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Local figure

W. Kerr Scott

W. Kerr Scott, as governor of North Carolina, appointed university president Frank Porter Graham to the U.S. Senate on March 22, 1949, ending Graham's presidency. Controller W. D. Carmichael Jr. served as acting president until the trustees elected Gordon Gray.

Source: Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 154

Also found in catalogs as William Kerr Scott.

1896–1958 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗

3 works about W. Kerr Scott are indexed here.

Search these 3 works Research sources View indexed works ↓

Life and Orange County connections

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

StorylinePaving the rural roads, 1949June–December 1949 · 17 events · On June 4, 1949 Orange County voters approved Governor Kerr Scott's $200 million secondary road bonds, 2,450 to 1,743, though the Hillsboro precinct voted them down. In September a mass meeting called by the Pomona Grange set up a countywide steering committee and township committees to choose the roads to be paved. The Highway Commission let the first two Orange paving contracts in October, and in December highway commissioner James A. Barnwell chose 42.9 miles for the first phase and the county commissioners endorsed ten projects totaling 39.7 miles.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 20 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Two Orange County farm families receive the REA's War Food Production award The Milton Latta family of Schley and the T. N. Brown family of New Hope received plaques for the Rural Electrification Administration's War Food Production award at the Hillsboro Lions Club luncheon on Thursday, April 13, 1944, for using electricity to raise their farm output; the Browns had doubled their grade A milk production. The paper reported they were the first families on the Atlantic seaboard to receive the national award; A. H. Graham presented the plaques, and Gwyn Price and W. Kerr Scott spoke. People: Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, W. Kerr Scott Place: Lions Club luncheon, Hillsborough · Also named: Milton Latta, T. N. Brown, Gwyn PriceSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 20, 1944, p. 1
  2. Kerr Scott speaks to the Orange County Granges at St. Mary's school W. Kerr Scott, the Democratic nominee for governor and a former State Grange master, spoke to 300 to 400 people of the county's Granges at the St. Mary's school, again calling for all-weather school bus roads, rural telephones and rural electrification. The St. Mary's Grange served barbecue and Brunswick stew before the talk. Place: St. Mary's School, St. Mary's communitySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 23, 1948, p. 1
  3. Orange County casts its largest presidential vote and returns the Democratic ticket Orange voters cast 5,843 votes for president, the most in the county's history: 3,523 for Truman, 1,813 for Dewey and 362 for Thurmond. Kerr Scott, J. Melville Broughton, Carl Durham, State Senator James Webb, Representative John W. Umstead and Commissioners Collier Cobb Jr., Ben F. Wilson and H. G. Laws all won easily; the county was one of 29 to favor raising legislators' pay and voted against the amendments on debt limits and property taxes. People: W. Kerr Scott, Collier Cobb Jr., Ben F. Wilson, Hubert G. Laws Place: Orange County precincts · Also named: Harry S. Truman, James Webb, John W. Umstead, J. Melville Broughton, Carl DurhamSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 11, 1948, p. 1
  4. Schley Grange brings telephones to fifty-one families and wins a national community award For a National Grange and Sears-Roebuck Foundation contest, Schley Grange members cleared right-of-way, cut cedar poles and strung three miles of wire so the telephone company could give service to 51 families; they also held a soil conservation workshop with the extension service. Schley won the national prize in November 1948, and the new brick Grange hall it paid for was dedicated on December 6, 1949 before about five hundred people. People: W. Kerr Scott, Don S. Matheson Place: SchleySearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Schley Grange Hall National Register nomination (OR3148)
  5. Governor Kerr Scott appoints UNC President Frank Graham to the U.S. Senate On March 22, 1949, Governor W. Kerr Scott named Frank Porter Graham to the United States Senate, ending his presidency of the university. Controller W. D. Carmichael Jr. became acting president. People: Frank Porter Graham, W. Kerr Scott, William D. Carmichael Jr. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: W. D. Carmichael Jr.Search the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 154
