    After the mill company had been sold by 1956, its village was surveyed into lots in 1958 so the houses could be sold. Unlike the Eno mill houses, which were carried off to new sites, the Bellevue houses stayed where they were, which is why the village keeps its original streets but has irregular lot lines.

  63. Disaster or outbreak · Hillsborough Central High School burns

    On the morning of February 14, 1958, fire destroyed the 1936 main building of Central High School, Hillsborough's high school for Black students, including its office, auditorium and several classrooms. Students moved into a newly built structure meant for junior high use, and a new main classroom building designed by Archie Royal Davis went up on the site in 1958.

  64. Construction or physical change · 402 North Nash Street, Hillsborough The school board orders a new main building for Central High on the day of the fire

    The night the old Central High building burned, the county board set aside $214,892 for a new 18-classroom building designed by Archie Royal Davis's firm. Construction went on through 1958.

  65. Life event · Hillsborough Portrait painter Clement Strudwick dies and is buried in Hillsborough

    Clement Read Strudwick, who had painted in a workshop behind his parents' Hillsborough home, died on February 26, 1958. His funeral was held in the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church and he was buried in the Hillsborough cemetery.

  66. Construction or physical change · Lot 94, Hillsborough Hillsborough and New Sharon Methodists dedicate the parsonage they built together

    The two churches put up a new parsonage on lot 94 in 1957-58 at a cost of about $22,000 and dedicated it on a Sunday afternoon in March 1958, with W. A. Seawell as pastor and Taylor Bivins chairing the building committee.

  67. Founding or opening · 228 South Churton Street, Hillsborough The Hillsboro post office moves into Fred Cates's new building on South Churton Street

    The post office moved to a new air-conditioned building by the Eno at the south edge of town, which Fred Cates built for about $25,000 and leased to the government over the objections of the mayor and town board. It was dedicated on August 9 before about 200 people.

  68. Founding or opening · 122 West King Street, Hillsborough The Osbunn Theater reopens under a new operator after W. M. Chance's death

    The Osbunn Theater, closed for several months after the death of its owner W. M. Chance, reopened under Sam R. Owens of Durham, who leased it from the Chance family. Owens had run drive-in theaters in Durham, Burlington and Fayetteville.

  69. Property or economic transaction · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Bill France leases Orange Speedway to the Orange County Board of Education

    Bill France signed a ten-year lease letting Hillsboro High School use the Orange Speedway grounds as its athletic field, for $100 a year, while races continued.

  70. Construction or physical change · Central High School (now Hillsborough Elementary), 402 North Nash Street, Hillsborough Archie Royal Davis's new main building for Central High goes up

    After the 1958 fire, Archie Royal Davis designed a two-story, flat-roofed brick main building and a barrel-roofed gymnasium for Central High School. The main building went up in 1959-60; the campus is now Hillsborough Elementary.

  71. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Cameron Park School in Hillsborough gets its first addition

    Three years after it opened, the county enlarged Cameron Park School with a second section of building, raised under Superintendent G. Paul Carr to plans by the architect Archie Royal Davis.

  72. Construction or physical change · J. H. and Pauline McAdams House, 418 Revere Road, Hillsborough J. H. and Pauline McAdams build a Ranch house on Revere Road

    Their brick house at 418 Revere Road, with its shallow hipped roof, banks of awning windows and built-in carport, is the survey's model example of the Ranch house in Hillsborough.

  73. Property or economic transaction · Hillsborough, Nash-Hooper House Mary Claire Engstrom and her husband buy the Nash-Hooper House in Hillsborough

    In 1959 Mary Claire Engstrom, who had earned a UNC doctorate in English literature in 1939, and her husband, UNC French professor Alfred G. Engstrom, bought the Nash-Hooper House in Hillsborough. From then on she turned her research to the history of Hillsborough and its surroundings.

  74. Property or economic transaction · Murphey School, Old NC 10 at Murphy School Road, Hillsborough vicinity Mount Herman Baptist Church leases the closed Murphey School

    Once the school closed, the county board leased the empty building to Mt. Herman Baptist Church for one year at $25 a month.

  75. Closing or ending · Murphey School, Old NC 10 at Murphy School Road, Hillsborough vicinity Murphey School closes and its pupils go to Hillsborough

    After years of falling attendance the county closed Murphey School in 1959 and moved its pupils to the elementary schools in Hillsborough.

  76. Construction or physical change · Fairview Extension, Hillsborough The Fairview Extension is platted and filled with look-alike Ranch houses

    The south end of Fairview, west of North Nash Street and south of US 70, was platted in 1959. Its houses are three variations on one Ranch design that differ only in their outside materials, which suggests they were built on speculation.

  77. Publication, speech or performance · Orange Speedway and the Colonial Inn, Hillsborough A Hollywood crew films a racing drama at Orange Speedway and the Colonial Inn

    A film company shot scenes for a television drama starring James Whitmore at Orange Speedway and the Colonial Inn in Hillsborough. Speedway co-owner Enoch Staley brought in several well-known drivers, among them Buck Baker, for close-up scenes.

  78. Founding or opening · 122 US Highway 70, near the US 70 and NC 86 intersection, Hillsborough Orange County's first ABC liquor store opens north of Hillsboro

    Two months after voters approved county liquor stores on February 3, the first ABC store opened in a new building that also held the county ABC warehouse, near where Highways 70 and 86 meet. It was the county's first legal whiskey sale in the modern era.

  79. Construction or physical change · 110 King Street (now 114 West King Street), Hillsborough Duke Power opens its remodeled Hillsboro office on King Street

    Duke Power Company held an open house at its newly remodeled Hillsboro office, then numbered 110 King Street, showing new facilities and electric appliances. Manager C. B. Parris had served the town's customers since 1936.

