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Local figure

N. W. Brown

N. W. Brown was a Hillsborough businessman and civic leader in the early twentieth century. In 1907 he was serving as United States commissioner at Hillsboro, and in 1913 he became the first vice president of the new Hillsboro Building and Loan Association. During the First World War he helped organize the county's Red Cross chapter in June 1917 and in September 1918 was elected county chairman of the United War Work campaign.

Source: Documenting the American South: Annie Sutton Cameron. A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina.…

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Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each opens its own page, with its events date by date.

StorylineProhibition and the blockaders in Orange County, 1901–19301901–1930 · 22 events · Hillsborough's fight over its saloons gave way to a long struggle against illegal stills across Orange County. In 1903 the town elected a board chosen mostly on the prohibition ticket, which refused every saloon license, and the barrooms closed that June. In 1905 the county commissioners refused the licenses a new town board recommended, and the town voted against liquor dispensaries. The county voted against state prohibition in 1908, though the state carried it, and in 1919 Orange's representative voted against ratifying national prohibition. Blockading, the illegal distilling of whiskey, went on: in 1920 Louis Graves wrote in the New Republic that Orange had the largest distilling operations in the state, and officers kept capturing stills through 1930.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 23 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Nathan W. Brown takes over the Hillsborough post office and moves it to the Cheek building Nathan W. Brown, 21-year-old son of Henry N. Brown Sr., took charge of the Hillsborough post office in place of H. L. Parish, whom the Republican administration had removed after three years, and moved the office into the Cheek building north of the court house. People: Harry L. Parish Place: Cheek building, north of the court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Henry N. Brown Sr. · Also mentions: Hillsborough post officeSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), May 18, 1889, p. 3
  2. Postmaster Nate W. Brown opens a book and stationery store in the Hillsborough post office building N. W. Brown, the Hillsborough postmaster, opened a book store in the post office building, selling school books, novels for sale or rent, stationery and blank legal forms and taking newspaper subscriptions. Place: Post office building, HillsboroughSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), January 25, 1890, p. 3
  3. Eugene L. Hassell takes charge of the Hillsborough post office and moves it to Churton Street After a summer-long contest in which an earlier appointee, Mr. Parrish, was never commissioned, Eugene L. Hassell received his commission as Hillsborough postmaster in succession to Nate W. Brown. He took charge at once and moved the office into the Churton Street building occupied by James Webb, just south of Maj. John W. Graham's law office. People: N. W. Brown Place: Churton Street, Hillsborough · Also named: Eugene L. Hassell, John W. Graham, James WebbSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), September 16, 1893, p. 3
  4. Hillsborough elects former Republican postmaster N. W. Brown mayor Hillsborough's town election made N. W. Brown mayor and chose seven commissioners, among them W. H. Newman, E. A. Rosemond, Dr. J. S. Spurgeon, J. G. Cooley and James A. Cheek. The new board met the next day and made John Hayes constable and Rosemond treasurer. People: John Sanford Spurgeon, Edward Atkins Rosemond, James A. Cheek, Joseph G. Cooley Place: Hillsborough · Also named: W. H. Newman, John HayesSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), May 12, 1894, p. 3
  5. Orange County citizens organize corn relief for drought-stricken Nebraska A meeting at the Hillsborough court house organized relief for drought-stricken Nebraska farmers and named committees in every township to collect corn and seed, not money, for delivery to Charles S. Cooley at Hillsboro by February 5. By February 9 Cooley had received more than 200 bushels, with more held up by bad roads. People: N. W. Brown, Samuel Mallett Gattis, John Knox Hughes Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Charles S. CooleySearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), January 26, 1895, p. 2
  6. N. W. Brown's suit to unseat Hillsborough mayor Joseph A. Harris goes forward in superior court At the fall term of Orange Superior Court, Judge Starbuck overruled the demurrer in a suit brought by N. W. Brown, the defeated Republican candidate for mayor of Hillsborough, and gave leave to answer within 30 days. Brown asked the court to declare the office vacant because mayor-elect Joseph A. Harris had not filed an itemized statement of his election expenses within ten days of the election, as the law required. People: Joseph A. Harris Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 2, 1895, p. 3
