Skip to content
Orange County Public Library (opens the library’s website in a new tab)

Key local figure

Braxton Foushee

Braxton Foushee became Carrboro's first African American alderman in 1969. In 1960 he sat down at the Colonial Drug Store lunch counter in Chapel Hill and asked to be served, and in March 2024 Carrboro renamed Carr Street as Braxton Foushee Street in his honor.

Source: Town of Carrboro: Our Roots Run Deep: Black History in Carrboro

Orange County Indexed has not yet linked an indexed work directly to Braxton Foushee. The biography and the dated events on this page provide sources about Braxton Foushee’s life and work. Suggest a source.

Research sources

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineSunday closing and Sunday beer sales in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, 1916–19751916–1975 · 13 events · Chapel Hill's aldermen let drug stores keep set Sunday hours in 1916, and in April 1923 they closed the town's stores on Sunday, leaving cafes and drug stores two short windows to sell drinks and tobacco, soon lengthened. In 1924 the Carrboro aldermen turned down the Methodist and Baptist churches' call to stop all Sunday trade and set Sunday hours instead, after more than half the town's voters petitioned against it. In 1928 Chapel Hill's mayor heard charges against druggists who had sold cigarettes during church hours, and in 1933 the aldermen ordered the grocery stores closed on Sundays. Chapel Hill stopped late-night beer sales in 1942, and the county banned Sunday beer sales in 1946. Both towns repealed their Sunday bans on beer and wine in 1971, but Carrboro restored its ban in 1974, and a court dismissed merchants' suit against it. In December 1975 a newly elected Carrboro board repealed it again. StorylineDroughts, the Durham lines and Hillsborough water, 1968–19901968–1990 · 79 events · In the fall of 1968 drought dropped University Lake to its lowest level since it was built in 1930. Durham agreed to pipe water to Chapel Hill, and the University paid for nearly all of an emergency line, begun on October 1, that began delivering a million gallons a day on October 27. Chapel Hill's aldermen banned lawn sprinkling and car washing, the University suspended physical education classes, and Carrboro protested a 40 percent rise in its water rate. The ban was lifted in November, and winter rains refilled the lake. The University raised the lake's dam two feet in 1970 and drew Durham water through the pipeline again in the dry falls of 1970 and 1973. A drought in 1976 brought mandatory water restrictions and a second line from Durham. In 1977 the new Orange Water and Sewer Authority bought Durham water with federal drought aid until Durham's own lake ran low, then built a pipeline to buy treated water from Hillsborough, finished in April 1978. Drought returned in 1980, when OWASA drew on its quarry reservoir and bought Hillsborough water, and in 1983, when mandatory restrictions took effect on September 6, Orange County was declared a farm disaster area and the Chapel Hill council asked OWASA to halt new water connections. In 1984 the council tightened the conservation ordinance. In the 1986 drought, in the driest season since 1890, mandatory restrictions ran from July to September and again from October to December, OWASA bought water from Lake Holt in Butner, and the Chapel Hill council moved to hold back building permits in severe shortages. Durham sold OWASA water again in the dry summers of 1987 and 1988. In the dry fall of 1990 northern Orange County's water users were under the county's conservation rules until October rains brought University Lake back to normal. StorylineCarrboro’s Black political firsts1969–2024 · 30 events · Braxton Foushee became Carrboro’s first Black alderman in 1969 and Robert Drakeford its first Black mayor in 1977, followed by Richard Knight Jr. as town manager, Hilliard Caldwell and Joal Hall Broun on the board, and Walter Horton as police chief in 2013. Barbara Foushee was sworn in as the first Black woman mayor in 2023, and the town named the Drakeford Library Complex in 2024. StorylineTown elections and bond votes, 1979–19891979–1989 · 73 events · In November 1979 Chapel Hill elected Joe Nassif mayor over council members Robert Epting and Gerry Cohen and Harold Foster, returned outgoing Mayor James Wallace and two incumbents to the Town Council and added Joe Straley. Its voters approved a fire station bond but rejected a downtown parking deck and the Ridgefield open space purchase. Carrboro re-elected Mayor Robert Drakeford, Hillsborough brought back Fred Cates as mayor, and county voters defeated a $20.4 million bond package, schools included. In 1981 the new Association for a Better Carrboro took three aldermen's seats from the Carrboro Community Coalition while Mayor Drakeford won a third term, and Chapel Hill voters unseated council members Bill Thorpe and Joe Herzenberg. In 1983 Jim Porto was elected Carrboro's mayor as ABC candidates won every aldermen's seat, Chapel Hill re-elected Mayor Nassif and returned Thorpe to the council, and Hillsborough Mayor Lucius Cheshire, beaten by Frank Sheffield, resigned early. In 1985 former mayor Jim Wallace won the office back in a race he called a quasi-referendum on Rosemary Square, and in 1986 Chapel Hill voters approved $11.8 million in bonds, a new library among them. In 1987 Jonathan Howes was elected mayor, Joe Herzenberg won a council seat and Eleanor Kinnaird unseated Carrboro Mayor Jim Porto. In 1989 Howes and Kinnaird were re-elected, and Hillsborough elected Horace Johnson, by the Daily Tar Heel's account its first Black mayor.