  80. Health or relief action · Hillsborough Health officer asks county commissioners for money to buy polio vaccine

    District health director O. David Garvin asked the Board of County Commissioners for a special appropriation to buy Salk vaccine for schoolchildren and pregnant women who could not pay, after federal vaccine allotments were cut and shots became required for school entry. The board agreed to provide funds if needed but told him to seek March of Dimes money from the county polio chapter first.

  81. 1960s
  82. Construction or physical change · 330 West Orange Street, Hillsborough A mill house is moved from South Wake Street to West Orange Street

    The small house at 330 West Orange Street, built around 1941, is a mill house moved in the 1960s from the 200 block of South Wake Street.

  83. Construction or physical change · Nursing Home, 401 North Churton Street, Hillsborough A nursing home is built at 401 North Churton Street

    A one-story brick nursing home, built in the form of the Ranch houses of its day, goes up about 1960 at 401 North Churton Street.

  84. Construction or physical change · Masonic Lodge, 210 West Orange Street, Hillsborough A two-story lodge for Prince Hall Masons and the Eastern Star is built on West Orange Street

    A concrete-block lodge was built in the 1960s at 210 West Orange Street for St. James Lodge No. 494 of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge and the St. Anita Maria chapter No. 622 of the Eastern Star. It stands on the site of a school for Black children shown on the 1924 Sanborn map and gained a rear wing in 1991.

  85. Construction or physical change · Central High School (now Hillsborough Elementary), 402 North Nash Street, Hillsborough A vocational building is added at Central High School

    Between 1960 and 1962 the county added a one-story, flat-roofed, brick-veneered vocational building with metal awning windows to the Central High campus in Hillsborough.

  86. Construction or physical change · Central High School (now Hillsborough Elementary), 402 North Nash Street, Hillsborough Central High builds its "300" elementary wing

    Another classroom building, the "300" wing or Elementary School building, went up at Central High from 1960 to 1962. With a vocational and band building finished in 1962, the campus reached the six buildings that stand today.

  87. Appointment, election or service · Hillsborough Methodist Church, Hillsborough Hillsborough and New Sharon Methodist churches each become a station church

    Two years after they finished their shared parsonage, Hillsborough and New Sharon left the charge arrangement and each became a station church with its own pastor.

  88. Construction or physical change · Holiday Park, northwest of Hillsborough James J. Freeland develops Holiday Park with a swimming pool

    In the 1960s Freeland built Holiday Park northwest of town, a development with its own pool and other amenities; some of its houses were former Eno Mill village houses moved to the site.

  89. Property or economic transaction · Colonial Inn, West King Street, Hillsborough James J. Freeland remodels and sells the Colonial Inn

    Freeland, who also restored and moved old buildings, owned the Colonial Inn on West King Street for a time and remodeled it before selling it in the 1960s.

  90. Construction or physical change · Mallett House (Patterson-Palmer House), 173 West Margaret Lane, Hillsborough Mrs. Erle G. Hill restores the Patterson-Palmer House with architect Archie Royal Davis

    Owner Mrs. Erle G. Hill restored the Federal house on West Margaret Lane with architect Archie Royal Davis, replacing the roof, dormers, front portico, shutters and siding and returning the rooms to their first plan. By 1963 it was shown on Hillsborough's spring pilgrimage.

  91. Property or economic transaction · Bellevue Manufacturing Company, South Nash Street at Eno Street, West Hillsborough The Bellevue mill changes hands and runs as Hillsboro Mills

    In the 1960s the mill was sold to investors from the Northeast, and trade directories list it as Hillsboro Mills.

  92. Construction or physical change · Haralson-Strudwick House site, 114 West Queen Street, Hillsborough The Haralson-Strudwick House on West Queen Street is torn down

    The antebellum house that Dr. Edmund Strudwick had enlarged was razed in 1960. Its brick kitchen was kept and enlarged as a residence, and a Dutch Colonial Revival house went up on the site in 1969.

  93. Construction or physical change · Piedmont Electric Company building, 129 East Tryon Street (205 North Cameron Street), Hillsborough The Piedmont Electric office on East Tryon Street is raised to two stories

    The flat-roofed brick office built for the Piedmont Electric Company around 1950 as a one-story building was enlarged to two stories in 1960.

  94. Construction or physical change · Bellevue Manufacturing Company, South Nash Street at Eno Street, West Hillsborough The open court in the middle of the Bellevue mill is roofed over for storage

    For more storage, the owners roofed the space inside the U-shaped mill with open-web steel trusses running from the main mill to the weaving room and closed its east side with a new wall, removing the 1923 stair tower.

  95. Property or economic transaction · Dud's Tavern, 633 Cornelius Street (US 70), Fairview, Hillsborough The Gormleys take over Dud's Tavern as Gormley's Truck Stop and Restaurant

    Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Gormley, who had run the Castle Steak House in Durham, took over Dud's Tavern on Highway 70 and advertised it as Gormley's Truck Stop and Restaurant.

  96. Appointment, election or service · Orange County W. C. George and Lucius Cheshire are named Orange County managers of I. Beverly Lake's campaign

    I. Beverly Lake named W. C. George of Chapel Hill and Lucius M. Cheshire of Hillsborough, both directors of the pro-segregation North Carolina Defenders of States Rights, co-managers of his campaign for governor in Orange County.

  97. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Lee Petty wins at Orange Speedway from the front row beside his son Richard

    Lee Petty, 46, led all 110 laps to win the May race at Orange Speedway. His son Richard Petty had the pole, the first time the father and son started together on the front row.

