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Local figure

W. S. Roberson

W. S. Roberson, mayor of Chapel Hill during the First World War, lent a Main Street store he owned to the Chapel Hill Red Cross chapter as its first workroom in 1917 and sat on its executive committee. He served on the county's legal advisory board for draftees, and in 1919 he chaired the county's Victory Liberty Loan and South Orange's Salvation Army drive.

Source: Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, pp. 1, 4-5, 45, 69, 74

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

StorylineChapel Hill's town elections under Mayor Roberson, 1915–19271915–1927 · 8 events · From 1915 to 1925 Chapel Hill's town elections returned W. S. Roberson as mayor, usually with a citizens' ticket. He defeated W. H. Boger in 1915 and was elected again in 1917 and 1919. In 1923 he beat Carl Wiegand, a young lawyer, 314 to 76, in what the Weekly called the heaviest vote ever cast in the town. Under a 1925 charter amendment the town elected six aldermen instead of five, and only 76 voters came to re-elect Roberson. He refused to run again in 1927, and in a light vote Zeb P. Council of the University printery was elected mayor. The Weekly said none of the men elected had sought the office. StorylineChapel Hill’s movie houses and the Pickwick fire, 1916–19241916–1924 · 11 events · In 1924 Chapel Hill lost its Pickwick theatre to fire and gained a theatre owned by and run for Black residents. Early in 1916 Lindsey and Strowd opened the Tar Heel Theatre on Franklin Street and S. J. Brockwell's Pickwick went up in the same row, and about 1918 Henry Guthrie opened a picture house on West Franklin Street, in the blocks where Black families were settling. On February 9, 1924 an early-morning fire burned the Pickwick. Brockwell rebuilt it, fireproof, on the same site, and it opened on May 31 with seats for 750. On July 4 the Standard opened on West Franklin Street, owned by tailor Durward O'Kelly, builder Charlie Brooks and brick mason Jesse Kirkland. StorylineThe Chapel Hill Red Cross chapter, 1917–19191917–1919 · 13 events · Chapel Hill and Carrboro people formed a Red Cross chapter on May 28, 1917, electing George Howe chairman and Alice Noble vice-chairman, and opened a workroom in a Main Street store. By December the chapter had shipped 8,202 finished articles, some made up by women in Carrboro and the country. It moved to the Zeta Psi hall in 1918, raised $1,156.60 on a $500 War Fund quota and collected nut shells for gas masks. After the armistice it moved to the University Inn and elected Dr. A. H. Patterson chairman. The American Red Cross commended Chapel Hill women for their work in the influenza epidemic, and by April 1919 the chapter counted 66 cases shipped. StorylineChapel Hill's police chiefs, 1919–19281919–1928 · 7 events · In February 1919 Chapel Hill's new police chief resigned after a week, and in May the aldermen chose S. F. Long, who had held the post before. Long left the town force in 1923 to police the contractors' camp at the University building works, and George Featherstone, formerly of the Durham police, took his place. The mayor and town manager suspended Featherstone in April 1924 for helping an Ohio officer take a wanted man out of the state before his lawyer could contest extradition, and he was reinstated within weeks. In 1925 William T. Sloan became acting chief, and when Sloan became sheriff in 1928, his assistant, H. L. Rigsbee, succeeded him. StorylineChapel Hill’s sewers and the Bolin Creek plant, 1923–19441923–1944 · 34 events · In 1923 about four homes in ten in Chapel Hill lacked water and sewer connections, and from then to 1944 the town and the University built and kept enlarging a sewer system and a disposal plant in the Bolin Creek valley. In 1925 the town contracted for a plant in Strowd's Lowgrounds, with the University agreeing to pay half the cost. Neighbors downstream sued or claimed damages over sewage, odors and flies. A Church Street main in 1926 gave the Black neighborhood there complete service. A new plant went into operation in 1931, a 1937 pumping station let every home within the town limits connect, and in 1944 the aldermen moved to enlarge the long-inadequate plant again. StorylineGimghoul Castle at Piney Prospect, 1923–19311923–1931 · 8 events · In 1923 the Order of Gimghouls gave the University 35 acres next to Battle's Park in a land exchange and began selling house lots whose deeds required approved house plans. With money from those lot sales, the order built a stone castle on the crest at Dromgoole Rock near Piney Prospect, at the spot where legend placed Dromgoole's fatal duel and burial. Members and alumni agreed unanimously in June 1924 to build the lodge, and the Weekly put the likely cost at $35,000 to $45,000. Some 1,300 tons of stone were hauled in, stonemasons came from the Waldensian settlement at Valdese, and Charlie Lee Martindale was general contractor. The order first gathered in the castle in May 1926. After repeated break-ins, apparently by students, it had wrought-iron grills fitted over the windows and added heavy doors and bolts by 1931.
