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Key local figure

Charles C. Craig

Charles Craig was a Black contractor in Chapel Hill, trained in drafting and carpentry at a technical college, who by 1925 had built most of the houses in a new settlement on North Avenue off Rosemary Lane. Neighbors proposed calling it Craigtown, partly because his father, Manuel Craig, had lived there enslaved.

Source: DigitalNC: Chapel Hill Weekly, August 14, 1925, p. 1

Orange County Indexed has not yet linked an indexed work directly to Charles C. Craig. The biography and the dated events on this page provide sources about Charles C. Craig’s life and work.

Search works on The Hargraves Center and Chapel Hill’s Negro Community Center Research sources View background reading ↓

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Select a title to open its page or chronology entry.

Chapel Hill and the 1933 school law: the special district and the ninth month1933 · 9 events · Under the 1933 school machinery act, Chapel Hill's former charter school board asked that its old district become a city unit so that its voters could tax themselves to supplement the state's eight-month term. The State School Commission ruled that such a unit needed a school population of 1,500 and agreed to make Chapel Hill a special district if the country north of Bolin Creek were added. The board set a tax of 18.5 cents on $100 to raise teachers' pay and add a ninth month. When Black registrants complained that the registrar had spoken against the tax while enrolling voters, he resigned. On October 12 the district cast 729 votes for the levy against a registration of 1,239. Black civic clubs and the Chapel Hill town board, 1935–19561935–1956 · From 1935 to 1956 Black civic clubs in Chapel Hill took their neighborhoods' needs to the town board and, later, the school board. In July 1935 Black representatives asked the aldermen for more police protection on West Franklin and West Rosemary streets. In 1946 Adolphus Clark asked for sewer service, drainage, street markings and a light on Sunset Drive; the board ordered the light, markings and drainage but said sewer lines had to wait. Requests for sidewalks, traffic lights and sewer pipe followed in 1950, and in 1952 the club reported 344 children crossing West Franklin Street each day. In 1956 a club petitioned for a Black member on the school board, which named druggist William L. Sloan instead.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 20 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Contractor Charles Craige builds a gambrel-roofed bungalow for mason William Strayhorn The house at 107 Jones Ferry Road was built for William and Margie Strayhorn beside the home of his father Toney, head of a family of brick masons. The 1983 inventory dates it 1915, but in August 1925 the Weekly listed Will Strayhorn's home in Carrboro among the works of the Black contractor Charles Craig, who it said had begun contracting two or three years before. William died young in 1933; his daughter Laura and her husband Albert Reaves kept the house in 1983. People: William Strayhorn, Toney Strayhorn, Charles C. CraigTown of Carrboro: Brown, McSwain and Florin, Carrboro, N.C.: An Architectural and Historical Inventory (1983), p. 36 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, August 14, 1925, p. 1
  2. Black citizens of Chapel Hill organize a Community Fair Association to support the Orange County Training School About thirty Black citizens met in the Training School auditorium, organized the Community Fair Association to help the school and through it the county's farmers, and elected Johnson Merritt and Charles Craig presidents. Committees were named to raise money for the auditorium platform, floors, the farm shop and library, light fixtures and water spigots, to report by Labor Day. People: Kennon Cheek, Louis H. Hackney, Charles C. CraigThe Chapel Hill Weekly, June 26, 1925, p. 3
  3. Black contractor Charles Craig builds a new settlement on North Avenue, and neighbors propose to call it Craigtown Charles Craig, a Black contractor trained at a technical college, had built or begun several houses in a new settlement on North Avenue off Rosemary Lane, on the line between Chapel Hill and Carrboro, for owners including Fred Edwards and Craven Jones. White and Black citizens proposed naming it Craigtown, the Weekly reported, partly because his father Manuel Craig had lived on the same ground as a slave. People: Charles C. CraigThe Chapel Hill Weekly, August 14, 1925, p. 1
  4. Charles Craig builds a three-car garage on the M. C. S. Noble place Contractor Charles Craig was building a garage for three cars on M. C. S. Noble's place at Hillsboro and North streets, one each for Noble and his children Alice and Mark. The Weekly called a triple garage for one family a novelty in Chapel Hill. People: M. C. S. NobleSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 30, 1926, p. 4