  98. Property or economic transaction · Hillsborough The county board buys 100 acres from S. T. Latta for a new consolidated high school

    The board bought 100 acres from S. T. Latta in August 1960 for a new county high school, set aside $100,000 toward the building in July 1961 and accepted construction bids in May 1962. The school opened as Orange High School in 1963.

  99. Construction or physical change · 112 North Churton Street, Hillsborough The Hillsboro Savings and Loan Association lays the cornerstone of its North Churton Street office

    Cornerstone ceremonies were set for the association's new office on the east side of North Churton Street, half a block north of the court square, under construction since early June. Charles C. Hartmann of Greensboro designed the one-story Colonial Revival building with a drive-in window.

  100. Law, policy or court · Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough An Orange County jury convicts four men of arson and conspiracy in the Reverie plant fire

    After a three-day trial in Orange County Superior Court, a jury found four men, among them an ILGWU representative from Atlanta, guilty of burning the Reverie Lingerie plant. Judge Raymond Mallard sentenced them the next day to five to twelve years, and all appealed.

  101. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Richard Petty wins his first race at Orange Speedway

    Richard Petty, 23, took the pole and led all 110 laps of the September 100-mile race at Orange Speedway, finishing a lap ahead of Ned Jarrett. His father Lee had won the track's May race.

  102. Closing or ending · Dickson house, NC 86 at Interstate 85, outside Hillsborough The Dickson house near Hillsborough is left empty when its last tenant moves out

    The last tenant left the Dickson house, General Johnston's headquarters in 1865, and the house owned by Mary R. Few stood vacant beside the new Interstate 85 interchange. In March 1961 the News of Orange reported it crumbling while a motel site next door was offered for sale.

  103. Construction or physical change · Mount Bright Baptist Church, Hillsborough Mount Bright Baptist Church buys the Ellison lot and builds its first parsonage

    Under its pastor Fred J. Boddie Jr. the congregation bought the Ellison home lot and put up its first parsonage there.

  104. Property or economic transaction · Highway 70 (419 Cornelius Street), Hillsborough Kenan Oil Company buys A. J. Snipes Jr.'s oil business and brings Phillips 66 to Hillsboro

    Kenan Oil Company of Durham, the Phillips 66 franchise holder, bought A. J. Snipes Jr.'s Esso distributorship on Highway 70, its first foothold in Hillsboro, and kept Snipes on as its local agent.

  105. Construction or physical change · 304 Revere Road, Hillsborough Carr's Super Market opens its new store across the street in Hillsboro

    Carr's Super Market began a six-week grand opening of its new $250,000 store, five times the size of its old one across the street, with a terrazzo floor. Building began in April 1960, and Brodie Carr's son saw it through after his father had a stroke.

  106. Founding or opening · 112 North Churton Street, Hillsborough The Hillsboro Savings and Loan Association opens its new downtown office

    The association held a public open house with prize drawings at its new office on North Churton Street, the building later known as the Hillsborough Savings Bank. Its 1950 office stayed open as a second location.

  107. Closing or ending · White Cross School, north side of NC 54 west of SR 1952, White Cross The county board votes to close White Cross School and send its white pupils to Hillsborough

    Rather than admit the Black children, the Orange County school board decided to close White Cross School at the end of the school year and move its 75 white pupils to Cameron Park School in West Hillsboro, a step it tied to its ten-year building program.

  108. Construction or physical change · Jones Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Jones Grove Church Road off Coleman Loop Road, Hillsborough vicinity Jones Grove dedicates a concrete-block church built by its own members

    Congregants Otha Thompson and A. J. Breeze served as general contractors and Thomas Watkins supplied lumber for a front-gable concrete-block sanctuary paid for with members' gifts. The 1928 frame church to the west was torn down when it was done.

  109. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Joe Weatherly wins the first 150-miler at Orange Speedway

    Joe Weatherly won the 150-mile race that closed the 1961 Grand National season at Orange Speedway, the first race of that length at the track, setting a lap record of 95.15 miles per hour and a race average of 86.11.

  110. Founding or opening · Dud's Tavern, 633 Cornelius Street (US 70), Fairview, Hillsborough Dud Walters reopens his old tavern as Dud's Fish House

    J. Dud Walters and his wife reopened the former Dud's Tavern and Truck Stop after renovations as Dud's Fish House and Restaurant, serving fish and seafood with curb service and take-home orders.

  111. Founding or opening · North side of U.S. Highway 70, behind the Phillips 66 station, Hillsborough Kenan Oil opens its new bulk plant and warehouse north of Hillsborough

    Work began in September on a bulk plant and warehouse on the north side of Highway 70 behind the Phillips 66 station, and the company invited the public to inspect the finished plant and offices on Saturday, November 11.

  112. Construction or physical change · Highway 70 (Cornelius Street), Hillsborough Godfrey's Home Supply Store moves into a new building on Highway 70

    E. W. "Booster" Godfrey opened a new, larger building for his hardware, clothing and household goods store next door to his old location on Highway 70 north of Hillsboro, with Esso gas out front.

  113. Publication, speech or performance · Orange County Hyconeechee Regional Library director David Flick writes a books column for the News of Orange County

    By January 1962 the News of Orange County was running "Between the Covers," a column of news and comment on books in the public library by the director of the Hyconeechee Regional Library. The North Carolina Library Association's 1962 directory lists David Flick as the region's director, at Yanceyville.