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 27 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Braxton Foushee becomes Carrboro’s first Black alderman Braxton Foushee was elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen in 1969, the first Black member of the town's governing board, and served until 1981. He pressed for paved roads and sidewalks in Black neighborhoods and counted bringing bus service to Carrboro as his proudest achievement. People: Braxton Foushee Place: CarrboroTown of Carrboro: Braxton Foushee to Receive the Order of the Long Leaf Pine (November 14, 2025)
  2. A Chapel Hill chapter of the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union organizes Meeting at the Community Church, a Chapel Hill chapter of the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union adopted bylaws and elected a 15-member board, the third attempt in six years to organize a local chapter. The board chose UNC law professor Barry Nakell as president and Carrboro Alderman Braxton Foushee as treasurer, and Nakell named the recent drug arrests, student voter registration and legal services as early concerns. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Community Church, Purefoy Road, Chapel Hill · Also named: Barry NakellSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 7, 1971, p. 2
  3. Carrboro aldermen name Frank H. Chamberlain town manager Meeting in executive session on September 12, the Carrboro aldermen voted 5 to 1 to make Frank Hart Chamberlain, a 25-year-old UNC senior who had been administrative assistant to Mayor Robert J. Wells and the board since February 1971, town manager in place of Bill Britt; Braxton Foushee voted no, citing his youth and inexperience. There had been 47 applicants, and the job paid $8,724 a year. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro Town Hall, Carrboro · Also named: Frank Hart Chamberlain, Robert J. Wells, Bill BrittSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, September 14, 1972, p. 2
  4. Carrboro aldermen adopt a revenue sharing budget for the landfill and a park On June 12 the Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 4 to 2 to accept town manager Frank Chamberlain's plan for about $156,000 in federal revenue sharing for December 1972 through June 1973, spending it on environmental protection, including the town's capital share of the jointly owned landfill, and on recreation, with $35,000 to buy a park and open space. Alderman Braxton Foushee voted no because the plan did nothing for public transportation. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro Town Hall, Carrboro · Also named: Frank ChamberlainSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, June 14, 1973, p. 2
  5. Carrboro aldermen revoke the permit for the 208-unit Tar Heel Manor apartments On June 26 the Carrboro Board of Aldermen unanimously revoked, on the Planning Board's recommendation, the special use permit for Tar Heel Manor, a 208-unit apartment complex planned on 14 acres of open land off Weaver Street and the N.C. 54 bypass. The permits dated from 1969 and had been cancelled by an April rezoning; Alderman Braxton Foushee called it a precedent, and the owner's lawyer threatened to go to court. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Off Weaver Street and the N.C. 54 bypass, Carrboro · Also mentions: N.C. 54, Weaver StreetSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, June 28, 1973, p. 3
  6. Carrboro voters return Braxton Foushee at the head of the aldermen's race and elect UNC student George Beswick Braxton Foushee, the only Black candidate and the board's only four-year incumbent, led the race for three Carrboro aldermen's seats with 773 votes, followed by UNC law student George Beswick with 669 and appointed Alderman John Boone with 632; Mayor Robert Wells was re-elected without opposition. Foushee and Beswick had backed another referendum on the bus system that Carrboro voters turned down in May. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: George Beswick, John Boone, Robert WellsThe Daily Tar Heel, November 7, 1973, p. 1
  7. Carrboro aldermen create a public transportation commission to weigh a third bus referendum By a 4-2 vote, with Mary Riggsbee and John Boone opposed, the board adopted Fred Chamblee's resolution for a commission to study roads, sidewalks and a bus system and to recommend within 30 days whether to hold a third transit referendum. Mayor Robert J. Wells named bus supporter Harriet Imrey chairman, and Riggsbee, an opponent of transit taxes, beat Braxton Foushee for the aldermen's seat on it. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Town Hall, Carrboro · Also named: Fred Chamblee, Mary Riggsbee, John Boone, Robert J. Wells, Harriet ImreySearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, January 23, 1974, p. 1
