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James J. Freeland

James J. Freeland moved to Hillsborough from Durham in 1934 and became the town's leading mid-century builder, selling houses in Fairview and other north Hillsborough neighborhoods without a down payment to families who could not otherwise buy. He built motels, restaurants and ice rinks, restored and moved old houses, and in the 1960s began Daniel Boone Village on South Churton Street.

Source: NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), pp. 20-21

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Life and Orange County connections

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

StorylineInterstate 85 comes to northern Orange County, 1955–19621955–1962 · 22 events · Rebuilding US 70 to interstate standards through northern Orange County meant a road that would bypass Efland, Hillsboro and University Station, and at a 1957 hearing landowners on the new route and businesses on old Highway 70 protested. In 1956 the Highway Commission had decided to rebuild the road as a limited-access highway, with the new federal road act paying 90 percent, and federal officials approved a route south of Hillsboro. Contracts for the stretch south of Hillsboro were let in November 1957. Near the new Interstate 85 James Freeland built a motel, the General Sherman Restaurant and the county's fourth ABC store, a government liquor store, in 1960 and 1961, and in 1962 the Dixie Motor Inn. StorylineDaniel Boone Village, Hillsborough, 1966–19781966–1978 · 8 events · James J. Freeland's Daniel Boone Village grew from an inn and restaurant at the South Churton Street exit of I-85 in 1966 into an amusement park with a railroad, rides, rinks, an amphitheater and a wax museum by the early 1970s. The rides were gone by the end of the decade and a shopping center replaced the park's north end, while Freeland moved old buildings to the village and the Big Barn hosted campus parties.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 44 dated events in the chronology →

