Chronology

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1. Antebellum and Civil War · 1800–1865

2. about 1836-1838
   Construction or physical change · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Orange Methodist Church replaces its burned log church with a frame building

   By tradition the congregation first worshiped in a log cabin, which burned. A frame church took its place around 1836 to 1838 and served until 1924.

3. October 31, 1836
   Property or economic transaction · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Alexander Gattis Sr. and Thomas King deed land to the Orange Methodist Church trustees

   Each man deeded two acres to the trustees of Orange Church, giving the congregation its own ground. Gattis was himself a ruling elder of New Hope Presbyterian Church.

4. 1859
   Naming or commemoration · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Alexander Gattis Jr. becomes the first person buried in the Orange Church cemetery

   Gattis, the first member of Orange Church to enter the Methodist ministry, joined the North Carolina Conference in 1846. He died at forty and was the first burial in the church cemetery.

5. Early twentieth century · 1900–1944

6. 1924
   Construction or physical change · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Orange Methodist Church tears down its frame church and builds the present sanctuary

   The 1924 building added four Sunday school rooms to what had been a single-room church. The booklet says it was still the place of Sunday worship in 1989.

7. 1934
   Construction or physical change · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Orange Methodist Church builds the Hut for its social and community use

   The two-room Hut held a kitchen and a social hall and was used for community events, church suppers, business meetings and Sunday school.

8. Civil rights era · 1945–1975

9. March 29, 1953
   Naming or commemoration · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Orange Methodist Church dedicates three memorial stained glass windows

   UNC chancellor Robert B. House preached at the dedication. The windows remember the deceased members of the Women's Society of Christian Service, Samuel J. Brockwell, and the brothers Malcolm C. and John H. Blackwood.

10. 1958
    Appointment, election or service · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Orange Methodist Church leaves a three-point charge for its own student minister

    Until 1958 one pastor served Orange and two other churches. That year J. C. Alexander came as the church's full-time student minister, and his family were the first to live in the new parsonage.

11. June 1968
    Appointment, election or service · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill John S. Paschal becomes the first full-time pastor of Orange Methodist Church

    Paschal had served two years as a full-time student pastor before his reappointment as full-time pastor, a post he held until 1972.

12. June 1975 to June 1985
    Appointment, election or service · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill David Clift begins a ten-year pastorate at Orange Methodist Church

    No pastor appointed to Orange Methodist had stayed as long as Clift. During his ten years the congregation grew as Chapel Hill spread outward.

13. Recent decades · 1976–2026

14. May 23, 1982
    Naming or commemoration · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Orange Methodist Church celebrates its 150th anniversary

    Most of the congregation came dressed in the style of the early 1800s, marking the traditional 1832 founding.

15. July 29-30, 1989
    Construction or physical change · Orange United Methodist Church, near Chapel Hill Orange Methodist Church opens its new fellowship hall and education building

    The congregation marked the opening over a weekend with an arts festival and worship. Membership had grown from 276 in 1981 to 488 by the end of 1988.

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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.