Chronology

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1. Antebellum and Civil War · 1800–1865

2. 1854 to 1855
   Chapel Hill Benjamin Hedrick's house with an eight-sided room goes up on East Rosemary Street

   Professor Benjamin Hedrick's house at 610 East Rosemary Street, known for its octagonal room, was ready by 1855 and the Hedricks moved in; Preservation Chapel Hill credits the Hillsborough builder John Berry and Hedrick's own design, and Little says he bought an older farmhouse from the university and added the eight-sided room. Horace Williams later owned it, and Preservation Chapel Hill now has its offices there.

3. Reconstruction and the New South · 1866–1899

4. 1879
   Property or economic transaction · Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill George T. Winston buys Benjamin Hedrick's house with its polygonal annex

   Professor George T. Winston bought the former Hedrick house in 1879. In the 1880s or early 1890s he tied the old farmhouse and its many-sided annex together with a Queen Anne addition of porch, entrance hall and parlor, turning the house toward Franklin Street. It is now called the Horace Williams House after its later owner.

5. 1897
   Property or economic transaction · 610 East Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill Horace Williams buys the house at 610 East Rosemary Street

   Williams bought the 1854 house built by the university chemistry professor Benjamin Hedrick and owned it until he died. Preservation Chapel Hill now has its offices there and opens the house to the public.

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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 1, 2026.