Chronology

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1. Antebellum and Civil War · 1800–1865

2. 1842
   Property or economic transaction · Chapel of the Cross, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Chapel Hill Episcopalians buy a church lot from the university

   William Mercer Green told the 1842 diocesan convention that the new Chapel Hill congregation, then fifteen communicants, had bought a lot from the university for its church and had let a contract for part of the building materials.

3. November 28, 1843
   Construction or physical change · Chapel of the Cross, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Swain reports the Chapel of the Cross walls up to a plan by Thomas U. Walter

   Writing to Charles Manly, university president David L. Swain noted that the Episcopalians had raised the brick walls of their church and that it was planned by Walter of Philadelphia. The nomination treats this letter as the main evidence that architect Thomas U. Walter designed the chapel, which had long been credited to Richard Upjohn.

4. Reconstruction and the New South · 1866–1899

5. 1888
   Naming or commemoration · Chapel of the Cross, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill A carved eagle lectern at the Chapel of the Cross memorializes Mary Ruffin Smith

   A lectern topped by a carved wooden eagle was placed in the Chapel of the Cross nave in memory of Mary Ruffin Smith, with an inscription on its base dated 1888.

6. 1890
   Construction or physical change · Chapel of the Cross, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill The Chapel of the Cross adds a chancel and vestry

   A chancel and a vestry room were built onto the rear of the 1848 Chapel of the Cross, replacing its original back wall. The vestry kept its corner fireplace, paneled wainscot and built-in cupboards into the 1970s.

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