  1. James J. Freeland moves to Hillsborough Born in Durham in 1918, Freeland came to Hillsborough in 1934. In his early years there he operated the Sunny Side Inn, a barbecue restaurant, worked part time at a sawmill and helped run a dry cleaning plant in West Hillsborough. People: James J. Freeland Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 20
  2. James Freeland marries Ruby Maxine Hayes According to a family tribute display at Boone Square, the shopping center Freeland built on the north end of his amusement park, James Freeland met Ruby Maxine Hayes in June 1939 while running a hot dog stand at a local carnival, and they married about three months later. The display credits the couple jointly with the businesses that followed. Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Maxine Freeland, James FreelandSearch the index · Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  3. James J. Freeland builds his first house at US 70 and Faucette Mill Road Three years after marrying Maxine Hayes, Freeland built the family's first home where Highway 70 crosses Faucette Mill Road, next to land that became the Fairview subdivision the following year. People: James J. Freeland Place: US 70 at Faucette Mill Road, Hillsborough · Also named: Maxine Hayes FreelandSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 20
  4. Fairview is platted as a neighborhood for Black families north of US 70 The first of Hillsborough's mid-century African American subdivisions was laid out in 1943 along roads that were already there, with twenty-five-foot lots meant to be bought in combination. Local builder James J. Freeland, who owned land in Fairview, built many of its houses. People: James J. Freeland Place: Fairview, HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 24
  5. James Freeland opens the Fairview Bowling Alley in Hillsborough James Freeland opened the Fairview Bowling Alley in a building he put up himself, casting the cinder blocks and laying the concrete floor. It opened with three duckpin alleys and room for a tenpin lane. People: James J. Freeland Place: Fairview, Hillsborough · Also named: James Freeland · Also mentions: Fairview Bowling AlleySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 26, 1944, p. 5 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 5, 1945, p. 1
  6. James Freeland knocks a Black man unconscious at his Fairview bowling alley The News of Orange County reported, from Freeland's account, that Lorenzo Thompson came into Freeland's Fairview Bowling Alley about 11:30 on a Tuesday night, asked to bowl, said he had been allowed to bowl up north, and would not leave when told to. Freeland knocked him down with one punch. Thompson's head struck the concrete floor, and his brother and a friend took him to a doctor for stitches. The paper, which presented the incident as "a vivid reminder of racial distinction in the South," added that a knife fell from Thompson's pocket and that no charges had been brought against him. It reported no charge against Freeland. People: James J. Freeland Place: Fairview Bowling Alley, Hillsborough · Also named: James Freeland, Lorenzo Thompson · Also mentions: The News of Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 5, 1945, p. 1
  7. James Freeland opens a barbecue pit behind his Fairview Bowling Alley James Freeland opened a barbecue pit behind the Fairview Bowling Alley and began serving barbecue every day. As with the alley, he built most of it himself. People: James J. Freeland Place: Fairview Bowling Alley, Hillsborough · Also named: James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 5, 1945, p. 5 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 15, 1945, p. 2
  8. James J. Freeland develops Mountain View and Colonial Hills east of Hillsborough Freeland laid out two small subdivisions of Minimal Traditional and Ranch houses on curving streets: Mountain View, beside the Eno on its north side at Highway 70 Business, where the family built its second house, and Colonial Hills, off Lawrence Road close to Highway 70A. People: James J. Freeland Place: Mountain View and Colonial Hills, east of HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 20
  9. James J. Freeland develops a small group of houses on Daye Street Moving beyond single houses, Freeland laid out a small development along Daye Street northwest of Fairview, where tax records show he owned the land. He was known for selling homes to families who could not otherwise buy, with no down payment and a second mortgage instead. People: James J. Freeland Place: Daye Street, northwest HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 20
  10. Fairview Baptist Church is organized in Hillsborough Fairview Baptist Church was organized in Hillsborough in October 1952 under pastor James Clegg and put up a 250-seat building that year. People: James J. Freeland Place: Hillsborough · Also named: James CleggSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 302
  11. Hillsborough Heights is laid out, with a street named for James J. Freeland The African American neighborhood on Terrell, Central, Forrest, Coley and Freeland streets, below US 70 on the west side of North Nash Street, was laid out in the 1950s. Its Freeland Street was named for the builder, who probably put up houses there. People: James J. Freeland Place: Hillsborough Heights, HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 38