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StorylineAuctioning land into house lots, 1923–19251923–1925 · 7 events · From 1923 to 1925 farms and fields around Chapel Hill and Carrboro were cut into house lots. The Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company opened Forest Hills on the Pittsboro road and lots on North Street in 1923. In 1924 the Durham Auction Company sold the Lloyd field in Carrboro and part of the old Purefoy land at sales with bands and free dinners, and W. C. Coker's woods east of the campus were laid out in large lots. In 1925 the realty company bid in most of Robert L. Strowd's farm east of town at auction and began selling lots there as Davie Woods. StorylineThe Chapel Hill school as a University training school, 1926–19271926–1927 · 8 events · A grant that made the Chapel Hill school a training school for the University's school of education ended in protests from parents and the resignation of its superintendent. In 1926 the General Education Board of New York gave $75,000 to make the high school in effect a branch of the school of education, under E. R. Mosher as director of training. In September 1927 the school opened under a new plan of cooperation with the University, with Mosher as superintendent. Parents protested a double session for young pupils and Mosher's circular calling it the training school. The board let parents choose a single session, and in late October Mosher offered his resignation "in the interest of community harmony."

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 67 dated events in the chronology →

  1. The Orange County Sunday School Convention meets at Hillsborough Seventeen delegates of the county's Sunday schools met in convention at the Hillsborough Methodist church with Rev. W. F. Wilhelm in the chair, heard addresses by Revs. G. W. Harman and W. B. North, and chose delegates to the state convention at Charlotte. People: Joseph A. Harris, Joshua W. Gore, W. S. Roberson, W. F. Wilhelm Place: Methodist church, Hillsborough · Also named: G. W. Harman, W. B. NorthSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), March 2, 1889, p. 3
  2. Creditors take over J. T. Durham's Chapel Hill store At a meeting of J. T. Durham's creditors in Chapel Hill in June 1904, W. S. Roberson was appointed trustee to sell the bankrupt merchant's stock of goods and divide the proceeds among the creditors pro rata. People: W. S. Roberson Place: J. T. Durham's store, Chapel Hill · Also named: J. T. DurhamSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), June 16, 1904, p. 1
  3. W. S. Roberson builds a two-store brick building west of the Bank of Chapel Hill In October 1915 the lot next to the Bank of Chapel Hill was being cleared for Roberson's large two-story brick building, to go up at once, and by December 1916 attorney Alex H. Koonce was advertising an office in the 'New Roberson Building.' Bryant's history has it nearing completion by 1918. The building held two stores; in the early 1920s the Peoples Bank took the western half and the Lowe brothers' Chapel Hill Hardware the eastern. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Roberson building, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: Alex H. Koonce · Also mentions: Bank of Chapel Hill, Peoples BankSearch the index · Bernard Lee Bryant Jr., Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (1998; Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999), scan p. 209 · Also: The News (Chapel Hill), October 14, 1915, p. 1; The News (Chapel Hill), December 14, 1916, p. 4
  4. Orange County holds a county-wide school commencement at Hillsboro The schools of the county gathered at Hillsboro for an Orange County Commencement, with literary contests, prizes and a dinner, in Burnside Park lent by Col. Bennehan Cameron, who spoke. The county board of education thanked the Hillsboro Betterment Association, the town's business men, Dr. L. A. Williams of the university and Chapel Hill's Mayor W. S. Roberson, among others. People: Bennehan Cameron, W. S. Roberson Place: Burnside Park, Hillsborough · Also named: L. A. WilliamsOrange County Observer (Hillsborough), May 11, 1916, p. 1
  5. Chapel Hill's citizens' ticket wins the town election, with W. S. Roberson as mayor The Chapel Hill town election passed off quietly, and the citizens' ticket named at a convention the Thursday before was elected with the exception of one man, the News reported, making W. S. Roberson mayor. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), May 3, 1917, p. 1
  6. A Chapel Hill mass meeting sends off the men leaving for Fort Oglethorpe A mass meeting in the Methodist church, with Mayor W. S. Roberson presiding, bade farewell to the young men of the town and university leaving for the officers' training camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and other army service. Dr. Archibald Henderson, the student Albert Coates and the Rev. Maynard Marshall spoke; more than a hundred students, mostly seniors, were to leave that week. People: W. S. Roberson, Archibald Henderson, Albert Coates Place: Methodist church, Chapel Hill · Also named: Maynard MarshallThe News (Chapel Hill), May 10, 1917, p. 1
  7. Chapel Hill High School graduates twelve with E. C. Branson as speaker Chapel Hill High School held its commencement, with Professor E. C. Branson giving the address and Mayor W. S. Roberson presenting diplomas to twelve graduates; principal W. F. Morrison made the announcements. People: Eugene Cunningham Branson, W. S. Roberson, Fred W. Morrison Place: Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill · Also named: W. F. MorrisonThe News (Chapel Hill), June 14, 1917, p. 5
  8. The Chapel Hill Red Cross opens its headquarters and workroom in a Main Street store Chapel Hill's Red Cross was organized as an auxiliary at a meeting in the high school auditorium on May 28, 1917, when 71 members enrolled, and it soon sought chapter status. Mayor W. S. Roberson lent a vacant store on Main Street rent free, and the headquarters opened there on Saturday, June 9. By June 18, according to the chapter's own history, all its organization papers had arrived, giving it jurisdiction over the part of Orange County on its side of the railroad. The store served as headquarters and workroom for surgical dressings for six months. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Main Street, Chapel HillSearch the index · State Archives of North Carolina, Military Collection, WWI Papers, Box 2, Folder 37: Orange County Red Cross History (typescripts, 1918-1919), scan 18 · Also: The News (Chapel Hill), May 31, 1917, p. 1; The News (Chapel Hill), June 14, 1917, p. 1