  114. Founding or opening · 419 Cornelius Street (US 70), Hillsborough James Riley opens the Hillsboro Fish Market in the old Godfrey's store on Highway 70

    James Riley opened the Hillsboro Fish Market on Highway 70 West, in front of Kenan Oil Company in the former Godfrey's Home Supply store, selling fresh fish cleaned free. By August 1962 it had moved to his old market next to Eno Methodist Church.

  115. Naming or commemoration · Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough Portrait of the late Sheriff Oddie Clayton is hung in the sheriff's office

    A portrait of the late Orange County sheriff Oddie Clayton, painted by Hillsborough artist Edmund Strudwick and paid for by public subscription in a drive led by ABC Police Chief Burch Compton, was hung in the county sheriff's office before members of his family.

  116. Statistic or record · Hillsborough Orange County was still running a separate library for Black readers

    The county bookmobile schedule printed in March 1962 listed a Thursday stop from 1:30 to 2:00 at the Orange Co. Negro Public Library. The previous year's vacation reading club invited children to register either at the Confederate Memorial Public Library or at the Orange County Negro Public Library in Hillsboro.

  117. Health or relief action · 621 Hillsborough Road (old NC 86), Carrboro The Orange County Council on Alcoholism opens its headquarters in an addition to Calvin Burch's cabinet shop

    The council's rehabilitation committee moved into a new office built onto Calvin Burch's cabinet shop on old NC 86, rented as a round-the-clock place for counseling and advice. Burch chaired the committee, which reported 54 cases in its first year there.

  118. Publication, speech or performance · Churton Street, Hillsborough Edmund Strudwick speaks against a new federal access road and bridge into Hillsborough

    At a public hearing in Hillsborough on a proposed $338,000 federal project for a new access road and bridge into the town, artist Edmund Strudwick opposed it, saying he did not want more cars coming up Churton Street. The News of Orange County called the opposition thin.

  119. Life event · First Baptist Church, Hillsborough Charles E. Maddry's funeral is held at Hillsborough Baptist Church

    Charles E. Maddry, pastor of the church at the start and end of his fifty-three-year ministry and former head of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, died on September 17 and was buried at Richmond after a funeral in the Hillsborough church.

  120. Founding or opening · Interstate 85 at NC 86 (South Churton Street), two miles south of Hillsborough James J. Freeland's Dixie Motor Inn opens at Interstate 85 and NC 86

    The Dixie Motor Inn, owned by James J. and James Rae Freeland, opened two miles south of Hillsborough where Interstate 85 meets NC 86. It had 16 air-conditioned units and was the sixth motel the elder Freeland had built in Orange, Durham and Wake counties.

  121. Founding or opening · Interstate 85 at NC 86 (South Churton Street), two miles south of Hillsborough Neal's Restaurant opens beside the Dixie Motor Inn south of Hillsborough

    Neal Humphries, a Durham restaurant man for 15 years, opened Neal's Restaurant next to the new Dixie Motor Inn at I-85 and NC 86. It seated 75, stayed open around the clock and served steaks, seafood and fried chicken.

  122. Closing or ending · Cedar Grove Aycock and Hillsborough High schools are consolidated into Orange High School

    When Orange High School opened in 1963, the county consolidated the high school grades of Aycock School in Cedar Grove and Hillsborough High School into it, and the older buildings became junior high or elementary schools. Some Aycock seniors went to Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane, but most went to Orange High.

  123. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Governor Terry Sanford establishes the Historic Hillsborough Commission

    Interest stirred by the county and town bicentennials led to the commission, whose first projects included buying and restoring the Burwell School in 1965.

  124. Statistic or record · Hillsborough Mary Claire Engstrom documents 122 Hillsborough sites for the Historic American Buildings Survey

    From 1963 to 1965 Mary Claire Engstrom documented 122 old structures and historic sites in and around Hillsborough for the Historic American Buildings Survey. Her research helped many of them reach the National Register, including the Nash-Hooper House as a National Historic Landmark, and helped establish two Hillsborough historic districts.

  125. Founding or opening · Hillsborough Mary Claire Engstrom helps found the Hillsborough Historical Society

    Mary Claire Engstrom was instrumental in founding the Hillsborough Historical Society, which filed National Register applications for local buildings, led walking tours and published newsletters and journals. It merged with the Orange County Historical Museum in 2007.

  126. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Orange High School begins desegregation

    Tonya and Narviar Cathcart entered Orange High School after their family’s transfer petition was approved.

  127. Founding or opening · Hillsborough Orange Junior High School opens in the old Hillsborough High School building

    When the county consolidated its white high schools into Orange High in 1963, it organized Orange Junior High School for grades six through nine in the old Hillsborough High School building, with Ted Shoaf as principal.

  128. Naming or commemoration · Hillsborough The Colonial Dames erect a marble monument to the hanged Regulators beside the Hughes Academy schoolhouse

    In 1963 the North Carolina Society of the Colonial Dames of America erected a marble slab monument to the six Regulators hanged at Hillsborough in June 1771, placing it next to the historic Hughes Academy schoolhouse in Hillsborough. The men's grave, thought to lie near the Eno, has never been found.

  129. Property or economic transaction · Murphey School, Old NC 10 at Murphy School Road, Hillsborough vicinity The Underwood family buys Murphey School at public auction

    The school property was sold at public auction in 1963 to the Underwood family.

  130. Property or economic transaction · Ridge Road School, 2705 Coleman Loop Road (formerly Ridge Road), Hillsborough vicinity The Torian family deeds a lot beside Ridge Road School to Emma Torian Jones and Rev. Walter Jones

    Maggie Torian and her children conveyed 0.79 acre west of the school, on Coleman Loop Road, to her daughter Emma and Emma's husband, Rev. Walter Warren Jones, who built a frame house there. Walter and Maggie Torian, Black farmers, had owned the land the school stood on and supplied its water.

