William Nichols

Life and Orange County connections

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

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 8 dated events in the chronology →

1. about 1821 Trustees vote to raise Old East a story and build Old West At Caldwell's urging, and against the faculty's plea to spend on books and apparatus, the board voted to enlarge Old East, build Old West to match and start a new chapel, borrowing from banks against Tennessee land sales. Architect William Nichols ran the work, and the South Building's Prayer Hall became a chemistry laboratory. People: Joseph Caldwell, Elisha Mitchell, William Nichols Place: Old WestSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 280
2. 1822–1824 Named enslaved workers build the third story of Old East Bills from William Nichols's 1822 to 1824 enlargement of Old East list enslaved carpenters, bricklayers and laborers including Bob, Henry, Nelson, Allman, Tony, Luke, Isaac and Ned Peek, with their pay due to their owners. One bill from John C. White came to about $395. People: William Nichols Place: Old East, UNC · Also named: John C. WhiteUNC University Archives (For the Record): Slave Labor and Old East
3. 1822 State architect William Nichols designs Old West and Gerrard Hall In 1822 William Nichols, the English-born architect who was North Carolina's first state architect, drew Old West as a match for Old East and designed a new chapel, Gerrard Hall. Gerrard's south portico of four two-story Ionic columns made it the campus's first building in the Romantic Classical mode. People: William Nichols Place: Old West and Gerrard Hall, UNC campusSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 16
4. July–November 1823 James S. Smith's building commission starts Hillsborough's brick Masonic Hall In July 1823 commissioners James S. Smith, Thomas Clancy and J. P. Sneed advertised in the Hillsborough Recorder for proposals to build a brick Masonic Hall in the town. The cornerstone was laid on November 23, 1823, for the Greek Revival hall designed by William Nichols and built by local brickmasons John Berry and Samuel Hancock. People: James Strudwick Smith, John Berry, William Nichols, Samuel Hancock Place: Hillsborough, Masonic Hall (Eagle Lodge) · Also named: Thomas Clancy, J. P. SneedSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, July 23, 1823, p. 3 (To Bricklayers and Carpenters)
5. November 23, 1823 The cornerstone of Eagle Lodge's Masonic hall is laid on West King Street The cornerstone of the brick Masonic hall at 142 West King Street, designed by state architect William Nichols and believed built by brickmasons John Berry and Samuel Hancock, was laid on November 23, 1823. The lot was deeded to the lodge in 1824 after the building went up. People: John Berry, William Nichols, Samuel Hancock Place: Eagle Lodge, 142 West King Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: West King StreetSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 142 W. King Street (Eagle Lodge No. 19 A.F. and A.M.)
6. 1824 The trustees settle William Nichols's accounts for Old West and the campus repairs The university settled with William Nichols, its supervisor and builder, for Old West, the new chapel, the bricks made on university land and repairs to South Building, the President's House and Steward's Hall. Battle gives the cost as about $26,587 and says the accounts showed a want of careful superintendence. Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: President's House, Steward's HallSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 297
7. 1825-1826 John Berry and Samuel Hancock build St. Matthew's Episcopal Church to William Nichols's design St. Matthew's, an early Gothic Revival church of Flemish-bond brick, was built in 1825-1826 by the local masons John Berry and Samuel Hancock to a design by William Nichols, who set its size at 35 by 45 feet. It replaced an earlier church at Churton and West Tryon streets that had burned in 1793. People: John Berry, William Nichols, Samuel Hancock Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 210 St. Mary's Road, HillsboroughSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 210 St. Mary's Road, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
8. May 21, 1826 St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough is consecrated under its first rector, William Mercer Green William Mercer Green became first rector of the reorganized St. Matthew's parish in 1825, the year work began on its brick church; state architect William Nichols and brickmaker John Berry were among the builders. Bishop John Stark Ravenscroft consecrated the church on May 21, 1826, during the diocesan convention it hosted. People: William Mercer Green, John Berry, John Stark Ravenscroft, William Nichols Place: Hillsborough, St. Matthew's Episcopal ChurchSearch the index · St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough: From the Abundance of God's Grace: A Brief History of St. Matthew's Parish, 1752-2017