  9. The Chapel Hill Red Cross moves its workrooms into the Zeta Psi fraternity hall After its first home, a Main Street store lent by Mayor W. S. Roberson, was sold to the People's Bank, the chapter moved on January 1, 1918, into the lower floor of the Zeta Psi fraternity hall, offered by the university's Upsilon chapter. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 5
  10. W. S. Roberson joins the county's legal advisory board for draft questionnaires A legal advisory board was formed to help Orange County men fill out the government's draft questionnaires, with Major John W. Graham, Frank Nash and W. S. Roberson as members. People: Frank Nash, John W. Graham Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 45
  11. W. S. Roberson buys the 500-acre Snipes farm west of Chapel Hill to cut into small farms W. S. Roberson bought the 500-acre farm known as the Snipes farm, two and a half miles west of Chapel Hill, and planned to divide it into small farms for sale. Place: Snipes farm, 2.5 miles west of Chapel HillSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), January 30, 1919, p. 5
  12. The Chapel Hill Boy Scouts hold a banquet in their new hall over the post office The Chapel Hill Boy Scouts gave a banquet for townspeople in their new hall over the post office. Mayor W. S. Roberson spoke on how the town could help the scout movement, and the Rev. Euclid McWhorter and Scoutmaster R. M. Johnson acted as toastmasters; merchants gave $12 toward the refreshments, and speakers said the scouts were doing real service to the community. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Scout hall over the post office, Chapel Hill · Also named: R. M. Johnson, Euclid McWhorterSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), March 20, 1919, p. 1
Show all 67 dated events
  1. A Chapel Hill committee opens the town canvass for the Graham Memorial fund A committee for Chapel Hill wrote to the townspeople that the local campaign for the Graham Memorial, a student activities building in memory of President Edward Kidder Graham, was beginning and that members would call for subscriptions. No quota was set; the students had already pledged between $20,000 and $25,000 of the $150,000 sought. The committee called it the first town campaign for a large campus enterprise since 1904. People: W. S. Roberson, C. B. Griffin, Milton E. Hogan Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Edward Kidder Graham · Also mentions: Graham MemorialSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), March 20, 1919, p. 1
  2. Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor W. S. Roberson and elects five aldermen Chapel Hill voters elected the ticket named at a mass meeting in the school house on April 29: W. S. Roberson for mayor and J. M. Cheek, R. P. Andrews, J. T. Lloyd, D. S. Smith and R. B. Lawson for the Board of Aldermen. The News reported they won by a good majority over one or two independent tickets. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: J. M. Cheek, R. P. Andrews, J. T. Lloyd, D. S. Smith, R. B. LawsonSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), May 7, 1919, p. 4
  3. Orange County raises $800 for the Salvation Army In a Salvation Army campaign May 16-26, 1919, South Orange under W. S. Roberson raised $300 and North Orange under R. H. Claytor raised $500.01 on a $500 quota. People: W. S. Roberson, R. H. Claytor Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 74
  4. Orange County subscribes $137,050 to the Victory Liberty Loan In the fifth, or Victory, Liberty Loan the county subscribed $137,050 against a $112,500 allotment, from 202 men, 70 women and 4 corporations. The women's committee reported $67,300 obtained by direct solicitation. People: Harriet Morehead Berry, W. S. Roberson Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Documenting the American South: A Record of the War Activities in Orange County, North Carolina, 1917-1919, p. 69
  5. Orange County towns and townships win honor flags in the Victory Loan For meeting their Victory Loan quotas, Cedar Grove, Chapel Hill, Cheeks, Eno and Hillsborough townships and the towns of Chapel Hill and Hillsborough were awarded honor flags, the Chapel Hill News reported on May 29, 1919, crediting Mayor W. S. Roberson as Victory Loan chairman. The paper said county residents had put more than a million dollars into government securities since the first Liberty Loan. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Orange CountySearch the index · State Archives of North Carolina, Military Collection, WWI Papers, Box 2, Folder 37: Orange County Red Cross History (typescripts, 1918-1919), scan 30 · Also: The News (Chapel Hill), May 29, 1919, p. 1; The News (Chapel Hill), May 22, 1919, p. 4
  6. Chapel Hill High School graduates fourteen seniors Chapel Hill High School closed one of its most successful years with commencement exercises at which Col. E. A. Abernethy, just back from a year in France, gave the address. Mayor W. S. Roberson presented the 14 diplomas and spoke of plans for a girls' dormitory, a student activities building and a home economics course. People: Eric A. Abernethy, W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel Hill High SchoolThe News (Chapel Hill), June 19, 1919, p. 1
  7. Brick goes up for E. P. Cate's new store on the old pressing club lot in Chapel Hill Brick was being laid on E. P. Cate's lot for the jeweler's new store building where Long Bill Jones's pressing club had stood, and W. S. Roberson was to build a store room next to it. The old frame pressing shack and C. S. Pendergraft's auto station had been torn down earlier in July to make room. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Business district, Chapel Hill · Also named: E. P. Cate, C. S. PendergraftSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), July 31, 1919, p. 5
  8. W. S. Roberson breaks ground for brick stores on Chapel Hill's burned store lots W. S. Roberson let the contract to Lawrence Brothers of Durham for four brick store buildings on the lots where the Tankersley, Strowd and McCauley stores had burned, and ground was broken on Tuesday morning, August 16, for the first, a two-story building 25 by 100 feet on the Tankersley lot. A larger building was to have store rooms, a cafe and a lobby on the ground floor and more than twenty rooms above. Place: Tankersley lot, Chapel Hill business districtSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), August 18, 1921, p. 3