  131. Publication, speech or performance · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Jayne Mansfield rides in the pace car at Orange Speedway

    Film star Jayne Mansfield, in North Carolina for a nightclub date in Greensboro, rode in the pace car to start the 150-mile race at Orange Speedway. Orange County sheriff's deputies Will Gilmore and Avery Maddry acted as her bodyguards, and she watched from the judges' stand, signing autographs.

  132. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Junior Johnson wins the spring 150-miler at Orange Speedway

    Junior Johnson won the spring 150-mile Grand National race at Orange Speedway in March 1963.

  133. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Orange County completes a new Agricultural Building in Hillsborough

    The county's new Agricultural Building, designed by Archie Davis, passed final inspection and the county's agricultural offices moved in. A dedication and open house were set for April 1.

  134. Appointment, election or service · Hillsborough Roosevelt Warner is elected the first Black member of the Hillsboro Board of Commissioners

    Roosevelt Warner, a masonry contractor and business owner, led the field of eleven candidates with 281 votes for the five-member Board of Town Commissioners on his second try, unseating incumbent Herman H. Strayhorn. Two years earlier he had been the town's first Black candidate, finishing last with 180 votes.

  135. Closing or ending · Walker Milling Co., Court Square, Hillsborough Charles M. Walker Jr. announces that Walker Milling Co. will close

    Walker said he would close the milling business in the three-story landmark on Court Square, which his father and uncle had run for decades before he bought it after World War II, and take a job in Battleboro. He pointed to changes in the farm economy.

  136. Founding or opening · Highway 70-A, Hillsborough Warner's Motel and Warner's Wash-eteria invite the public to see their facilities

    An advertisement invited everyone to visit Warner's Motel and Warner's Wash-eteria on Highway 70-A in Hillsboro on Friday, August 2, and inspect their modern facilities.

  137. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Joe Weatherly wins his last race at Orange Speedway

    Joe Weatherly won the fall 150-mile race at Orange Speedway, the last victory of his career; he was killed in a crash at Riverside, California, in January 1964.

  138. Founding or opening · 672 North Churton Street (US 70 at Churton Street), Hillsborough The A&P opens its first Hillsborough supermarket at US 70 and Churton Street

    The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company opened a supermarket of about 10,000 square feet in a red-brick "Early American" building with a cupola and parking for 165 cars. It was the chain's first store in Hillsborough and the first major unit of the North Hills Shopping Center.

  139. Naming or commemoration · 204 North Churton Street, Hillsborough Walker's Funeral Home dedicates its chapel at 204 North Churton Street

    On its 41st anniversary Walker's Funeral Home held an open house and dedicated the chapel in its brick building on North Churton Street, finished late in 1962, honoring founder Houston J. Walker and his late wife Minnie Montgomery Walker.

  140. Naming or commemoration · Old Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough A bronze plaque honoring builder John Berry is placed on the Old Orange County Courthouse

    A bronze plaque naming John Berry a contributor to the tradition of American architecture was fixed to the 1845 courthouse he built in Hillsborough.

  141. Publication, speech or performance · James Pharmacy, Hillsborough Allen A. and Pauline O. Lloyd publish a history of the town of Hillsborough

    Pharmacist Allen A. Lloyd published a 200-page, illustrated History of the Town of Hillsborough, with his wife Pauline O. Lloyd named as co-author, after working on it since 1945. He paid about $2,500 to print it and sold copies at James Pharmacy, which he ran.

  142. Life event · Central High School, Hillsborough Central High principal A. L. Stanback dies

    Albert Leon Stanback, who came to Central as a coach and mathematics teacher and led it for more than twenty years, died after a short illness. His funeral was held in the school's auditorium. Under him the school grew to about 1,200 students.

  143. Construction or physical change · Highway 70, near Mountain View, east of Hillsborough James J. Freeland builds his third family house on Highway 70

    After homes near Fairview and in his Mountain View development, Freeland built the family's third house in 1964 on Highway 70 a little northwest of that subdivision, and lived there the rest of his life.

  144. Appointment, election or service · Hillsborough Mary Claire Engstrom chairs the Historic Hillsborough Commission

    Mary Claire Engstrom chaired the Historic Hillsborough Commission, a state-appointed body created in 1963, from 1964 to 1966 and again from 1976 to 1983. Her research files for the commission and other projects cover deeds, cemeteries, mills, inns, Quaker settlements and schools such as the Hillsborough Academy and the Burwell School.

  145. Construction or physical change · 120 East King Street, Hillsborough Morris Telephone Company builds a larger exchange on East King Street

    As part of a half-million-dollar improvement program around Hillsborough, the Morris Telephone Company put up a new telephone building on East King Street about twice the size of the old exchange. Subscribers got new numbers on May 17, and in November the company moved its business office into the new building.

  146. Award or honor · Hillsborough Orange High and Orange Junior High win accreditation from the state and the Southern Association

    Between about 1964 and 1969 Orange High School and Orange Junior High were accredited by the state and by the Southern Association, so every county pupil in grades 7 through 12 attended a regionally accredited school. A push to accredit the elementary schools was put off by integration.

  147. Founding or opening · 401 West Queen Street (at North Occoneechee Street), Hillsborough Villines Rest Home opens on Occoneechee Street in Hillsborough

    A notice in February 1964 announced that the Villines Rest Home on Occoneechee Street was open to anyone who could no longer care for themselves.

