Hilliard Caldwell

Life and Orange County connections

Dated events connected with this person, earliest first. See these 12 dated events in the chronology →

1. June 1955 Hilliard Caldwell leads the Chapel Hill chapter of the New Farmers of America The Lincoln High School paper reported a prosperous 1954 to 1955 year for the chapter under Caldwell, its president, and printed his own account of the chapter's work.Search the index · DigitalNC, The Lincoln Echo, June 1, 1955, page 1
2. September 1, 1955 Hilliard Caldwell writes the Negro Community news column for the Chapel Hill News Leader Caldwell was named as correspondent at the head of the column, which carried news of Black Chapel Hill and asked Lincoln High School graduates to send in their college addresses for the next week's issue.Search the index · DigitalNC, Chapel Hill News Leader, September 1, 1955, page 6
3. February 29, 1960 Lincoln High students picket Colonial Drug and sit in at the Bus Station Cafe The day after the sit-in, nearly 100 Black high school students picketed Colonial Drug after manager John Carswell roped off its booths, while others filled the counter at the Bus Station Cafe until proprietor Leo Eliadis closed it and were served standing at the Long Meadow Dairy Bar. People: Harold Foster, Hilliard CaldwellDigitalNC: The Daily Tar Heel, March 3, 1960, p. 1
4. March 1, 1960 The Chapel Hill sit-in movement forms an executive committee and retains counsel At a Tuesday night meeting the Lincoln High demonstrators and their adult supporters organized, set up an executive committee to coordinate the lunch-counter protests and acquired legal counsel. People: Harold Foster, Hilliard CaldwellDigitalNC: The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 10, 1960, p. 1
5. 1981–1997 Hilliard Caldwell is elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen Hilliard Caldwell, who had advised the students of the 1960 Colonial Drug sit-in in Chapel Hill, was first elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen in 1981. He served four terms, through 1997. People: Hilliard CaldwellTown of Carrboro: Town of Carrboro Remembers Former Alderman Hilliard Caldwell (September 9, 2025)
6. November 16, 1987 Hilliard Caldwell tells a Chapel Hill forum that local schools still fail Black students Speaking as home school coordinator for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools at a Human Rights Week forum, Caldwell said the community spent millions on education without adequate results and that few Black students reached the honor rolls. His cousin Ed Caldwell, a school board member, spoke as well.Search the index · DigitalNC, The Daily Tar Heel, November 17, 1987, page 1
7. December 5, 1989 Eleanor Kinnaird is sworn in for a second term as mayor of Carrboro Town clerk Sarah C. Williamson administered the oath to Mayor-elect Kinnaird and to aldermen-elect Hilliard Caldwell and Tom Gurganus after the board approved the abstract of votes from the November 7, 1989 election. Jacquelyn Gist was sworn in as an alderman at the same meeting. People: Hilliard Caldwell, Jacquelyn GistSearch the index · Town of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, December 5, 1989
8. December 5, 1995 Mike Nelson is sworn in as mayor of Carrboro At the Board of Aldermen meeting of December 5, 1995, outgoing mayor Eleanor Kinnaird gave closing remarks and Mayor-elect Michael R. Nelson took the oath of office, along with aldermen-elect Jay Bryan, Hilliard Caldwell and Alex Zaffron. The Board then appointed Diana McDuffee to the alderman seat Nelson vacated. People: Mike Nelson, Ellie Kinnaird, Hilliard Caldwell, Diana McDuffee, Alex ZaffronTown of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, December 5, 1995
9. September 17, 1996 Carrboro aldermen take up a tree-cutter registration plan after Hurricane Fran scams The Board of Aldermen discussed asking tree removal workers to identify themselves at town hall before starting work, after Mayor Mike Nelson cited a resident who paid $800 in advance to remove Fran-felled trees and the workers did not return. Staff were to bring a formal proposal to the next meeting. People: Mike Nelson, Hilliard CaldwellDaily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Aldermen look to protect residents from tree scams, September 19, 1996
10. July 1999 Hilliard Caldwell announces he will not seek another term as a Carrboro alderman Caldwell said he would not run again and named controlled growth as the board's major achievement. The Daily Tar Heel counted 16 years of service under four Carrboro mayors. People: Mike Nelson, Diana McDuffeeSearch the index · DigitalNC, The Daily Tar Heel, July 29, 1999, page 4
11. 2017 A stone gateway honoring Northside's freedom fighters was opened at Rosemary and Roberson streets The gateway of Chatham stone carries eight black granite slabs with civil rights images and quotations from oral history interviews. It was opened with a ribbon cutting at the first Northside Festival, as the Jackson Center renamed its annual celebration. People: Hilliard CaldwellThe Marian Cheek Jackson Center: The New Gateway: A Historic Welcome to Northside
12. September 6, 2025 Hilliard Caldwell dies at 88 Caldwell, who advised the Lincoln High School students who held Chapel Hill's first sit-in in 1960 and later served on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, died on September 6, 2025. The town issued a statement remembering his service and courage. People: Barbara FousheeSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel: Civil rights activist and former Carrboro Alderman Hilliard Caldwell dies at 88 years old