  9. Town officials present the new fire truck and fire station to Chapel Hill's volunteer firemen At a banquet at the fire station given by Chief John L. Foister and the firemen for the town officials and University heads, the officials formally presented the new fire truck and new fire station to the fire company. Mayor W. S. Roberson, President H. W. Chase and Louis Graves spoke, and the domestic science department of the Chapel Hill school prepared the dinner. People: W. S. Roberson, Harry Woodburn Chase, Louis Graves, John Lee Foister Place: Fire station, Columbia Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Chapel Hill schoolSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), December 22, 1921, p. 5
  10. Chapel Hill school district voters approve $40,000 in bonds for school buildings In a special election called by the Board of Aldermen at the request of the graded school trustees, voters of the Chapel Hill Graded School District approved $40,000 in bonds to build and equip school buildings and buy a site. Of 514 registered voters, 319 voted for the bonds, a majority of the registration as the law required. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel Hill Graded School building, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), June 8, 1922, p. 5
  11. Chapel Hill and the University hold a joint Armistice Day parade and exercises The town, its American Legion post and the University marked Armistice Day with a parade from the school down Franklin Street to Memorial Hall, led by Colonel E. A. Abernethy and made up of the University band, Red Cross members, the Legion's Woman's Auxiliary, Confederate veterans, ex-servicemen, school children and Boy Scouts. Cale K. Burgess of Raleigh spoke in Memorial Hall on the country's duty to disabled veterans, and games on Emerson Field filled the afternoon. People: Eric A. Abernethy, W. S. Roberson Place: Franklin Street and Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Cale K. Burgess · Also mentions: Emerson Field, Franklin StreetSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), November 16, 1922, p. 1
  12. Chapel Hill aldermen ban bicycles from the sidewalks and order a traffic light The Chapel Hill board of aldermen passed an ordinance forbidding bicycle riding on the town's sidewalks and requiring lights on bicycles at night, with a $5 fine. The board also told the town manager to buy a "mushroom" traffic light for a Columbia Street intersection and to put a light at the school, and passed an ordinance carrying a $50 fine for each offense. People: W. S. Roberson, Edward M. Knox Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Columbia StreetSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), November 23, 1922, p. 1
  13. Piney Mountain parents get the commissioners to repair their school truck road A delegation of parents from the Piney Mountain school community, whose children rode a motor bus to the Chapel Hill School, went before the county commissioners in November 1922 and persuaded them to repair the road the school truck used and keep it passable. The board ordered the work begun at once. People: W. S. Roberson, Fred W. Morrison Place: Road from Piney Mountain to the Chapel Hill School, Chapel Hill Township · Also mentions: Chapel Hill School, Piney MountainThe News (Chapel Hill), November 30, 1922, p. 1
  14. Bank of Chapel Hill director Henry Lloyd dies Henry Lloyd, a stockholder and director of the Bank of Chapel Hill, died by early January 1923, when his executors qualified. The bank's directors and stockholders adopted a tribute calling him a faithful officer who took great pride in the bank's growth. People: W. S. Roberson, M. C. S. Noble, Isaac W. Pritchard Place: Bank of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill · Also named: Henry LloydSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), February 1, 1923, p. 5
  15. Chapel Hill aldermen forbid chickens to run at large and join the state municipal association At a meeting reported in mid-January 1923, the Chapel Hill board of aldermen passed an ordinance forbidding anyone to let chickens run at large in town, with a $5 fine for each offense, voted to join the North Carolina Municipal Association and accepted the audit of the town's books. They also paid for plumbing on the Graham Memorial Fountain and for water used in building the new curb and gutter. People: W. S. Roberson, Edward M. Knox Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), January 18, 1923, p. 1
  16. The old W. E. Lindsay store on Columbia Street is auctioned off for removal On Saturday, February 17, 1923, the frame W. E. Lindsay store house on Columbia Street, next to the site of the new Baptist church, was sold at public auction for a building committee, with the buyer to move the building off the lot. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Columbia Street, beside the new Baptist church site, Chapel Hill · Also named: W. E. LindsaySearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), February 22, 1923, p. 5
  17. Chapel Hill aldermen adopt a traffic ordinance built around the silent policeman The board of aldermen passed an ordinance requiring every driver to keep to the right of the new cast-steel signal, the silent policeman, at Franklin and Columbia streets, to park at an angle in the business district, to dim headlights and to run without a cutout. Franklin, Rosemary and Cameron were made right-of-way streets, and each offense carried a $5 fine. People: Gustave M. Braune, W. S. Roberson, Edward M. Knox Place: Franklin and Columbia streets (Andrews corner), Chapel HillThe Chapel Hill Weekly, March 8, 1923, p. 2
  18. Orange's board of education is found not to be legally constituted The county board of education learned at its meeting that it was no board at all: C. A. McDade had not qualified in time and W. S. Roberson was ineligible as a Chapel Hill school trustee. The State board was asked to appoint McDade. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Hillsboro · Also named: C. A. McDade · Also mentions: Chapel Hill schoolThe Chapel Hill Weekly, April 26, 1923, p. 4