  148. Closing or ending · Hillsborough depot, South Nash Street, West Hillsborough The last Southern Railway passenger trains run through Hillsborough

    Trains 13 and 16, the daily Greensboro-Goldsboro round trip, made their final runs, ending more than a century of passenger service in Orange County. Hillsborough had been a flag stop without ticket sales for two years.

  149. Health or relief action · Chapel Hill; Carrboro; Hillsborough; Cedar Grove; Efland More than 25,000 Orange County residents take Sabin oral polio vaccine on one Sunday

    The Durham-Orange County Medical Foundation ran a Sunday oral polio vaccine campaign at eight public school feeding stations in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, Cedar Grove and Efland. A total of 25,679 people took the vaccine on a sugar cube, about 56 percent of the county, with Glenwood School alone serving 5,063; a second dose was set for May 17.

  150. Naming or commemoration · Hillsborough Edmund Strudwick finishes a portrait of retired farm agent Don S. Matheson

    Hillsborough artist Edmund Strudwick finished a portrait of Don S. Matheson, who retired in 1963 after 34 years as Orange County farm agent. Paid for by public gifts, it was hung in the county agricultural building, and further gifts founded a 4-H fund.

  151. Naming or commemoration · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Orange Speedway names its spring race the Joe Weatherly Memorial

    Orange Speedway scheduled its spring 1964 150-mile Grand National race as the inaugural Joe Weatherly Memorial, honoring the late national champion who held both track speed records and had won his last race there.

  152. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Judge Mallard sentences fasters Pat Cusick and John Dunne to a year in jail

    In Orange County Superior Court at Hillsborough, Judge Raymond B. Mallard gave Pat Cusick a year in jail on April 23 and John Dunne twelve months on April 24 for the February street-blocking demonstrations, among a dozen active sentences and about 100 suspended ones that stripped the Chapel Hill movement of its leaders four weeks after the fast.

  153. Founding or opening · 137 North Churton Street, Hillsborough Kenan Oil Company opens the Colonial Phillips 66 service station at Churton and Tryon

    Kenan Oil Company held a grand opening for its new Colonial Phillips 66 station on Churton Street at Tryon, with Fred Albert as station manager and door prizes drawn Friday night. The station opened for business the next day; Odis Johnson of Mebane was the builder.

  154. Construction or physical change · South Churton Street at the Eno River, Hillsborough The new high bridge over the Eno opens on South Churton Street

    The 375-foot bridge, 55 feet above the river and built for about $450,000 with state and federal money, opened with the new access road from Interstate 85 into Hillsborough in the summer of 1964, taking traffic off the 1922 bridge.

  155. Construction or physical change · courthouse square, Hillsborough The old Walker Milling Co. building on courthouse square is torn down

    Orange County, which bought the mill property in August 1963 for $25,000, had a Wilmington contractor raze the building to clear the lot for parking. Historical groups asked the commissioners to save it, but they would only agree, by a split vote, to buy the old handmade bricks for resale.

  156. Founding or opening · Central Elementary School, 154 Hayes Street, Hillsborough Central Elementary School is built north of West Hillsborough

    Planned as a segregated school for Black pupils next to Central High School, the flat-roofed brick and concrete building designed by Archie Royal Davis was finished a few years before desegregation and then served an integrated student body. Additions followed in 1975 and during the 1990s.

  157. Property or economic transaction · Ruffin-Hill House, 311 St. Mary's Road, Hillsborough Col. and Mrs. Jacob Moon buy the Ruffin-Hill House

    In 1965 the Ruffin-Hill House on St. Mary's Road, with 2.96 acres, was conveyed to Col. and Mrs. Jacob Moon.

  158. Property or economic transaction · 205 Barracks Road, West Hillsborough Lucius and Nellie Cheshire buy and restore the Commandant's House

    Eula Cole, who had bought the house from John W. Hill's estate in 1938, sold it in 1965 to Lucius and Nellie Cheshire. By 1972 they had restored it to excellent condition.

  159. Statistic or record · Berry Brick House, 208 West Queen Street, Hillsborough The Historic American Buildings Survey documents the Berry Brick House

    In 1965 the Historic American Buildings Survey recorded the Berry Brick House, the earliest surviving brick house in the original town, built about 1805 for Rhody Berry.

  160. Property or economic transaction · Hillsborough The Historic Hillsborough Commission buys the Burwell School

    The commission bought the house from the Spurgeon children and began restoring it to look as it had after the 1848 enlargement.

  161. Founding or opening · Occoneechee Steakhouse, South Churton Street south of Old Dogwood, Hillsborough The Occoneechee Steakhouse and a ten-room motel go up on South Churton Street

    Among the restaurants that grew up around Daniel Boone Village was the Occoneechee Steakhouse, across South Churton Street, with a second small motel of ten rooms built beside it.

  162. Construction or physical change · 202 Barracks Street, West Hillsborough The former Military Academy dining hall is turned into a church

    The one-story board-and-batten building beside Barracks Road, thought to be a surviving piece of the long frame service building that stood behind the barracks, became a church building in 1965.

  163. Appointment, election or service · Hillsborough The board names the first principals of Stanford Junior High and Central Elementary

    Paul Raspberry was chosen to lead the new Stanford Junior High, and Tarleton Davis was picked to open Central Elementary as its first principal.

  164. Protest or organizing · Sportsman's Lakeside Lodge, NC Highway 57 north of Hillsborough A House committee names the Sportsman's Lakeside Lodge as the Klan unit in Orange County

    The House Un-American Activities Committee, investigating the Ku Klux Klan, named the Sportsman's Lakeside Lodge as the Klan organization in Orange County. Sheriff C. B. Knight told the Daily Tar Heel that three Klan meetings had been held in the county recently.