  12. James and Maxine Freeland open the Ja-Max Motor Lodge on US 70 James Freeland opened the Ja-Max Motor Lodge, named for him and his wife Maxine, on US 70 in the Fairview community at the end of February 1953: twelve units of native stone and white siding, each with a private bath, and a pine-panelled lobby with a television. The 2017 architectural survey, which dates the building to 1952, notes that guests parked at their own doors and that its hipped roof, stone veneer and horizontal-pane windows borrow from the Ranch house. It was probably the first of Freeland's motels, a string that later ran to Durham, Mebane and Roxboro and included Chapel Hill's Tar Heel Motel. People: James J. Freeland Place: Ja-Max Motor Lodge, 740 Cornelius Street (US 70), Hillsborough · Also named: Maxine Hayes Freeland, James FreelandSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 20 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 5, 1953, p. 1
Show all 44 dated events
  1. New Hope Presbyterian Church breaks ground for its fifth building The congregation broke ground after Sunday worship for a U-shaped colonial brick church designed by H. H. Haines of Duke University and estimated at about $50,000, meant to be finished for the 200th anniversary in 1956. Mattie Craig, one of the oldest members, turned the first spade. James Freeland, whose father had been a member, volunteered the excavation, and construction began at the end of May. People: James J. Freeland Place: New Hope Presbyterian Church, New Hope · Also named: H. H. Haines, James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 12, 1955, p. 1
  2. The Tar-Heel Motor Lodge opens on the Chapel Hill bypass A 25-unit, air-conditioned motor lodge opened on the 15-501 bypass beside the Wishing Well Restaurant. Its owners, S. C. Forrest Jr. of Efland and James Freeland and Joseph Hayden of Hillsboro, also owned the Chesterfield Motel, and Robert G. Brooks managed both. The April building permit, the largest in Chapel Hill that month, put the cost at $150,000. People: James J. Freeland Place: US 15-501 Bypass, Chapel Hill · Also named: S. C. Forrest Jr., Joseph Hayden, Robert G. Brooks, James FreelandSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 10, 1956, p. 5
  3. James Freeland opens Holiday Park on US 70 Freeland's Holiday Park, a 20-acre recreation park on US 70 across from his Ja-Max Motor Lodge, opened with festivities attended by Miss North Carolina. Its L-shaped pool, billed as the largest in the state, was built for 500 swimmers, and the park had picnic grounds and an antique car museum; family season tickets were $25. Place: Holiday Park, US 70 west of Hillsborough · Also mentions: Ja-Max Motor LodgeSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 22, 1958, p. 3 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 15, 1958, p. 1
  4. James Freeland adds a bowling alley, rides and a roller rink to Holiday Park Holiday Park on US 70 west of town reopened for its second season with a new bowling alley built onto the bathhouse, a stable with horses and old carriages for hire, and a merry-go-round, kiddie train and boat ride; the pool was resurfaced and given a new deep well. In late May Freeland opened a 192 by 65 foot roller skating rink beside the pool, which he described as the largest in the state. Place: Holiday Park, US 70, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 26, 1959, p. 1 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 28, 1959, p. 7
  5. The Hillsboro Exchange Club starts free swimming lessons at Holiday Park The Exchange Club, the Red Cross and James Freeland began what the paper called the most ambitious learn-to-swim program in Hillsboro history: 18 adults trained as volunteer instructors under Red Cross field representative William J. McDonald, and over 300 children enrolled through their schools for two weeks of free lessons in the park pool. The club repeated the program at Holiday Park in 1961 and 1962. People: James J. Freeland Place: Holiday Park, US 70, Hillsborough · Also named: William J. McDonald, James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 25, 1959, p. 1
  6. James Freeland builds the General Joseph E. Johnston Motel at US 70 and Interstate 85 Builder James Freeland put up the General Joseph E. Johnston Motel on US 70 near the new Interstate 85, part of a roadside group with his ice rink and, across the highway, the General Sherman Restaurant. People: James J. Freeland Place: US 70 at Interstate 85, near the Durham County line · Also named: James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 8, 1960, p. 12 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 23, 1961, p. 3
  7. James Freeland buys the South Churton Street land that becomes Daniel Boone Village James Freeland bought the land on South Churton Street in 1960. He developed it from the 1960s as Daniel Boone Village, a motel, restaurant and amusement complex, and his family kept it after his death. Place: Hillsborough · Also named: James Freeland · Also mentions: Daniel Boone Village, South Churton StreetSearch the index · The News of Orange County: Daniel Boone Village sold (September 11, 2018)
  8. James J. Freeland develops houses at Holiday Park In the 1960s, according to the 2017 architectural survey, Freeland developed Holiday Park northwest of town with its own pool and other amenities, at the recreation park he had opened in 1958; some of its houses were former Eno Mill village houses moved to the site. People: James J. Freeland Place: Holiday Park, northwest of Hillsborough · Also mentions: Eno Mill villageSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 21