  7. Hillsborough elects Mayor Joseph A. Harris and an all-Democratic town board Hillsborough voters elected Democrat Joseph A. Harris mayor over Republican Nathan W. Brown, 82 to 52, with a Democratic board of commissioners. The new registration, ordered after the old book was lost, listed 72 white and 71 Black voters, and about 25 Black men voted the Democratic ticket. People: Joseph A. Harris, N. W. Brown, Clarence Dupre Jones, Frank Nash, H. Winder Webb, Dudley M. Laws Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), May 9, 1896, p. 3
  8. Postmaster Cheek moves the Hillsborough post office back to King Street Postmaster J. Clyde Cheek moved the Hillsborough post office into a building on King Street near the court house, in the same place it had occupied when N. W. Brown was postmaster. People: N. W. Brown Place: King Street near the court house, Hillsborough · Also named: J. Clyde Cheek · Also mentions: Hillsborough post officeSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), July 15, 1897, p. 3
  9. Hillsboro Township names separate committees for the town district's white and Black schools Meeting at the court house, the Hillsboro Township school committee appointed committeemen for each school district in the township and, because of the large number of children, named separate committees for the white and the Black schools of Hillsboro District No. 15. Major John W. Graham, James A. Cheek and C. R. Lassiter took the white school; Thomas H. Webb, N. W. Brown and Dr. J. S. Spurgeon took the Black school. People: John W. Graham, N. W. Brown, John Sanford Spurgeon, James A. Cheek Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: C. R. Lassiter, Thomas H. WebbSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 3, 1899, p. 2
  10. Hillsborough elects Mayor Norwood and a five-member town board under its amended charter In the first town election under the amended charter, Hillsborough chose Mayor Norwood and Commissioners James Webb, James A. Cheek, O. J. Forrest, N. W. Brown and Fletcher R. Faucett, with Brown polling 92 votes. The new board took the oath on May 9, elected R. L. Faucett clerk and re-elected Dr. J. S. Spurgeon treasurer. People: N. W. Brown, John Sanford Spurgeon, James A. Cheek, O. J. Forrest Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: James Webb, Fletcher R. Faucett, R. L. Faucett, Mayor Norwood, NorwoodSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), May 16, 1901, p. 3
  11. Mayor Norwood breaks a tie to license Hillsborough's three saloons for another year With Commissioner Fletcher R. Faucett absent, the town board split two to two on James A. Cheek's motion to license William F. Jackson, Theodore Turner and Cheek himself to sell liquor for twelve months from July 1, and Mayor Norwood cast the deciding vote for the licenses. James Webb and Cheek voted yes and N. W. Brown and O. J. Forrest voted no; the county commissioners granted the three their retail licenses on July 1. People: N. W. Brown, James A. Cheek, O. J. Forrest Place: Hillsborough · Also named: William F. Jackson, Theodore Turner, James Webb, Fletcher R. Faucett, Mayor Norwood, NorwoodSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 6, 1901, p. 3
  12. Hillsborough votes for prohibition for the first time and elects Joseph A. Harris mayor For the first time in the town's history the prohibition ticket carried Hillsborough's election: Joseph A. Harris was elected mayor, and O. J. Forrest, N. W. Brown, P. H. Smith and A. F. Crabtree won on the prohibition ticket with James Webb on the license ticket, giving a board expected to refuse saloon licenses after July 1. People: Joseph A. Harris, N. W. Brown, O. J. Forrest Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: P. H. Smith, A. F. Crabtree, James WebbSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), May 7, 1903, p. 3
Show all 23 dated events
  1. Hillsborough elects a town board expected to license saloons Joseph A. Harris was re-elected mayor, and voters chose Shepperd Strudwick, William A. Hayes, Calvin R. Lassiter, Stephen E. Cole and George C. Lynch as commissioners over the old dry board of O. J. Forrest, A. F. Crabtree, N. W. Brown and P. H. Smith. The new ticket was understood to favor licensing barrooms, which the old board had refused for two years. People: Joseph A. Harris, Shepperd Strudwick (1868-1961), N. W. Brown, O. J. Forrest Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: William A. Hayes, Calvin R. Lassiter, Stephen E. Cole, George C. Lynch, A. F. Crabtree, P. H. SmithSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), May 4, 1905, p. 3
  2. Stockholders organize the Hillsboro Clay Manufacturing Company and elect Shepperd Strudwick president Stockholders of the Hillsboro Clay Manufacturing Company met and elected directors, who chose Shepperd Strudwick president and treasurer, A. J. Ruffin vice president and H. N. Brown Jr. secretary and general manager. Work on a brick plant a mile and a half east of town on the Southern Railway was to begin at once, on an authorized capital of $100,000 with $20,000 paid in. People: Shepperd Strudwick (1868-1961), Allen Jones Ruffin, Paul C. Collins, J. Cheshire Webb, N. W. Brown Place: Office in the old Norwood building east of the court house; plant east of Hillsborough on the Southern Railway · Also named: H. N. Brown Jr.Search the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), January 10, 1907, p. 2