  19. Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor W. S. Roberson over Carl Wiegand In the biennial town election Chapel Hill re-elected W. S. Roberson mayor over Carl Wiegand, a young lawyer, by 314 votes to 76, in what the Weekly called the heaviest vote ever cast in the town. D. D. Carroll, G. M. Braune, J. M. Cheek, R. P. Andrews and H. A. Whitfield were elected aldermen, and most of the roughly 100 students who registered were ruled not to be bona fide residents. People: Dudley Dewitt Carroll, Henry A. Whitfield, Gustave M. Braune Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Carl Wiegand, J. M. Cheek, R. P. AndrewsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 10, 1923, p. 1
  20. Chapel Hill adopts a schedule of license and privilege taxes The aldermen levied license taxes on every trade in town, due June 1, from $1 for a private car or a male dog to $100 for a circus or a fortune teller and $30 for the movie house, with a fine of up to $50 a day for doing business unlicensed. Anyone who listed no poll or property in town was taxed as an itinerant. People: Edward M. Knox, W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel HillThe Chapel Hill Weekly, May 31, 1923, p. 4
  21. County commissioners settle Chapel Hill's tax revaluation After hearings at which several large owners protested and commissioner J. D. Webb called the proceedings illegal, the county commissioners fixed the new Chapel Hill assessments drawn up by the aldermen and assessors at 55 per cent of market value. At their Monday meeting they cut by 5 per cent every raised listing that had not been reviewed. People: W. S. Roberson, Junius D. Webb Place: Chapel HillThe Chapel Hill Weekly, July 26, 1923, p. 1
  22. B. S. Thompson gets the contract for a brick hotel and store building on East Franklin Street A large brick building with store rooms on the first floor and a hotel above was let to contractor B. S. Thompson by mid-August 1923, to go up on the old McCauley store lot next to the new Strowd building on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. The News named W. S. Roberson, whom it called the town builder, as the prime mover. People: W. S. Roberson, Brodie Thompson Place: East Franklin Street, next to the Strowd building, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), August 16, 1923, p. 5
  23. Fire destroys the Pickwick Theatre on Franklin Street An early-morning fire burned the Pickwick movie theatre and the O'Kelly pressing club next door, and sparks threatened the fraternity houses nearby. Until it was rebuilt, films were shown in Gerrard Hall. People: W. S. Roberson, Samuel Jackson Brockwell Place: East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Gerrard HallSearch the index · The Tar Heel, February 12, 1924, p. 1 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, February 14, 1924, p. 1; The News (Chapel Hill), February 21, 1924, p. 1; The News (Chapel Hill), February 28, 1924, p. 5
  24. Chapel Hill's aldermen take up a sewage disposal plant as neighbors threaten suit With the creek north of town little more than a sewer ditch, Jack Sparrow, Charlie Martindale and Robert L. Strowd spoke of suing the town, and the aldermen pressed plans for a disposal plant, heard an engineer from the McCrary Company of Atlanta, and ordered the sewage treated at the outfall with chloride of lime and a floating disinfectant as an emergency measure. Thorndike Saville of the board of health and Town Manager E. M. Knox were preparing reports and estimates, and the town hoped to finish a plant by the end of the fall. People: Edward M. Knox, W. S. Roberson, Robert L. Strowd Place: Sewer outfalls on the creek north of town, Chapel Hill · Also named: Thorndike Saville, Jack Sparrow, Charlie MartindaleThe Chapel Hill Weekly, March 20, 1924, p. 1
  25. Chapel Hill's mayor and town manager suspend the police chief Mayor W. S. Roberson and Town Manager E. M. Knox suspended Police Chief George Featherstone after he helped an Ohio officer rush a former candidate for mayor, wanted in Ohio, out of the state before the man's lawyer could contest extradition; Roberson and the lawyer chased the car as far as Durham. Featherstone said in a statement that he had not known of the governor's request to hold the papers, and the Weekly reported in May that he had been reinstated. People: W. S. Roberson, Edward M. Knox Place: People's Bank building and Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: George FeatherstoneThe Chapel Hill Weekly, April 17, 1924, p. 1
  26. The rebuilt Pickwick Theatre opens on Franklin Street S. J. Brockwell's new fireproof Pickwick, built on the site of the burned one, opened with seats for 750, and crowds were turned away from the first show. W. S. Roberson ran it under lease. People: W. S. Roberson, Brodie Thompson, Samuel Jackson Brockwell Place: East Franklin Street, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 5, 1924, p. 1 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, February 28, 1924, p. 1
  27. Isaac W. Pritchard and six others give land for a Chapel Hill park and playground A tract of several acres at the southwest corner of town, beyond Pritchard's home, was to be reserved to Chapel Hill for all time as a park and playground. The givers were Pritchard, W. S. Roberson, J. F. Steiner, H. W. Odum, George B. Logan, Harold D. Meyer and E. R. Mosher, and one or two ball fields were planned. People: Isaac W. Pritchard, W. S. Roberson, Howard W. Odum, Harold D. Meyer Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: J. F. Steiner, George B. Logan, E. R. MosherSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 13, 1924, p. 6
  28. A Black man is killed with a razor on West Franklin Street A Black man was killed when his jugular vein was cut with a razor in front of a restaurant on West Franklin Street. The man accused was captured three days later on a farm in Durham County, bound over by Mayor W. S. Roberson and sent to the Hillsborough jail while a crowd of Black residents gathered at the Chapel Hill lockup. People: W. S. Roberson Place: West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Hillsborough jailSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 20, 1924, p. 1