  165. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Hillsborough makes its first annexations beyond the one-square-mile town

    In 1966 the town began extending its limits past the square mile platted in 1754, first taking in homes on Cameron and Ruffin streets to the northeast and the Bellevue mill and its village to the west. Annexations have continued since, most of them under ten acres.

  166. Founding or opening · Interstate 85 at South Churton Street, Hillsborough Interstate 85 is completed south of Hillsborough

    The interstate linking Charlotte and Durham by way of Greensboro was finished in 1966 about a mile and a quarter south of downtown, and a commercial strip grew up along South Churton Street between the town and the interchange.

  167. Founding or opening · Daniel Boone Village, South Churton Street, Hillsborough James J. Freeland opens the Daniel Boone Inn and restaurant at South Churton Street and I-85

    A 1966 plat of the "Daniel Boone Inn and Restaurant Tract", eleven acres lying behind the Shell station on the northeast side of the interchange, shows a pond, a general store, a restaurant later known as the D. B. Cafeteria and a long two-story motel. It was the start of Daniel Boone Village.

  168. Competition or sporting achievement · Orange Speedway (Occoneechee Speedway), Hillsborough Richard Petty wins the Hillsborough 150 during his ten-race streak

    Richard Petty's win in the Hillsborough 150 at Orange Speedway was the eighth of ten straight victories in 1967, the season he won a record 27 races.

  169. Naming or commemoration · Central High School (A. L. Stanback School), 402 North Nash Street, Hillsborough Central High School becomes A. L. Stanback School

    After Central High's last high school class graduated in 1968 and its older students moved to Orange High School, the school was renamed for its longtime principal A. L. Stanback and became an elementary school.

  170. Protest or organizing · Hillsborough Central High students march and Orange County schools integrate

    In 1968 Black students at Central High School in Hillsborough walked out and marched to protest a plan for phased desegregation. After Central's last class graduated that spring, its high school students moved to Orange High, ending the county's dual school system in 1968–69.

  171. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Stanford Junior High School is built near Hillsborough with two classroom buildings and a gymnasium

    Under Superintendent G. Paul Carr the county finished Stanford Junior High, a main classroom building for about 800 pupils, a second for about 225 and a gymnasium, on the 100-acre tract it shares with Orange High.

  172. Award or honor · Hillsborough Cone Mills honors Eno plant workers, most of them women, for fifty years at the mill

    At the Eno Plant's seventieth anniversary celebration in Hillsborough, Cone Mills recognized at least six of its 385 employees for fifty or more years of work at the mill, five of them women.

  173. Closing or ending · Hillsborough Final race at Orange Speedway

    Richard Petty won by seven laps in the last NASCAR Grand National race at Orange Speedway near Hillsborough, as the Occoneechee track had been called since 1954. The track closed after the race.

  174. Construction or physical change · Eno River Railroad Bridge, near Gold Park, Hillsborough A new iron railroad bridge is built over the Eno at Hillsborough

    An iron railroad bridge on poured concrete piers, bearing a plaque of the Virginia Bridge Iron Company of Roanoke dated 1969, is built across the Eno at the south end of the district near Gold Park.

  175. Life event · Central High School, Hillsborough Alethea Burt retires from teaching at Central High School

    Alethea Burt, who had led Ridge Road School until it closed in 1951 and then moved with her pupils to teach the elementary grades at Central High School in Hillsboro, retired at the end of the 1968-69 year.

  176. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Orange County Schools regroup pupils by grade across the Hillsborough schools to complete integration

    For 1969-70 the county put all its pupils outside the Efland area into Hillsborough schools, each serving set grades: kindergarten at Central Elementary, grades 1-2 at Cameron Park, 3-4 at Central, 5-6 at the old Orange Junior High, 7-9 at a new Orange Junior High and 10-12 at Orange High. Efland-Cheeks took kindergarten through third grade and Efland Elementary grades 4-6, and Aycock, Cedar Grove and West Hillsborough dropped out as separate schools.

  177. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Orange High School is enlarged with new buildings

    Six years after it opened as the county's consolidated high school, Orange High near Hillsborough added buildings in 1969 under the new superintendent George F. Williams.

  178. Closing or ending · West End Graded School, 111 Jones Street, West Hillsborough West End Graded School closes

    The West Hillsborough elementary school closed in 1969, perhaps because the new Central Elementary School took its pupils once schools were integrated. The main building later burned, leaving only the rear wings.

  179. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Eight men charged during the cafeteria strike appear in Orange County District Court

    Howard Fuller of Malcolm X Liberation University, two of its students, AFSCME official Gene Gore and four others charged with disorderly conduct, riot, failure to disperse or interfering with officers during the strike appeared before Judge D. M. McLellan, who continued the cases to January 7, 1970 at the defendants' request.

  180. 1970s
  181. Health or relief action · Fairview, Hillsborough A government grant paves Fairview's streets and repairs its houses

    Fairview, then outside the town and known to residents as a mud hole with bad septic systems and no paved streets or streetlights, had its streets paved in the 1970s with a government grant, which also paid to repair houses that lacked indoor plumbing.

  182. Construction or physical change · William Whitted House, East Queen Street, Hillsborough James J. Freeland remodels the William Whitted House on East Queen Street

    In the 1970s Freeland remodeled the William Whitted House, one of several historic Hillsborough buildings he restored or moved.

  183. Statistic or record · Orange County Mary Claire Engstrom surveys the family graveyards of Orange County

    In the 1970s the Hillsborough historian Mary Claire Engstrom recorded cemeteries across the county, many of them private burial grounds on farms. Her index was kept at the Register of Deeds in Hillsborough.