  8. Carrboro aldermen ban Sunday beer and wine sales The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 3-1 to prohibit the sale of beer and wine on Sundays, with Mary Rigsbee, John Boone and Boyd Ellington for the ban and Braxton Foushee against. Alderman George Beswick, away on spring break, called it the board's worst decision and said the ban was aimed at a convenience store selling beer across the street from Carrboro Baptist Church; the managers of McCauley's bar planned to ask the state ABC Board for a private club license so they could open on Sundays. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Mary Rigsbee, John Boone, Boyd Ellington, George Beswick · Also mentions: Carrboro Baptist ChurchSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, March 19, 1974, p. 2
  9. Carrboro aldermen hire Jesse L. Greeson as town manager Meeting in executive session, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen chose Jesse L. Greeson, for 11 years city clerk of Henderson, as town manager after its first choice declined. Alderman George Beswick said the meeting broke the town charter's written-notice rule and questioned Greeson's qualifications, Alderman Braxton Foushee walked out citing the Open Meetings Law, and Mayor Robert Wells defended the choice. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Jesse L. Greeson, Robert J. Wells Jr., George Beswick, Robert WellsSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, January 22, 1975, p. 2
  10. Carrboro aldermen vote to aim for a fall bus referendum At a special meeting the Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 3 to 2 to set a September or October target date for a new public transportation referendum and referred the matter to its law and finance committee. Transportation Commission chairman Harriet Imrey had hoped for a spring vote while students were still in town; the 1973 referendum for a joint bus system with Chapel Hill had failed narrowly after many students left for the summer. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Harriet ImreySearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, February 19, 1975, p. 1
  11. Carrboro aldermen fire Town Manager Jesse L. Greeson At the new board's first meeting, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen fired Town Manager Jesse L. Greeson, who had held the job 11 months and had refused to resign when asked in an executive session; Aldermen George Beswick, Braxton Foushee, Ernest Patterson and Robert Drakeford voted for the dismissal and John Boone and Lacy Farrell opposed it. The board named Finance Director Philip Whittaker interim manager, and Mayor Ruth West named a committee to choose a successor. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro Town Hall, Carrboro · Also named: Jesse L. Greeson, George Beswick, Ernest Patterson, Robert Drakeford, John Boone, Lacy Farrell, Philip Whittaker, Ruth WestSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, January 8, 1976, p. 1
  12. Carrboro's mayor breaks a tie to reject a referendum on a bus tax The Carrboro Board of Aldermen turned down its transportation committee's request for an April referendum on a tax of up to 10 cents per $100 to run the Chapel Hill buses into Carrboro, Mayor Ruth West breaking a 3-3 tie against it. West said Chapel Hill had not made a firm proposal, and Alderman Robert Drakeford, who drafted the plan, quit the transportation committee. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Ruth West, Robert DrakefordSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, February 6, 1976, p. 1
Show all 27 dated events
  1. Carrboro aldermen quadruple their own pay The Carrboro Board of Aldermen amended the budget to raise aldermen's pay from $600 to $2,400 a year and the mayor's from $1,800 to $2,760, back to December 1975. Aldermen Nancy White and John Boone voted against it as premature; Braxton Foushee, who called for the vote, said the board was 'grossly underpaid.' People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Nancy White, John BooneSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, March 1, 1976, p. 2
  2. Carrboro lifts all its drought water restrictions over the University's objection Carrboro Mayor Ruth West signed a proclamation at noon lifting all water restrictions in the town, on a 5 to 1 recommendation of the Board of Aldermen, while urging voluntary conservation. The board acted after University utilities director Grey Culbreth asked only that car washes be exempted; Culbreth, Vice Chancellor Claiborne Jones and Chapel Hill Mayor James Wallace said the drought was not over, as University Lake stood where it had when restrictions began on August 18. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Ruth West, Grey Culbreth, Claiborne Jones, James C. Wallace, James Wallace · Also mentions: University utilitiesThe Daily Tar Heel, October 29, 1976, p. 1