  5. Black Chapel Hill residents build a country club southwest of the village A group of Black residents of Chapel Hill was establishing a country club beyond the west end of Cameron Avenue. Charles Craig, a contractor the Weekly described as one of the most industrious and prosperous Black men in the village, was building the frame clubhouse, with a fireproof roof, a 46 by 36 foot assembly room, a dining room, kitchen, game room and cloak room, at a cost of $2,000 to $2,500, on 3 1/2 acres with space for a tennis court. People: Charles C. CraigSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 18, 1927, p. 1
  6. Black parents and teachers raise money to lengthen the term of Chapel Hill's Black high school Chapel Hill's Black high school, which M. C. S. Noble said was the only school in Orange County doing high school work for Black students, had only a six-month term, and its Parent-Teachers Association raised $425 in pledges among Black residents and sent Charles C. Craig to solicit white citizens, who gave $106 in cash and $70 in pledges by February 11. A campaign by the school's teachers and pupils added $153, and principal C. C. Scott quoted the state supervisor of Black high schools that it was the only high school of its class in the state with a six-month term. People: M. C. S. Noble, Charles C. CraigThe Chapel Hill Weekly, February 14, 1930, p. 2
  7. Black veterans in Chapel Hill organize the John Allen Post of the American Legion Black veterans of Chapel Hill organized John Allen Post No. 205 of the American Legion, named for a Black Chapel Hill man who died in service in 1918, and obtained a charter with help from the officers of the town's white post. The Weekly listed eighteen members, with James Cobb as commander, and announced an installation in the Pickwick Theatre for May 24 with Frank P. Graham as speaker. People: Charles C. CraigSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 22, 1931, p. 1
  8. Bill McDade and Charles Craig become custodians of the new Graham Memorial Bill McDade, a Black Chapel Hill man connected with the University since 1875 and known to thousands of alumni, and Charles Craig became the two custodians of the Graham Memorial student building, which opened that fall with a lounge, a game room and meeting rooms. People: Charles C. CraigThe Chapel Hill Weekly, October 16, 1931, p. 1
  9. Aldermen replace the school-tax registrar after complaints that he argued against the tax At a special meeting on Saturday, September 16, the aldermen heard Charles C. Craig and Walter Hackney, Black registrants, and others say that registrar Paul Robertson had given his own opinion against the special school tax while enrolling voters. The board found he had not kept the impartiality required, Robertson resigned, Rev. B. J. Howard declined the post, and on Monday the 18th the aldermen elected former postmaster R. D. Herndon. People: Paul H. Robertson, Charles C. Craig, B. J. HowardSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 22, 1933, p. 1
  10. Black citizens of Chapel Hill organize the Colored Civic Club Leading Black citizens of Chapel Hill formed the Colored Civic Club 'to improve the social conditions' of the town's Black community, with Charles Craig as president and Eugene White as secretary. It met on the first Monday night of each month in the old Quaker school building on West Franklin Street. People: Hubert Robinson, Charles C. Craig, Harold M. HolmesSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 3, 1935, p. 1
  11. Colored Civic Club thanks the town for police work in the Black neighborhood Writing for the Colored Civic Club, Charles Craig told the town manager that conduct in Chapel Hill's Black section had much improved since leading Black citizens asked the aldermen in July for stronger police action, and that the club welcomed further help. The Weekly reported that the aldermen had authorized a new police car after the appeal and that several liquor-selling places had been broken up. People: William T. Sloan, Charles C. CraigSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 29, 1935, p. 1
  12. The Orange County Training School PTA elects Charles C. Craig and starts a drive for shop machinery At its first meeting of the year the Black school's Parent-Teacher Association chose Charles C. Craig as president and voted to raise money for manual training machinery, a victrola and radio for the music department, and a mimeograph machine, projects proposed by principal H. M. Holmes. In late October the association reported on the drive, and Superintendent A. W. Honeycutt praised the school's two new departments, home economics and manual training. People: Charles C. Craig, Harold M. Holmes, Allison W. HoneycuttThe Chapel Hill Weekly, September 24, 1937, p. 6