  9. James J. Freeland remodels and sells the Colonial Inn Freeland, who also restored and moved old buildings, owned the Colonial Inn on West King Street for a time and remodeled it before selling it in the 1960s. A family tribute display at Boone Square says he bought it in the early 1960s, restored and enlarged it as a restaurant, and sold it to Evelyn Atkins. People: James J. Freeland Place: Colonial Inn, West King Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: West King StreetSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 21 · Also: Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  10. James Freeland opens his rebuilt Holiday Ice Rink beside the General Johnston Motel James Freeland opened a new 65 by 180 foot Holiday Ice Rink on US 70 three miles west of Durham, replacing a rink whose roof had caved in under snow the winter before. It stood next to his new General Johnston Motel. People: James J. Freeland Place: US 70 at Interstate 85, near the Durham County line · Also named: James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 8, 1960, p. 12 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 8, 1960, p. 4
  11. James Freeland's General Sherman Restaurant opens at US 70 and Interstate 85 The General Sherman Restaurant, built by James Freeland across the highway from his General Joseph E. Johnston Motel, opened around the clock and was billed as Orange County's newest. Its advertising placed it a mile and a half from Bennett Place, where Johnston surrendered to Sherman in 1865. It became a common place for Democratic Party dinners and club luncheons in the early 1960s. People: James J. Freeland Place: US 70 at Interstate 85, near the Durham County line · Also named: James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 2, 1961, p. 6 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 9, 1961, p. 8
  12. Orange County's fourth ABC store opens at US 70 and Interstate 85 Orange County's fourth and largest ABC liquor store opened beside the General Sherman Restaurant, half a mile from the Durham County line. James Freeland built the colonial-style building and leased it to the county board; it was said to be the only ABC store in North Carolina on an interstate highway. People: James J. Freeland Place: US 70 at Interstate 85, near the Durham County line · Also named: James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 23, 1961, p. 3 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, January 12, 1961, p. 5; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 2, 1961, p. 6
  13. James Freeland hosts the Orange Democrats' announcement party at the General Sherman About 150 people, most of the county's Democratic leaders, came to a gathering James Freeland put on at his General Sherman Restaurant, which party chairman L. J. Phipps called "an announcement party." Sheriff C. D. Knight said he had filed for his first election, Register of Deeds Betty June Hayes said she would seek re-election, and Lee Kennedy had filed for county commissioner. People: James J. Freeland, Luther James Phipps Place: General Sherman Restaurant, US 70 at Interstate 85 · Also named: C. D. Knight, Betty June Hayes, Lee Kennedy, James FreelandSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 25, 1962, p. 1
  14. James J. Freeland's Dixie Motor Inn opens at Interstate 85 and NC 86 The Dixie Motor Inn, owned by James J. and James Rae Freeland, opened two miles south of Hillsborough where Interstate 85 meets NC 86. It had 16 air-conditioned units and was the sixth motel the elder Freeland had built in Orange, Durham and Wake counties. People: James J. Freeland Place: Interstate 85 at NC 86 (South Churton Street), two miles south of Hillsborough · Also named: James Rae FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 27, 1962, p. 2 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 27, 1962, p. 7
  15. The General Joseph E. Johnston Motel is among motels that agree to admit Black guests The Carolinian, a Raleigh weekly, reported that all eleven motels in the Durham area had agreed to admit Black guests, among them the General Joseph Johnston Motel, which James Freeland had built in 1960 and which was then run by another operator. People: James J. Freeland Place: US 70 at Interstate 85, near the Durham County line · Also named: James FreelandSearch the index · The Carolinian (Raleigh), June 8, 1963, p. 2
  16. Hillsboro's new bi-racial committee holds its first meeting Mayor Fred T. Claytor's ten-member Bi-Racial Committee, chaired by the Rev. Edward Smith, met for the first time. Its Black members were Knox Mayo, Henry Whitted, Walter Faribault, J. M. Murfree and the Rev. Howe Perry; its white members were Smith, builder James Freeland, Fred Cates Jr., Clarence D. Jones and Dalton Loftin. The town board had authorized the committee the month before at the request of a newly formed Black committee on human rights, with Perry as spokesman, which also asked the town for a fair employment policy, beginning with three Black clerical hires, and for the desegregation of all public and private facilities in Hillsboro. People: James J. Freeland Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Fred T. Claytor, Edward Smith, Knox Mayo, Henry Whitted, Walter Faribault, J. M. Murfree, Howe Perry, Fred Cates Jr., Clarence D. Jones, Dalton Loftin, James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 1, 1963, p. 2
  17. A garment plant starts up in the closed Holiday Park building All-American Apparel, a new corporation managed by C. B. Watson, began making children's dungarees in the Holiday Park building on US 70, leased from James Freeland, who adapted the former bowling alley, bathhouse and concession stand for it. By 1964 the firm, renamed Ideal Fastener, had about 20 workers making zippers there; that November Freeland wrote that it would not build a permanent plant in Hillsborough, and Watson indicated a move to Oxford. People: James J. Freeland Place: Holiday Park, US 70, Hillsborough · Also named: C. B. Watson, James FreelandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 8, 1963, p. 2