  29. The Gimghouls sell their old lodge lot on Rosemary Lane W. S. Roberson bought the Gimghouls' lot at Rosemary Lane and Boundary Street, with the old lodge to stand until the order finished its new building at Piney Prospect; the Weekly later put the price at about $5,000. In the event the order tore the old lodge down in late April 1925, carrying its sound timbers out to Piney Prospect, and the lot was split in two. John W. Lasley bought the corner piece, 82 feet on Boundary Street by 132 feet along Rosemary, and his family had moved into a new house there by September 1926. People: W. S. Roberson Place: 523 East Rosemary Street (Rosemary Lane at Boundary Street), Chapel Hill · Also named: John W. Lasley · Also mentions: Boundary Street, Rosemary LaneSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 20, 1924, p. 7 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, July 30, 1926, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, September 10, 1926, p. 4; Chapel Hill Weekly, April 30, 1925, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, May 28, 1925, p. 1
  30. Peoples Bank officers cover a shortage overnight and open on time On the night of January 14, 1925, after the death that morning of assistant cashier Ralph Andrews, a shortage was found in the books of the Peoples Bank in Chapel Hill. President Vernon Howell pledged his own property and with W. S. Roberson borrowed the missing sum from the First National Bank of Durham before breakfast, so the bank opened as usual the next morning; the state bank examiner then posted a notice that the shortage had been made good and the bank was solvent. People: E. V. (Edward Vernon) Howell, W. S. Roberson Place: Peoples Bank, Chapel Hill · Also named: Vernon HowellSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 22, 1925, p. 1
  31. Robert L. Strowd's 1,200-acre farm on Chapel Hill's eastern edge is sold at auction On a rainy April 22, 1925, the Durham Auction Company sold building lots and small farms along the Durham highway from the town limits past the one-mile bridge out of Robert L. Strowd's farm, the old Hargrave place that his father, Congressman William F. Strowd, had bought in 1875. Strowd received about $128,000, and the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company bid in the remaining 1,100 acres or so; the Weekly called it one of the biggest events in the town's commercial life. People: Robert L. Strowd, W. S. Roberson Place: Strowd farm, Durham road, eastern edge of Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 30, 1925, p. 1
  32. Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Roberson and chooses its first six-member board under a new charter Under a charter amendment passed by the 1925 legislature, Chapel Hill elected six aldermen instead of five, three for four years and three for two, on a printed official ballot. Only 76 voters came to the polls at the school on May 5, 1925; they re-elected W. S. Roberson mayor and chose Carl Durham, M. E. Hogan and Gustave M. Braune for four-year terms and R. D. W. Connor, C. L. Wills and B. S. Williams for two. People: W. S. Roberson, R. D. W. Connor, Gustave M. Braune, Milton E. Hogan, Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel Hill school (polling place), Chapel Hill · Also named: C. L. Wills, B. S. WilliamsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 7, 1925, p. 1
  33. Chapel Hill school board keeps teaching country children free while it seeks a township school tax Despite the county's budget cut, the Chapel Hill school board decided to go on teaching children from outside its tax district without charge for the time being, and to seek an election on a uniform school tax for the whole township. It cut its teaching force from 21 to 18 to live within the smaller allowance. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel Hill school, West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Chapel Hill school boardSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 19, 1925, p. 1
  34. Chapel Hill aldermen fix the site of the new sewage disposal plant below Strowd's bridge Mayor W. S. Roberson announced that the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company had given the school board a 12-acre tract 1,700 feet below Strowd's bridge, and the school board sold it to the town for $4,000 as the site of the new sewage disposal plant. The Elliott Building Company of Hickory had the construction contract, and the plant was put at about $35,000. People: W. S. Roberson, Edward M. Knox Place: Bolin Creek below Strowd's bridge, Durham road, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 10, 1925, p. 1
  35. Chapel Hill mayor's court frees three young Black men accused of entering a room in Ruffin dormitory After a woman student in Ruffin dormitory screamed on finding an intruder in her room, whom the Weekly described as a Black man, Policeman Blake brought bloodhounds from Asheboro; they led to a house on the Laurel Hill road, and three young Black men who lived there were arrested. Tried in the mayor's court, where townspeople who had employed one of them vouched for his character, all three were found not guilty for lack of evidence and released, the Weekly reported. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Mayor's court, Chapel Hill; Ruffin dormitory, UNC campusSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 4, 1925, p. 1
  36. Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company sells 38 lots in Davie Woods for $52,260 At the first sale in Davie Woods, the former Strowd farm east of Chapel Hill that W. S. Roberson's company named for William R. Davie, 38 lots near the old Strowd home brought $52,260. Buyers were to receive shares in a company holding about a thousand acres kept back for later development. People: W. S. Roberson, L. B. Rogerson Place: Davie Woods (former Strowd farm), Durham road, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 16, 1925, p. 1
  37. A 30-mile short cut from Chapel Hill to Raleigh by way of Lowe's Grove opens After the Orange commissioners on September 7 voted unanimously to put a road gang on the old Raleigh road out of Chapel Hill, including Blake's hill, and Durham County's road forces worked their end, the Weekly announced the short cut open. Travelers went by the old Raleigh and New Hope Valley roads to Evergreen farm and through Lowe's Grove to Nelson, 30 miles instead of 38 through Durham. People: W. S. Roberson, John Sprunt Hill, Junius D. Webb Place: Old Raleigh road and New Hope Valley road, Chapel Hill to the Durham lineSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 30, 1925, p. 1