Show all 20 dated events
  1. A town meeting hears a federal housing official on clearing Chapel Hill's slums Called by the Chapel Hill Housing Committee to discuss the bad housing in the western part of town, mostly the homes of Black families, a town meeting at the Town Hall on March 11 heard Langdon Post of the U. S. Housing Authority explain how a slum-clearance project could be started, with modern four-room cottages renting for $9 to $12 a month. Black residents made up most of the audience, Training School principal H. M. Holmes and Charles Craig spoke for them, and the visitors had toured the slum areas of Chapel Hill and Carrboro that day. People: Joseph Hyde Pratt, Charles C. Craig, Harold M. HolmesThe Chapel Hill Weekly, March 15, 1940, p. 1
  2. Chapel Hill aldermen vote to take title to the Negro Community Center land and sponsor the project The board voted to accept title to the five-acre tract on the old Craig place at the west end of Rosemary Lane, bought with $1,500 given by citizens, and to sponsor an application to the WPA for building aid. Under a state act Mayor John M. Foushee was to name a five-member recreational commission, with staggered terms, to run the center. People: Joseph Hyde Pratt, Charles C. Craig, John M. FousheeThe Chapel Hill Weekly, May 10, 1940, p. 1
  3. Black residents hold a mass meeting to back the Negro Community Center At a mass meeting at the Black Methodist church, after songs by the Black high school's boys' and girls' choruses, Col. Joseph Hyde Pratt, Negro Civic League president Charles Craig and Kenneth Jones spoke and Hubert Robinson presided, and pledge cards for gifts of money or work were handed out. Pratt said the stone center, expected to cost $12,000 to $16,000, would be paid one-fourth locally, with Black residents giving the labor, and three-fourths by the WPA. People: Hubert Robinson, Joseph Hyde Pratt, Charles C. Craig, Kenneth JonesThe Chapel Hill Weekly, May 17, 1940, p. 1
  4. Charles Craig draws the plans for Chapel Hill's Negro Community Center, and the state WPA approves them Charles Craig, whom the Weekly called one of Chapel Hill's leading Black citizens, drew the plans and specifications for the Negro Community Center building on the site in the northwest part of town bought with citizens' gifts and deeded to the town, and the state WPA office in Raleigh approved them. Craig, Joseph Hyde Pratt, Roy M. Brown and George H. Lawrence were working out construction details and costs with WPA officials. People: Joseph Hyde Pratt, George H. Lawrence, Charles C. CraigThe Chapel Hill Weekly, August 30, 1940, p. 1
  5. President Roosevelt approves a WPA grant for the Negro Community Center in Chapel Hill Congressman Carl Durham learned that President Roosevelt had signed approval of a $12,300 WPA grant for the Negro Community Center, to be built on five acres of the old Craig place bought with $1,500 from a group of citizens. Black masons, carpenters and other skilled workers offered labor in place of money, and Charles Craig drew the plans. People: Carl T. Durham, Joseph Hyde Pratt, Charles C. CraigThe Chapel Hill Weekly, November 15, 1940, p. 1
  6. Construction begins on the Negro Community Center Work on the Negro Community Center began on January 9, 1941, with Clarence Webb directing a crew of 20 and Charles Craig, the Black architect and contractor who drew the plans, helping supervise. A WPA grant paid most of the cost, and Black masons, carpenters and other workers donated their labor. People: Charles C. CraigThe Chapel Hill Weekly, January 10, 1941, p. 1 (Work Begun on Negro Community Center)
  7. Black citizens of Chapel Hill campaign for funds and labor for the Negro Community Center Eight committees from Black social, church, lodge and labor groups began a house-to-house canvass for the Negro Community Center, taking pledges in cash or in work to be done when needed, and set a report meeting at the Orange County Training School for March 4. A white citizens' committee published a plan to raise the remaining $9,000 of the $26,000 project. People: Joseph Hyde Pratt, Paul W. Wager, Charles C. Craig, Harold M. HolmesThe Chapel Hill Weekly, February 21, 1941, p. 1
  8. The Orange County Training School opens its fall term in a repaired building The Orange County Training School, Chapel Hill's Black school, opened on September 1 after summer work in which classrooms and the auditorium were painted, a workroom was cut through for the library with labor given by Charles Craig, and termite-damaged timbers were replaced. Four teachers left over the summer and four new ones joined a faculty headed by H. M. Holmes. People: Charles C. Craig, Harold M. HolmesThe Chapel Hill Weekly, September 10, 1943, p. 6