  3. Carrboro aldermen vote down a $1 million street-paving bond referendum The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted against putting a $1 million street-improvement bond to the voters, saying streets could be paved without bonds. Alderman Braxton Foushee warned that without the bond, streets in Black neighborhoods would stay unpaved because residents could not meet the 60 per cent share required under petition paving. The board asked the town attorney to draft legislation letting it assess owners without a petition. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro Town HallThe Daily Tar Heel, September 6, 1977, p. 4
  4. OWASA approves a surcharge to pay for the Durham water The water authority approved a surcharge of 25 cents per 1,000 gallons, to run four months from February 1978, to cover the $174,000 spent on Durham water, with a federal grant paying the rest. Members Shirley Marshall, Braxton Foushee and Ernie Patterson voted against it, arguing other funds could pay. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Shirley Marshall, Ernie PattersonThe Daily Tar Heel, October 17, 1977, p. 4
  5. Chapel Hill and Carrboro end their mandatory water restrictions Chapel Hill Mayor Jim Wallace and Carrboro Mayor Pro Tem Braxton Foushee lifted the towns' mandatory water restrictions at noon after 94 days, at the request of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority, once late-October rains raised University Lake above its conservation level. The towns kept a request for voluntary conservation, which Wallace lifted by proclamation on November 9. People: Braxton Foushee Place: University Lake; Chapel Hill and Carrboro · Also named: Jim Wallace · Also mentions: Orange Water and Sewer AuthorityThe Daily Tar Heel, October 31, 1977, p. 1
  6. Braxton Foushee leads the voting for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen Braxton Foushee of the Carrboro Community Coalition won a seat on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen with 1,052 votes, 36 more than the next winner, Doug Sharer, on the night Bob Drakeford became the town's first Black mayor. Foushee said voters wanted the bus system expanded. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Bob Drakeford, Doug SharerBlack Ink (Black Student Movement, UNC), November 22, 1977, p. 2
  7. Supporters rally at McCorkle Place to free the Wilmington Ten About 50 people rallied at McCorkle Place for the release of the Wilmington Ten, and the Rev. Leon White of the United Church of Christ's Commission for Racial Justice urged them to return to the jail-filling tactics of the 1960s to move Gov. Jim Hunt. The new UNC Committee to Free the Wilmington 10 and the National Student Coalition Against Racism sponsored the rally. People: Braxton Foushee Place: McCorkle Place, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Also named: Leon White, Jim HuntThe Daily Tar Heel, December 5, 1977, p. 3
  8. UNC trustees back OWASA's bid to condemn land for the Cane Creek reservoir The UNC Board of Trustees authorized the University to intervene on the side of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority at the state Environmental Management Commission's hearing on OWASA's request to condemn land for the $9 million Cane Creek reservoir, joining the Chapel Hill and Carrboro boards of aldermen, which had passed similar motions the week before. Landowners in the Cane Creek Conservation Authority opposed the reservoir to protect the area's dairy farms. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Orange Water and Sewer AuthorityThe Daily Tar Heel, April 17, 1978, p. 3
  9. OWASA adopts a flat water rate in place of discounts for large users The Orange Water and Sewer Authority board replaced the declining block water rate and the 3,000-gallon monthly allowance with a flat $1 per 1,000 gallons plus a monthly service charge, $3 for most households, set sewer rates of 80 cents per 1,000 gallons for the University and $1.14 for other accounts, and raised connection fees, mostly effective February 1, 1979. Carrboro aldermen Ernie Patterson and Braxton Foushee voted against it as a burden on small users; UNC and N.C. Memorial Hospital lost their large-user discounts. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Orange Water and Sewer Authority, Chapel Hill and Carrboro · Also named: Ernie Patterson · Also mentions: Orange Water and Sewer Authority, N.C. Memorial HospitalThe Daily Tar Heel, October 30, 1978, p. 3
  10. OWASA refuses Alert Cable TV an antenna on its Carrboro water tower The Orange Water and Sewer Authority board voted 7-1 to deny Alert Cable TV of North Carolina's request to put its antenna on the authority's Carrboro water tower on Old Fayetteville Road, the fourth site the company had been refused since Carrboro granted it a cable franchise about two years earlier. Neighbors of the tower, which stood outside Carrboro's limits, had petitioned against it. People: Braxton Foushee Place: OWASA water tower, Old Fayetteville Road, near Carrboro · Also mentions: Orange Water and Sewer AuthoritySearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, January 15, 1979, p. 1