  18. James J. Freeland builds his third family house on Highway 70 After homes near Fairview and in his Mountain View development, Freeland built the family's third house in 1964 on Highway 70 a little northwest of that subdivision, and lived there the rest of his life. People: James J. Freeland Place: Highway 70, near Mountain View, east of HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 20
  19. James J. Freeland opens the Daniel Boone Inn and restaurant at South Churton Street and I-85 A 1966 plat of the "Daniel Boone Inn and Restaurant Tract", eleven acres lying behind the Shell station on the northeast side of the interchange, shows a pond, a general store, a restaurant later known as the D. B. Cafeteria and a long two-story motel. It was the start of Daniel Boone Village. People: James J. Freeland Place: Daniel Boone Village, South Churton Street, HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 21
  20. A sale of the Daniel Boone complex ends in court, and James Freeland keeps it According to a family tribute display at Boone Square, the shopping center Freeland built on the north end of his amusement park, Freeland agreed in the late 1960s to sell the Daniel Boone complex to a Baltimore buyer who had offered $1.6 million in person, but the papers he signed set the price at $160,000. The display says Freeland went to court and the judge ruled for him because the buyer had not insured the property against fire. This is the family's account; no court record has been found. Place: Daniel Boone complex, South Churton Street, HillsboroughSearch the index · Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  21. James J. Freeland remodels the William Whitted House on East Queen Street In the 1970s Freeland remodeled the William Whitted House, one of several historic Hillsborough buildings he restored or moved. People: James J. Freeland Place: William Whitted House, East Queen Street, HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 21
  22. Junior Samples and Jimmy Martin play the Daniel Boone Amphitheater Hee Haw comedian Junior Samples headed an afternoon country bill at the amphitheater at Daniel Boone Park off I-85, with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys, Tater Tate and the Shenandoah Cut-Ups, and Glenn Thompson; the crowd was small, the paper reported. Ads that summer offered Sammi Smith and Charlie Louvin on June 20 and Saturday-night rock shows and dances into September, alongside the park's railroad, rides and wax museum. A family tribute display at Boone Square names Loretta Lynn, Jeannie C. Riley and Jerry Lee Lewis among the amphitheater's performers in the 1970s. People: James J. Freeland Place: Daniel Boone Amphitheater, Daniel Boone Village, Hillsborough · Also named: Junior Samples, Jimmy Martin, Sammi Smith, Charlie LouvinSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, June 17, 1971, p. 1 · Also: Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  23. Daniel Boone Village grows into an amusement park By June 1971 Daniel Boone Park off I-85 was advertising its railroad, amusement rides, miniature golf, a trail ride, picnic grounds, an amphitheater and a wax museum it billed as the state's only one, and Black clubs from Durham held summer picnics there, among them the W. D. Hill Golden Age Club on June 26, 1972. By 1972 the Daniel Boone Recreation Park also had a roller rink, an ice rink, a ski lift, a refrigerated toboggan slide, an antique car museum, a fort and a campground, circled by a small railroad on which costumed performers staged holdups. With relocated log cabins and false-front shops it looked like a frontier town, and Freeland was dubbed the "Walt Disney of Hillsborough." A family tribute display at Boone Square dates the park's opening to 1965. People: James J. Freeland Place: Daniel Boone Village, South Churton Street, HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 21 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, June 17, 1971, p. 16; The Carolina Times, July 8, 1972, p. 4; The Daily Tar Heel, June 17, 1971, p. 1; Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  24. The Daniel Boone amusement park closes and Boone Square replaces its north end By the end of the 1970s the rides were gone, leaving only the campground, ice rink and amphitheater, and the northern part of the property was rebuilt as the Boone Square shopping center; a big-box supermarket stood on the ride site by 1983. Daniel Boone Village became a center for antique shops and restaurants, with the Big Barn Convention Center for community events. People: James J. Freeland Place: Daniel Boone Village and Boone Square, South Churton Street, HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 22