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.

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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People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Charles C. Craig, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

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Background on The Hargraves Center and Chapel Hill’s Negro Community Center

Background reading on The Hargraves Center and Chapel Hill’s Negro Community Center. These works cover the broader subject and may not discuss Charles C. Craig. Follow a link to find a copy or view the material.

Oral history interview with Fred Battle, January 3, 2001: interview K-0525, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)

Battle, Fred · 2006 · University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill

Fred Battle grew up in Chapel Hill under segregation and describes that world in a Southern Oral History Program interview recorded January 3, 2001, by Bob Gilgor. He portrays the Black community of his youth as centered on the church and on Lincoln High School, recalls his schooling there, and tells of his college years in Greensboro and the civil rights demonstrations he joined there. Published online in 2006 by the UNC-Chapel Hill Library in Documenting the American South.

NC Cardinal UNC

Welcome to Coker Arboretum of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

North Carolina Botanical Garden · 2000 · The Botanical Garden

Visitor guide to the Coker Arboretum on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill, issued by the North Carolina Botanical Garden in 2000. It covers the arboretum's history and William Chambers Coker, the botanist it is named for, who died in 1953. A short orientation piece for people walking the grounds.

UNC

Orange County, 1752-1952, edited by Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager

Lefler, Hugh Talmage,; Wager, Paul W. · 1953

Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager edited this history of Orange County covering 1752 to 1952, published in 1953 for the county's two hundredth year in 389 pages with illustrations, portraits and maps.

NC Cardinal

William T. Alexander oral history interview 2, 1992 April 25

Alexander, William Tasse, 1904-1992 · 1992

William T. Alexander (1904 to 1992), in the second of three interviews, describes his schooling in Mecklenburg County, Charlotte and Chapel Hill in the 1910s and 1920s, beginning at the one-room Mallard Creek School. Rural education, corporal punishment, getting children to school, amusements, student life at UNC and the botanist William Chambers Coker come up. About 64 minutes, April 1992, tied to the William Tasse Alexander Family Papers, MS0256.

DPLA

Recording with Dr. Paul Wager, 1973 (Chapel Hill Historical Society cassette)

1973

Dr. Paul Wager, recorded on cassette in 1973 for the Chapel Hill Historical Society. Part of the society's CHHS.012 Audiovisual Materials Collection.

CH Historical Society

H.R. Totten papers, 1912-1973.

Totten, H. R. (Henry Roland), 1892-1974 · 1912

Eight linear feet and about 5,000 items make up the H. R. Totten papers, 1912 to 1973, in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 3843. Maps are among the material. Subjects include botanical gardens and arboretums in North Carolina, the Highlands Biological Station, medicinal plants and mushroom culture, the Department of Botany at Chapel Hill and William Chambers Coker, and the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

UNC
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William Chambers Coker papers, 1884-1956 (bulk 1914-1950).

Coker, William Chambers, 1872-1953 · 1884

Botanist William Chambers Coker (1872-1953) left papers running 1884 to 1956, the bulk between 1914 and 1950: about 29,000 items in 36.5 linear feet, part of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 3220. Topics include mycology and the teaching of botany, the Coker Arboretum, the Highlands Biological Station, the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society and the Garden Club of North Carolina, along with family social life in North Carolina.

UNC

William Lanier Hunt papers, 1880s-1996.

Hunt, William Lanier · 1884

Papers of the horticulturist William Lanier Hunt, dated from the 1880s to 1996, about 40,000 items in 130 linear feet, part of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 5286. Topics include southern gardens and garden design, horticultural societies and teaching, the North Carolina Botanical Garden and its foundation, photographs of flowers, and the botanist William Chambers Coker at Chapel Hill.

UNC

Louis and Mildred Graves papers, 1814 ; 1876-1992.

Graves, Louis, 1883-1965 · 1814

Louis Graves (1883-1965) and Mildred Moses Graves left roughly 7,700 items in eleven linear feet, a single 1814 document and then a run from 1876 to 1992, in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 4010. Graves edited the Chapel Hill Weekly, and topics include North Carolina newspapers and their editors alongside family photographs, travel diaries and the social life of the Graves and Moses families.

UNC

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