  38. Chapel Hill aldermen authorize $50,000 in street improvement bonds On August 10, 1926, the Chapel Hill board of aldermen passed an ordinance for up to $50,000 in bonds to pay for street surfacing, curbs, gutters, drains and sidewalks, with at least a quarter of the cost to be assessed on abutting property, and a second ordinance for $7,000 in bonds for street and electric light equipment. The same night they accepted owners' petitions for work on Rosemary Lane and on Franklin, Columbia and Vance streets, Pritchard Avenue and Short Street, with owners to pay half to two thirds of the cost over ten years. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Rosemary LaneSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 13, 1926, p. 2
  39. Chapel Hill elects Zeb P. Council mayor and three new councilmen In a light vote on May 3, 1927, Zeb P. Council of the University printery was elected mayor over J. T. Harris, 155 to 21, succeeding W. S. Roberson, who had refused to run again after many years as mayor. P. L. Burch with 127 votes, R. D. W. Connor with 121 and contractor Brodie Thompson with 117 were chosen councilmen. A petition filed in April had made Thompson, for a time, the only candidate for alderman, and the Weekly said none of the men elected had sought the office. People: Brodie Thompson, R. D. W. Connor, W. S. Roberson, Peter L. Burch, Zeb P. Council Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 6, 1927, p. 1 (Light Voting in Town Elections) · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, April 22, 1927, p. 1
  40. Barnstormer Vernon Ratliff flies passengers over Chapel Hill Vernon Ratliff of Rockingham flew from the meadow at the foot of Strowd's hill, opposite Jack Sparrow's filling station, carrying passengers at $3 for a six-minute trip, most of them Summer School students; he took up 18 one morning and made 49 trips another day. The Weekly suggested the meadow as a landing field for the village. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Meadow near the one-mile bridge, Durham road, Chapel Hill · Also named: Vernon Ratliff, Jack SparrowSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 24, 1927, p. 1
  41. Chapel Hill parents and the school board settle the dispute over double sessions Parents of first and second graders protested the school's change from a single morning session to a double session and objected to a circular from Superintendent E. R. Mosher calling the school the training school of the University's school of education. After a heated public meeting in the school auditorium on September 19, a committee of six named by W. S. Roberson met the school board on September 21 and agreed that children whose parents chose could attend a single session ending at 12:30, with music and handiwork left to the afternoon. People: W. S. Roberson, William de Berniere MacNider Place: Chapel Hill school, Chapel Hill · Also named: E. R. MosherSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 23, 1927, p. 1
  42. The Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company goes into receivership With much of its land mortgaged and the real estate market slumping, the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company could not meet its notes and interest, and on November 2 Judge M. V. Barnhill, in a suit brought by stockholders, appointed M. E. Hogan, I. W. Pritchard and W. S. Roberson receivers. Its holdings, mostly real estate in and around Chapel Hill and Carrboro, were appraised at $648,000 against debts of $621,000, leaving its forty or fifty mostly local stockholders facing a loss of about $52,000. People: W. S. Roberson, Isaac W. Pritchard, Milton E. Hogan Place: Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company, Chapel Hill · Also named: M. V. BarnhillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 11, 1927, p. 1
  43. Receivers auction the property of the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company The receivers of the bankrupt Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company auctioned its Chapel Hill and Carrboro properties in front of the post office. Lots on the old Guthrie place went to T. C. Atwood and Moody Durham, the Daniel house to Arthur London and James Griffin of Pittsboro, the Coop to Miles Andrews of Carrboro, and the Peoples Bank building to Lueco Lloyd for $23,000. People: W. S. Roberson, Lueco Lloyd, Isaac W. Pritchard, Moody W. Durham, Milton E. Hogan Place: U.S. Post Office, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: Miles Andrews, T. C. Atwood, Moody Durham · Also mentions: Peoples Bank buildingSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 6, 1928, p. 1
  44. Auction of the Strowd farm shows a slump in Chapel Hill land values On May 22, 1928, receivers of the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company auctioned about 600 acres of the former Strowd farm, part of it inside the town limits, with a store building next to the Bank of Chapel Hill also offered. The high bids came to about $16,000, against roughly $100,000 the company had paid R. L. Strowd, and the receivers declined to recommend confirmation. People: W. S. Roberson, Robert L. Strowd, Isaac W. Pritchard, Milton E. Hogan Place: Strowd farm along the Chapel Hill-Durham highway, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Bank of Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 1, 1928, p. 1
  45. Receivers cut the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company's debts to $370,000 A balance sheet of September 1 showed that the receivers appointed the previous fall had reduced the bankrupt company's liabilities, not counting its $77,000 in capital stock, from $557,000 to $370,000. They had held back from selling its real estate because of the slump in land values, after spring auction bids too low to recommend to the court. People: W. S. Roberson, Isaac W. Pritchard, Milton E. Hogan Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 7, 1928, p. 1
  46. Receivers auction the R. L. Strowd farm east of Chapel Hill The receivers of the bankrupt Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company put up the roughly 600-acre R. L. Strowd farm in eleven tracts, including the old country club site, the old Hargrave home place and the Strowd home. Bids totaled $34,473, about twice the offers of the spring auction, though still below the mortgages and subject to the court. People: W. S. Roberson, Henry Horace Williams, Isaac W. Pritchard, Milton E. Hogan Place: R. L. Strowd farm, eastern edge of Chapel Hill · Also named: R. L. StrowdSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 5, 1928, p. 1