  184. Property or economic transaction · 143 West Margaret Lane, Hillsborough The Hillsborough Historical Society buys the Nash Law Office

    After several private owners, the Hillsborough Historical Society bought the Nash Law Office on West Margaret Lane, the oldest law office in town. It had served as a music studio for the Nash and Kollock School until 1907.

  185. Property or economic transaction · Bellevue Manufacturing Company, South Nash Street at Eno Street, West Hillsborough The former Bellevue mill is sold again and runs as Falk Fibers and Fabrics

    In the 1970s northeastern investors bought the mill again; directories list it as Falk, Fibers, and Fabrics, with a dyeing and finishing subsidiary at the same site.

  186. Founding or opening · Murphey School, Old NC 10 at Murphy School Road, Hillsborough vicinity The former Murphey School becomes a nightclub

    From some time in the early 1970s until the mid-1980s the old school was run as a nightclub. It stood empty from 1986.

  187. Naming or commemoration · Burwell School, Hillsborough Burwell School is listed in the National Register

    On September 15, 1970 the National Park Service listed Burwell School in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  188. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Three Durham men bound over to the grand jury in the Cates killing

    At a preliminary hearing in Hillsborough, Ronnie Broadwell, Rufus Nelson and William Johnson were bound over to the Orange County Grand Jury on murder charges and held without bond. Medical testimony indicated that immediate care could have prevented Cates's death.

  189. Construction or physical change · Hillsborough Orange High School gets a gymnasium

    The Orange High gymnasium, the fourth building on the campus plan, is dated 1971 under Superintendent George F. Williams.

  190. Violence or armed conflict · Orange High School, Hillsborough Student Donnie Riddle is stabbed to death at Orange High School

    Donnie Riddle was killed in the Orange High bus parking lot while trying to shield the assistant principal from three former students who had dropped out. The school stayed closed until February 7, when enough officers were on hand to keep out anyone without business there.

  191. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Trial of three Storm Troopers for the death of James Cates opens

    Ronnie Broadwell, Rufus Paul Nelson and William Johnson went on trial in Orange County Superior Court in Hillsborough before Judge Thomas Cooper on second-degree murder charges, reduced from first degree. District Solicitor Herbert Pierce prosecuted, and prosecution witnesses placed the three defendants around Cates with weapons.

  192. Law, policy or court · Hillsborough All-white jury acquits three men in the killing of James Cates

    A jury of 11 men and one woman, all white, found Ronnie Broadwell, Rufus Paul Nelson and William Johnson not guilty after about an hour and a half of deliberation. The defense called no witnesses.

  193. Naming or commemoration · Hazel-Nash House, Hillsborough The Hazel-Nash House is listed in the National Register

    On March 31, 1971 the National Park Service listed the Hazel-Nash House in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  194. Naming or commemoration · Eagle Lodge, Hillsborough Eagle Lodge is listed in the National Register

    On April 16, 1971 the National Park Service listed Eagle Lodge in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  195. Naming or commemoration · Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church and Churchyard, Hillsborough Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church and Churchyard is listed in the National Register

    On June 24, 1971 the National Park Service listed Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church and Churchyard in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  196. Naming or commemoration · Old Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough The Old Orange County Courthouse is listed in the National Register

    On June 24, 1971 the National Park Service listed the Old Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  197. Naming or commemoration · Ruffin-Roulhac House, Hillsborough The Ruffin-Roulhac House is listed in the National Register

    On August 5, 1971 the National Park Service listed the Ruffin-Roulhac House in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  198. Naming or commemoration · Ayr Mount, Hillsborough Ayr Mount is listed in the National Register

    On August 26, 1971 the National Park Service listed Ayr Mount in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  199. Naming or commemoration · Sans Souci, Hillsborough Sans Souci is listed in the National Register

    On August 26, 1971 the National Park Service listed Sans Souci in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  200. Naming or commemoration · Nash Law Office, Hillsborough The Nash Law Office is listed in the National Register

    On September 28, 1971 the National Park Service listed the Nash Law Office in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  201. Naming or commemoration · Nash-Hooper House, Hillsborough The Nash-Hooper House is listed in the National Register

    On November 11, 1971 the National Park Service listed the Nash-Hooper House in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.

  202. Founding or opening · Daniel Boone Village, South Churton Street, Hillsborough Daniel Boone Village grows into an amusement park

    By 1972 the Daniel Boone Recreation Park had a roller rink, an ice rink, a ski lift, a refrigerated toboggan slide, an antique car and wax museum, a fort, an amphitheater and a campground, circled by a small railroad on which costumed performers staged holdups. With relocated log cabins and false-front shops it looked like a frontier town, and Freeland was dubbed the "Walt Disney of Hillsborough."

  203. Construction or physical change · Jacqueline and Jerome S. Harris House, 1701 Pleasant Green Road, northeast of Hillsborough Jon Condoret designs a Modernist house for Drs. Jerome and Jacqueline Harris

    Chapel Hill architect Jon Andre Condoret, an Algerian-born graduate of the Ecole Speciale d'Architecture, designed an L-shaped brick and cedar house with clerestory windows for Duke physicians Jerome and Jacqueline Harris on a wooded tract of nearly fifty acres northeast of Hillsborough.

  204. Publication, speech or performance · Hillsborough Marinda Dunnigan McPherson is recorded singing songs she learned from her family

    McKellar Israel recorded McPherson in the fall of 1972 and the fall of 1973, singing children's games, play party songs and spirituals she learned from family members, among them songs she first recalled hearing her grandmother Marinda Hart sing about 1920. Israel also interviewed her and her husband David McPherson about community events and history.

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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 2, 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