  25. The Hillsborough Historical Society gives James Freeland its Engstrom Award The Hillsborough Historical Society presented its Engstrom Award to James Freeland in 1976 for excellence in historic home renovation, according to a photograph caption on a family tribute display at Boone Square, the shopping center Freeland built on the north end of his amusement park. Place: Hillsborough · Also named: James FreelandSearch the index · Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  26. James J. Freeland moves the Gatewood House from Yanceyville to Daniel Boone Village Continuing his habit of relocating old buildings to his South Churton Street development, Freeland brought the Gatewood House from Yanceyville in Caswell County to Daniel Boone Village in 1978. A family tribute display at Boone Square says the farmhouse, where George Washington was said to have slept, later housed a museum of old musical instruments. People: James J. Freeland Place: Daniel Boone Village, South Churton Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: South Churton StreetSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 21 · Also: Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  27. The Big Barn at Daniel Boone Village is renting to campus parties The Big Barn Convention Center at the Daniel Boone Complex was advertising to UNC clubs, fraternities and sororities by October 1978, with Donna Freeland taking bookings, and by 1980 was thanking them for another party season. Ads through the 1980s offered a rustic hall for about 400 with catering; Donna Freeland managed it in 1982. It also held public events, among them a Hillsborough Democrats summer festival (1981), an ArtSchool benefit reggae concert (1987) and a Tommy Dorsey Orchestra dance sponsored by the ArtsCenter (1989). In 1994 the Daily Tar Heel said it had housed sorority functions for 16 years. People: James J. Freeland Place: Big Barn, Daniel Boone Village, Hillsborough · Also named: Donna Freeland · Also mentions: ArtSchoolSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 11, 1978, p. 3 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, April 17, 1980, p. 3
  28. James J. Freeland moves Poplar Hill across the Eno to South Cameron Street Freeland, who had moved the Gatewood House in 1978, had the Poplar Hill house hauled over the Eno River from Tuscarora Drive to a new lot at 203 South Cameron Street, just south of Burnside, on the north side of the river. People: James J. Freeland Place: Poplar Hill, Burnside Drive, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Eno RiverSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District, National Register additional documentation (2014), section 7, p. 20 · Also: NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey
  29. James J. Freeland dies The Hillsborough builder, motel owner and developer of Daniel Boone Village died on March 14, 1989. A family tribute display at Boone Square says he collapsed that evening in a pickup while looking over the Daniel Boone complex and was taken to Duke Hospital; the 2017 architectural survey says he died at the Highway 70 house he had built in 1964. His children kept Daniel Boone Village and Boone Square. People: James J. Freeland Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Daniel Boone complex, Daniel Boone Village, Duke HospitalSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 22 · Also: Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  30. James Freeland is buried after a funeral at Fairview Baptist Church According to a family tribute display at Boone Square, the shopping center Freeland built on the north end of his amusement park, the crowd at James Freeland's funeral at Fairview Baptist Church was so large that speakers were set up for those outside. The Rev. Kaye Crawford spoke, and a horse-drawn hearse carried him to the Hillsborough cemetery while flags flew at half-staff. Governor Jim Martin wrote to the family on March 15. Place: Fairview Baptist Church, Hillsborough · Also named: Kaye Crawford, Jim Martin, James FreelandSearch the index · Family tribute display "Orange County Giant," Boone Square, Hillsborough (seen October 2026)
  31. Local historian Scotty Washington proposes a James Freeland Day Writing in the News of Orange County, local historian Scotty Washington urged readers to mark July 24, Freeland's birthday in 1918, as James Freeland Day. He credited Freeland with more than 700 Hillsborough homes, some for people of modest means, with moving the house where James Hogg and later James Carr lived, the Dickinson House and the Gatewood House, and with the Hillsborough Historical Society's Engstrom Award for restoring the Whitted House. People: James Hogg Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Scotty Washington · Also mentions: News of Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County: Scotty Washington, "Freeland helped shape Hillsborough of today" (July 26, 2014)
  32. The Hillsborough survey proposes the Ja-Max Motor Lodge for the state Study List The survey report recommended the 1952 motel on US 70 for North Carolina's National Register Study List as one of the town's few surviving mid-century motels. It cited the eleven rooms, each with its own bath and parking at the door, the lamp-lined drive, and Ranch-house features rarely used on a commercial building, and proposed a 2.87-acre boundary. The National Register Advisory Committee added the motel to the Study List on October 12, 2017. People: James J. Freeland Place: Ja-Max Motor Lodge, 740 Cornelius Street (US 70), HillsboroughSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 41 · Also: NC State Historic Preservation Office: National Register Advisory Committee, October 12, 2017, list of approved properties

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James J. Freeland

Freeland, Maxine · 1999

Maxine Freeland's biography of James John Freeland (1918-1999), a Hillsborough man of the twentieth century, compiled in 1999.

Included because: Catalog heading in the OCPL record: Freeland, James John, 1918-1999.

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  • Rebecca Wall Collection · BIO FREELAND FRE James J. Freeland: A Gentle Giant Freeland, Maxine · 1999

    Maxine Freeland's biography of James John Freeland (1918-1999), a Hillsborough man of the twentieth century, compiled in 1999.

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