  11. OWASA sues Carrboro for unpaid fire hydrant fees The Orange Water and Sewer Authority filed suit in Orange County Superior Court against Carrboro for about $21,000 in unpaid fire hydrant fees, a day after its board gave up a year-long effort to collect out of court. Carrboro had refused to pay since July 1979, when OWASA raised the monthly charge from $5 to $13.75 a hydrant (later cut to $12), and OWASA said Orange and Durham counties also owed fees and might be sued. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Orange County Superior Court, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Orange and Durham counties, Orange Water and Sewer AuthorityThe Daily Tar Heel, September 22, 1980, p. 2
  12. Carrboro aldermen agree to televise their meetings on cable On its Law and Finance Committee's recommendation, the Board of Aldermen voted to let Alert Cable TV carry its regular meetings on the local access channel, ACTV 11, beginning if possible with the April 28 session. Aldermen said television would bring town government into the homes of residents who did not come to meetings; executive sessions were to stay off the air. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro Town Hall, CarrboroSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, April 16, 1981, p. 3
  13. Association for a Better Carrboro candidates stay away from the Coalition's candidate forum At its candidate forum on October 5, 1981, the Carrboro Community Coalition endorsed Mayor Robert Drakeford and aldermen Doug Sharer, Nancy White and Braxton Foushee for re-election. The Association for a Better Carrboro's candidates refused to attend, calling a forum run by a partisan group unfair and asking the League of Women Voters to hold one; alderman Steve Rose said they had boycotted it and cheated the public of information. People: Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Robert Drakeford, Doug Sharer, Nancy White, Steve RoseSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 8, 1981, p. 4
  14. The South Orange Black Caucus endorses candidates for the Chapel Hill and Carrboro elections By October 28, 1981, the South Orange Black Caucus had endorsed Joe Herzenberg, Bill Thorpe and Lightning Brown for the Chapel Hill Town Council, Mayor Robert Drakeford and aldermen candidates Hilliard Caldwell, Braxton Foushee, Doug Sharer and Nancy White in Carrboro, and Ted Parrish, Wallace Hill and Ron Strom for the school board. After the election, Foushee blamed the caucus's backing of Caldwell, four candidates for three seats, for the Coalition's losses. People: Bill Thorpe, Hilliard Caldwell, Braxton Foushee Place: Chapel Hill and Carrboro · Also named: Joe Herzenberg, Lightning Brown, Robert Drakeford, Doug Sharer, Nancy White, Ted ParrishThe Daily Tar Heel, October 28, 1981, p. 3
  15. Carrboro re-elects Mayor Drakeford but seats the ABC slate over three Coalition aldermen Carrboro voters on November 3, 1981, re-elected Robert Drakeford to a third term as mayor, 912 votes to 667 for Roger Messer and 296 for Bill Pressley, but unseated three Carrboro Community Coalition aldermen. Hilliard Caldwell (1,090), Joyce Garrett (1,007) and Jim White (879), backed by the Association for a Better Carrboro formed that August, defeated Doug Sharer (854), Braxton Foushee (841) and Nancy White (782), on a 37 percent turnout. People: Hilliard Caldwell, Braxton Foushee Place: Carrboro · Also named: Robert Drakeford, Joyce Garrett, Jim White, Roger Messer, Bill Pressley, Doug Sharer, Nancy WhiteThe Daily Tar Heel, November 4, 1981, p. 1

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Braxton Foushee, 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.

Research sources

Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.

Background

Records of the time

Collections and databases

  • NC LIVE: prepared search for Braxton Foushee Library card Search NC LIVE for this subject and Orange County. You can change the search terms. Sign in through your North Carolina library to access the materials.
  • Ancestry Library Edition In the libraryOrange County Public Library Census, birth, death and marriage records, and more, free on the public computers at OCPL libraries

Local help

Search further

Search other catalogs and collections for this name. Results may include other people with the same name and have not been reviewed by the Friends.

Books about Braxton Foushee

Find copies at other libraries

Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Historical records and collections

These searches use Braxton Foushee’s name without birth or death dates, so results may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

More to discover

Keep Reading Local

The Friends connect people with new library materials, local writers and publishers, and resources documenting Orange County.

Browse New Arrivals → Meet Local Authors → Explore Local Publishers →
Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026