  47. Audit finds the Chapel Hill school more than $23,000 in debt An audit laid before a joint meeting of the school board and the directors of the Bank of Chapel Hill showed an operating deficit of $26,350 and a net deficit of $23,218, with teachers' pay months in arrears and $16,500 in bank notes endorsed personally by the board members. The board had already arranged a $10,000 loan from the state literary fund and cut the year's budget from $38,562 to $29,975, dropping public school music. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel Hill school, West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Bank of Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 21, 1928, p. 1
  48. Receivers auction the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company's holdings The receivers of the bankrupt Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company sold more than 40 parcels at the post office door for $44,685, including the old telephone company site to J. S. Patterson for $10,000 and the McRae lot opposite Graham Memorial for $6,000. The Weekly reported prices about half those of three or four years earlier, and outlying lots far lower. People: W. S. Roberson, Isaac W. Pritchard, Milton E. Hogan Place: Post office, Chapel Hill · Also named: J. S. Patterson · Also mentions: Graham MemorialSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 17, 1929, p. 1
  49. Court receivers wind up the bankrupt Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company By July 1929 the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company, the town's main developer of the 1920s, was in receivership under Superior Court Judge M. V. Barnhill, with M. E. Hogan, I. W. Pritchard and W. S. Roberson as receivers. Its liabilities of $634,000 had been cut to $267,000 by August, nothing was expected for stockholders, and the receivers set a final sale of its Franklin Street buildings and Strowd farm lands. People: W. S. Roberson, Isaac W. Pritchard, Milton E. Hogan Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: M. V. Barnhill · Also mentions: Franklin StreetSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 9, 1929, p. 1
  50. Receivers cut the bankrupt Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company's debts to $121,000 The receivers' statement for October 31 showed liabilities reduced from $634,000 when the company went into bankruptcy on November 2, 1927, to $121,000, with the stockholders' equity wiped out. Every piece of its real estate had been offered at auction, and the receivers planned to turn the heavily mortgaged former Strowd farm of more than 300 acres over to the mortgage holders. People: W. S. Roberson, Isaac W. Pritchard, Milton E. Hogan Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 22, 1929, p. 1
  51. Receivers of the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company report a final deficit of $49,790 A financial statement issued February 1 showed the defunct company's liabilities exceeding its assets by $49,789.70, so its stockholders would get nothing, and the receivers, W. S. Roberson, I. W. Pritchard and M. E. Hogan, expected to be discharged about March 1. Part of the Strowd farm and a lot opposite Graham Memorial, worth less than their mortgages, were to go to the mortgage holders. People: W. S. Roberson, Isaac W. Pritchard, Milton E. Hogan Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Graham MemorialThe Chapel Hill Weekly, February 14, 1930, p. 1
  52. The Chapel Hill school board drops six teachers and the school secretary Soon after Superintendent Hoyle resigned, the board, chaired by W. S. Roberson, told six teachers and the secretary they would not be re-elected, after a committee inquiry into the school; no economy was involved, as the next budget kept the same pay scale. The Weekly reported that many parents thought the notices came too late and too suddenly for the teachers to find other places. People: W. S. Roberson, R. E. Coker, Edgar Wallace Knight, Eric A. Abernethy, Milton E. Hogan, Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel Hill schoolSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 27, 1932, p. 1
  53. The Chapel Hill school board turns down parents who asked it to keep teachers it had dropped After about thirty citizens met at the school on June 10, 1932 and asked the board to retain for one more year the teachers it had not re-elected, a committee led by Rev. A. S. Lawrence put the request to the board in the week of June 20. The board held to its decision; the parents had argued that notice given at the end of May left the teachers no time to find other places. People: Alfred Stratton Lawrence, W. S. Roberson Place: Chapel Hill school, West Franklin Street, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 24, 1932, p. 1
  54. Attorney and three-time mayor William Roberson is buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery William Stone Roberson (1869-1935), a lawyer who served three times as mayor of Chapel Hill, died in Watts Hospital in Durham on Friday, June 7, 1935. After a funeral at the Baptist church he was buried in the cemetery. People: W. S. Roberson Place: Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, South Road (NC 54) and Country Club Road, Chapel Hill · Also named: William Roberson · Also mentions: Watts HospitalSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, National Register nomination (OR0496), p. 23 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, June 14, 1935, p. 4
  55. A portrait of former mayor William S. Roberson is unveiled in the new Town Hall courtroom The family of William S. Roberson, mayor of Chapel Hill for a quarter of a century, gave the town a portrait of him, which the aldermen hung over the judge's seat in the new courtroom. Foy Roberson Jr. presented it, a great-nephew unveiled it, Mayor Foushee accepted it, and Henry A. Whitfield presided over tributes from members of the bar and townspeople. People: Henry A. Whitfield, John M. Foushee Place: Courtroom, Town Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Foy Roberson Jr.Search the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 14, 1939, p. 1

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