Alexander Jackson Davis

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.

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

1. 1830s Robert Donaldson has A. J. Davis design a campus hall for the Philanthropic Society that is never built In the 1830s alumnus Robert Donaldson, by then living in New York, hired Alexander Jackson Davis to design a hall for the Philanthropic Society on the campus. It was not built, but Donaldson kept up a correspondence with President Swain about gardens, architects and furnishings that led to Davis's later work at Chapel Hill. People: Robert Donaldson Jr. Place: UNC campus (unbuilt) · Also named: Robert Donaldson · Also mentions: Philanthropic SocietySearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 21
2. November 28, 1843 Swain authorizes Donaldson to bring architect A. J. Davis to the university In a letter from Raleigh dated November 28, 1843, Swain told Donaldson he might invite Alexander Jackson Davis to Chapel Hill to make working drawings and specifications, with $100 for travel. The letter opened Davis's service as the university's architect and planner of its grounds. People: David L. Swain, Alexander Jackson Davis, Robert Donaldson Jr. Place: UNC campus · Also named: Robert DonaldsonSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 21
3. 1844–1848 Dabney Cosby takes the masonry subcontract for the lengthening of Old East and Old West Chapel Hill contractors Isaac J. Collier and Kendall B. Waitt subcontracted the masonry of the university additions to Cosby, who put enslaved workmen including the brothers Osborne and Albert on the job. Cosby and the architect Alexander Jackson Davis quarrelled over the drawings, and president David L. Swain asked the Hillsborough builder John Berry to look at the brickwork, which Berry reported was defective. People: Dabney Cosby, John Berry, David L. Swain, Alexander Jackson Davis, Isaac J. Collier, Kendall B. Waitt Place: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Also named: Albert, OsborneIn the index: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · North Carolina Architects and Builders, NC State University Libraries: Cosby, Dabney (1779-1862)
4. February 1844 Alexander Jackson Davis makes his first visit to the university Davis came to Chapel Hill in February 1844, and that year trustee John Motley Morehead met with him and Swain there about the design of a new hall, later Smith Hall. Davis stayed in touch with Swain and the trustees about campus work until the mid-1850s. People: David L. Swain, John Motley Morehead Place: UNC campus · Also mentions: Smith HallSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 22
5. December 23, 1844 The university awards Isaac J. Collier and Kendall B. Waitt the contract for the Old East and Old West additions On December 23, 1844, Collier and Waitt won the contract to build A. J. Davis's three-story brick additions to Old East and Old West, at $9,360. They subcontracted the masonry to Dabney Cosby; the next day trustee secretary Charles Manly asked that they hire his enslaved carpenters. People: Isaac J. Collier, Alexander Jackson Davis, Dabney Cosby, Charles Manly, Kendall B. Waitt Place: University of North Carolina, Chapel HillSearch the index · North Carolina Architects and Builders, NC State University Libraries: Collier, Isaac J. (b. ca. 1810)
6. 1845 to 1846 Brothers Albert and Osborne, enslaved by Dabney Cosby, plaster the lengthened Old East The additions to Old East and Old West, contracted in December 1844 and finished in 1848, used the labor of Albert and Osborne, brothers enslaved by Dabney Cosby, who plastered the lengthened Old East in 1845 and 1846. Cosby praised Albert's plastering as first-rate work. People: Albert, Osborne, Dabney Cosby, Alexander Jackson Davis Place: Old East, UNCUNC University Archives (For the Record): Slave Labor and Old East
7. 1847–1849 Dabney Cosby builds the Presbyterian church on Franklin Street After the university work Cosby built a small Tuscan style church designed by Alexander Jackson Davis for the Chapel Hill Presbyterian congregation, whose members included university president David L. Swain. In March 1848 the congregation member Charles Phillips wrote to Davis that the mason could not match the lilac gray color specified for the outside. The building no longer stands. People: Dabney Cosby, David L. Swain, Charles Phillips, Alexander Jackson Davis Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · North Carolina Architects and Builders, NC State University Libraries: Cosby, Dabney (1779-1862)
8. 1848 Literary societies move into new halls in the enlarged Old East and Old West The northward extensions of Old East and Old West, designed by A. J. Davis and built by Isaac J. Collier and Kendall B. Waitt for $9,360, were finished in 1848 with debating halls and library alcoves for the two societies. At the Dialectic opening James Mebane, the society's first president in 1795, sat beside the student president, Kemp P. Battle. People: Samuel (Samuel Field) Phillips, Alexander Jackson Davis, Kemp Plummer Battle, Isaac J. Collier, Samuel Field Phillips, James Mebane, Kendall B. Waitt Place: Old EastSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 513
9. 1850 to 1852 Smith Hall is built to Alexander Jackson Davis's design as the university library and ballroom The New York architect Alexander Jackson Davis designed Smith Hall, built from 1850 to 1852 for just over $10,300 and named for the trustee and former governor Benjamin Smith. It served as library and ballroom and is now the Playmakers Theatre. People: Benjamin Smith Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Smith HallSearch the index · UNC Names in Brick and Stone: PlayMakers Theater · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, February 2, 1982, p. 1
10. November 10, 1850 Architect Alexander Jackson Davis visits Montrose to plan its enlargement Davis, in North Carolina on state work, made a night trip from Raleigh, reached Hillsborough at 2 a.m. on November 10, 1850, and stayed at Montrose from breakfast until 4 p.m. William A. Graham was in Washington as Secretary of the Navy, so Davis sketched the old two-story house and took Susan Graham's suggestions for an addition. People: William A. Graham Place: Montrose, Hillsborough · Also named: Susan Washington Graham, Susan GrahamSearch the index · Internet Archive: John V. Allcott, "Architectural Developments at 'Montrose' in the 1850's", North Carolina Historical Review 42 (1965), p. 88
11. February 4, 1851 A. J. Davis sends his plans for enlarging Montrose On February 4, 1851, Davis sent the Grahams plans of both floors and a small perspective view for enlarging Montrose, in Old English and Italian versions built around a great tower and an octagonal library. The drawings went to Mrs. Graham in Washington; the Grahams liked them but later dropped them for a plainer addition. People: William A. Graham Place: Montrose, Hillsborough · Also named: Susan Washington GrahamSearch the index · Internet Archive: John V. Allcott, "Architectural Developments at 'Montrose' in the 1850's", North Carolina Historical Review 42 (1965), p. 88
12. summer 1856 A. J. Davis returns to Chapel Hill with designs for new and enlarged college buildings With the dormitories overflowing, Swain asked the faculty and trustees in 1855 for leave to build new residence halls, and the university turned again to Davis, who visited in the summer of 1856 and offered several designs. When the trustees acted in 1858 they hired William Percival instead. People: David L. Swain, William Percival Place: UNC campusSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 29