Chronology

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1. Antebellum and Civil War · 1800–1865

2. 1804
   Construction or physical change · Hogg house, east half of Lot #11, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill James Hogg builds a large house on Franklin Street

   James Hogg acquired the eastern half of Lot #11 from William R. Davie when his son Gavin entered the university, and built a ten-room house there. Debts forced him to sell in 1806, though he kept living in it; the house later passed to merchants and became the core of the Central Hotel.

3. 1847
   Property or economic transaction · Watson drugstore, Hogg property, south side of East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Jones Watson buys Barbee's old store and house for a drugstore

   Jones Watson acquired Sidney Barbee's former house and store on the south side of the street, the old James Hogg property, and probably ran his drugstore from the store before remodeling both buildings. By 1858 they had become his Central Hotel.

4. by 1858
   Founding or opening · Central Hotel, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Jones Watson opens the Central Hotel

   Watson remodeled and enlarged the old James Hogg house and the Barbee store beside it into the Central Hotel, which had several shops on the ground. It appears on the maps through 1868.

5. Reconstruction and the New South · 1866–1899

6. about 1891
   Property or economic transaction · Central Hotel, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Dr. Abner B. Roberson buys the Central Hotel and moves his drugstore into it

   After the hotel's owner, Jones Watson, died, Dr. Roberson bought the Central Hotel, moved his drugstore into it with Clyde Eubanks as druggist, and leased the hotel's management to 'Bunn' Patterson. Adam A. Kluttz opened a store called the Glass Front in the many-windowed west end of the building.

7. 1894
   Construction or physical change · Central Hotel, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Dr. Roberson adds a ten-room annex to the Central Hotel

   Roberson enlarged the Central Hotel with a ten-room wing facing the campus. After his death in 1897 Kluttz ran the hotel for a short time before 'Bunn' Patterson took back its management.

8. 1897
   Property or economic transaction · Central Hotel, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Clyde Eubanks buys Dr. Roberson's drugstore

   When Dr. Roberson died, his druggist Clyde Eubanks bought the drugstore and kept it in the Central Hotel until 1901.

9. Early twentieth century · 1900–1944

10. 1901
    Construction or physical change · Eubanks drugstore, Tankersley property, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill Clyde Eubanks moves his drugstore into a building of his own

    Eubanks left the Central Hotel and set up his drugstore in a new building he had put up on the west corner of the Tankersley property on Franklin Street.

11. 1912
    Construction or physical change · Central Hotel site (now Vance, Battle and Pettigrew halls), Franklin Street, Chapel Hill The university razes the old Central Hotel to build dormitories

    The university bought the old Central Hotel from Dr. Roberson's estate, tore it down in 1912, and built the Vance, Battle and Pettigrew dormitories on the site.

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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 2, 2026.