William Lanier Hunt

Life and Orange County connections

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 10 dated events in the chronology →

1. by September 17, 1937 Botanist William L. Hunt buys Laurel Hill and keeps it open to walkers Hunt bought 304 acres at Laurel Hill, across Morgan Creek about two miles from the village, after long negotiations with several white and Black owners of small plots, to hold his plant collections. He said the woods, a favorite walk since the University's founding, would stay open to the public, but he barred hunting, target shooting and flower picking. Place: Laurel Hill, across Morgan Creek from Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 17, 1937, p. 1
2. by December 1939 William Lanier Hunt opens trails and stone quarries on his Laurel Hill tract along Morgan Creek By December 1939 horticulturist William Lanier Hunt had assembled from many owners the Laurel Hill tract of about 350 acres on both sides of Morgan Creek, taking in the site of King's mill, meaning to make it a botanical garden. He had cut miles of trails and was quarrying flagstone there; Laurel Hill stone paved the plaza before the Town Hall, the terrace and walks at the Playmakers Theatre and walks on the campus. Place: Laurel Hill, Morgan Creek, south of Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Playmakers TheatreSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 15, 1939, p. 1
3. June 30, 1940 Forest fire burns about 56 acres near Laurel Hill south of Chapel Hill A fire, believed started by campers the evening before, burned all day Sunday over about 50 acres of the old Shep Edwards place and about six acres of William L. Hunt's Laurel Hill tract along Morgan Creek, until Black enrollees from the CCC camp south of Chapel Hill and volunteers put it out about two hours after dark. Hunt credited his fire lanes with saving Laurel Hill itself and the University's land. People: William Lanier Hunt Place: Morgan Creek near Laurel Hill, south of Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 5, 1940, p. 1
4. 1952 to 1954 Morgan Creek Hills subdivision begins beside the new 15-501 Bypass Work on Morgan Creek Hills, on the south side of the 15-501 Bypass, started while the bypass itself was being built between 1952 and 1954. The land had several owners, among them William Chambers Coker and Bill Hunt, and the neighborhood filled in over many years with large houses on rough, hilly lots. People: William Chambers Coker, William Lanier Hunt Place: Morgan Creek Hills, Chapel Hill · Also named: Bill HuntSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 80
5. by August 10, 1961 Duke Power sues Chapel Hill-area owners for transmission line rights Duke Power filed condemnation proceedings in Superior Court against owners south of town, among them William L. Hunt and the heirs of the Pritchard estate, after failing to get rights of way for a line from its Triangle substation in Durham County to its Chapel Hill substation. People: William Lanier Hunt Place: Morgan Creek area, south of Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 10, 1961, p. 7
6. November 1961 William Lanier Hunt gives Morgan Creek gorge land to UNC for an arboretum In November 1961 Chancellor William B. Aycock announced that William Lanier Hunt had given the university 24.5 acres along Morgan Creek next to the Mason Farm and contracted to give 100 more over a period of years, for a William Lanier Hunt Arboretum of about 130 acres within a planned 240-acre botanical garden; Mr. and Mrs. Edward Gray gave eight acres nearby. The land of creek gorge and Catawba rhododendron bluffs became the William Lanier Hunt Arboretum, part of the North Carolina Botanical Garden lands. The Botanical Garden's history counts Hunt's gift at about 103 acres. Place: Morgan Creek, Chapel Hill · Also named: William B. Aycock · Also mentions: Mason Farm, North Carolina Botanical GardenSearch the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: A Conservation Garden: The North Carolina Botanical Garden at 50 (1966-2016), Vol. I · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 16, 1961, p. 8
7. January 25, 1966 The Botanical Garden Foundation is incorporated, with William Lanier Hunt as its founder Hunt, a member of the garden's advisory board, led the effort to form a private foundation to raise money, hold land and speak for the North Carolina Botanical Garden. At its first annual meeting in 1967 he was elected its first president, and 291 people and 18 organizations joined as charter members. Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: North Carolina Botanical GardenSearch the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: NCBGF Foundation History
8. 1970 Azalea Hill, designed by William Lanier Hunt, is planted at the Botanical Garden The garden's first specific planting project, sponsored by the Men's Garden Club of Chapel Hill and designed by Hunt, neared completion as work-study students under Ken Moore set native azaleas along a new trail. Place: North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill · Also named: Ken MooreSearch the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: A Conservation Garden: The North Carolina Botanical Garden at 50 (1966-2016), Vol. I
9. October 14, 1974 Chapel Hill aldermen hear opposition to the Laurel Hill condominiums south of Morgan Creek A standing-room-only crowd heard three hours of argument before the Board of Aldermen on Comprehensive Ventures' plan for 225 condominiums on 150 acres of William L. Hunt's land beside the Laurel Hill subdivision and Hunt Arboretum; Laurel Hill and Morgan Creek residents said it would overload roads and sewers, the planning staff reported an insufficient water supply, and the aldermen sent the testimony to the planning board. People: William Lanier Hunt Place: Police station courtroom, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 15, 1974, p. 1
10. October 18, 1996 The Botanical Garden gives William Lanier Hunt its Flora Caroliniana Award The North Carolina Botanical Garden presented Hunt with its Flora Caroliniana Award as founder of the Botanical Garden Foundation, land donor and supporter of the garden, the day before he died. Place: North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel HillSearch the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: A Conservation Garden: The North Carolina Botanical Garden at 50 (1966-2016), Vol. I