  3. An Orange County Anti-Saloon League is organized after Charles B. Aycock speaks for prohibition Former governor Charles B. Aycock spoke for state prohibition to a large crowd in the Hillsborough courthouse, several merchants closing their stores so their clerks could hear him, and Rev. Charles E. Maddry of Greensboro then organized an Orange County Anti-Saloon League with Frank Nash as chairman, Nathan W. Brown as secretary and an executive committee drawn from every township. People: Charles B. Aycock, Charles Edward Maddry, Frank Nash, N. W. Brown, Samuel Mallett Gattis Place: Courthouse, HillsboroughSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), April 23, 1908, p. 3
  4. N. W. Brown buys a King Street store house beside the post office N. W. Brown bought the vacant lot and store house on King Street between the post office building and the Misses Forrest's millinery store, planning a glass front and other improvements. Place: King Street, HillsboroughSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), September 21, 1911, p. 5
  5. The Hillsboro Building and Loan Association is organized in the back of the West End Drug Store Six incorporators put up $5,500 to start the Hillsboro Building and Loan Association, with Charles H. Robertson as president and druggist C. M. Andrews as secretary-treasurer. Andrews took members' payments at his drug counter until 1926. People: Charles H. Robertson, Charles M. Andrews, N. W. Brown Place: West End Drug Store, Nash Street, West Hillsborough · Also mentions: Hillsboro Building and Loan AssociationSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 5, 1950, p. 10 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 13, 1961, p. 27
  6. Orange County raises about $2,000 in a Y.M.C.A. war fund drive A Y.M.C.A. drive ran November 11-19, 1917, led by N. W. Brown, G. K. Collins and T. M. Grant. At a packed court house rally on November 18, with Maj. John W. Graham presiding, pledges reached $1,400, and the rest of the $2,000 was raised afterward. People: John W. Graham, Samuel Mallett Gattis, N. W. Brown Place: Hillsborough · Also named: G. K. Collins, T. M. GrantSearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 71
  7. Orange County organizes for the United War Work drive A court house meeting on September 19, 1918, elected N. W. Brown county chairman for the United War Work drive. The county raised $7,485; Carrboro gave $1,240 on a $500 quota, and Hillsborough Township, under Elizabeth Cornelius, gave $2,300. People: R. H. Claytor, N. W. Brown, H. Winder Webb, H. S. Bradshaw Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Elizabeth CorneliusSearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 72
  8. Fire destroys N. W. Brown's store building at West Hillsboro Fire early on Friday morning, January 30, destroyed N. W. Brown's store building at West Hillsboro, which held H. D. Smith's grocery, Victor Allen's dry goods store and the millinery shop of the Misses Jordan and Dunn. The News put the loss at $20,000; the building was partly insured and the stocks of goods not at all. Place: N. W. Brown store building, West Hillsboro · Also named: H. D. Smith, Victor Allen · Also mentions: Brown's storeSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), February 5, 1920, p. 5
  9. S. W. Oldham leads a law enforcement campaign against blockading in Orange County The Rev. S. W. Oldham was conducting a campaign in Orange County for enforcement of the liquor laws. In a letter to the News, N. W. Brown of Hillsboro called it the most important campaign ever waged in the county, said the county's name for blockading was as bad as any mountain county's, and urged citizens to follow 32 Durham County men who had served notice on the blockaders. People: N. W. Brown Place: Orange County · Also named: S. W. OldhamSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), January 22, 1920, p. 1
  10. A Hillsborough mass meeting resolves to fight the State Highway Commission's route north of the courthouse Citizens of Hillsborough and the surrounding country met at the courthouse, with county commissioners' chairman Ralph Ward presiding, to fight the State Highway Commission's plan to carry the Central Highway along the old pre-Revolutionary route north of the courthouse instead of the road running due west from it. The county commissioners threatened an injunction, and Republican leader N. W. Brown, whose account the News reprinted, said the new route would make a dangerous curve and serve fewer than twenty-five taxpayers in four miles. People: N. W. Brown, John Sprunt Hill, Ralph H. Ward Place: Courthouse, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), December 1, 1921, p. 1
  11. Nathan W. Brown, former mayor and postmaster of Hillsboro, dies Nathan William Brown, 86, a lifelong Orange County man who had been mayor and postmaster of Hillsboro and a trustee and steward of the Hillsboro Methodist Church, died; his funeral was held at the church on Tuesday, October 5, with burial in the Hillsboro Cemetery. Place: Hillsboro Methodist Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 7, 1954, p. 4

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Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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