  6. Governor Kerr Scott tours northeastern Orange to see rural progress Governor W. Kerr Scott spent about three and a half hours in Orange County, speaking to some 200 people at the newly finished New Sharon Methodist Church, inspecting the nearly complete Schley Grange hall and farm conservation work, and ending at barbecue suppers at Pleasant Green and St. Mary's. He denied charges that he was setting country against town and said he wanted rural living to equal town living. People: Carl T. Durham, John W. Umstead Jr., Charles S. Hubbard Place: New Sharon Methodist Church and Schley Grange Hall, northeastern Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 22, 1949, p. 1
  7. Governor Scott calls Orange County's schools for Black children deplorable Speaking to state officials in Raleigh about regional education, Governor W. Kerr Scott singled out Orange County, home of the University, as a place where schools for Black children were in deplorable condition and said parents could sue school officials. Bond campaign chairman Robert O. Forrest answered that the county meant to fix the problem through the November bond vote, while other residents recalled that the governor's forces had opposed a state-built practice high school at Chapel Hill. People: W. Kerr Scott, Robert O. Forrest Place: Raleigh, about Orange CountyThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 13, 1949, p. 1
  8. Governor Scott urges Orange farmers to back the school and courthouse bonds Speaking to about 300 farmers at an Orange County Farm Bureau membership rally at Aycock School, near his mother's birthplace, Governor W. Kerr Scott asked them to fight for the bond issues and for rural electricity, telephones, schools and roads. He also said the University's ownership of the Chapel Hill power and telephone systems was not wholesome and that it should sell them. People: W. Kerr Scott Place: Aycock School, Cedar GroveThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 17, 1949, p. 1
  9. Schley Grange dedicates the hall it won in a national contest On Tuesday, December 6, 1949, National Grange master Albert S. Goss gave the dedication address for the new $50,000 Schley Grange Hall, and E. J. Condon of the Sears-Roebuck Foundation spoke. The foundation built and furnished the hall after the Grange won the 1948 national community service contest. People: W. Kerr Scott Place: Schley Grange Hall, Schley · Also named: Albert S. GossSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 1, 1949, p. 1 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 25, 1948, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 8, 1949, p. 1
  10. Eleanor Roosevelt gives the Weil Lectures on the United Nations at the university Eleanor Roosevelt, a United States delegate to the UN General Assembly, opened the university's annual Weil Lectures on American Citizenship before about 1,200 students in Memorial Hall, introduced by Governor W. Kerr Scott. Her three talks on the United Nations ran through February 2, and the state's League of Women Voters chapters planned a luncheon for her that day. People: Eleanor Roosevelt, W. Kerr Scott, R. B. House Place: Memorial Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 2, 1950, p. 1
  11. Contract let for the 100-bed state tuberculosis hospital at Chapel Hill The state let the construction contract for a 100-bed tuberculosis sanatorium beside the university medical center to J. A. Jones Construction Company, at a cost of $1.1 million, with Carter Williams as architect. Groundbreaking with Governor Scott was set for October 25, and the hospital was to be named for Lee L. Gravely of Rocky Mount, chairman of the state sanatorium board. People: W. Kerr Scott Place: Southeast of the University Medical Center, Chapel Hill · Also named: Lee L. Gravely, Carter WilliamsThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 25, 1951, p. 1
  12. University trustees give Albert Coates the O. Max Gardner Award By unanimous vote the trustees named Coates the faculty member of the Consolidated University who had done most that year for the welfare of humanity, under the award created by the late governor's will. Coates accepted it for the Institute, and it carried $10,000. People: Albert Coates, O. Max Gardner, W. Kerr Scott, J. Spencer Love Place: Consolidated University of North Carolina, Chapel HillSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., The Good Government Man: Albert Coates and the Early Years of the Institute of Government (2018), p. 219
Show all 20 dated events
  1. Governor Kerr Scott promises $75,000 for Old Highway 10 and urges a western Orange delegation to vote for Hubert Olive Some 60 or 70 people from along Old No. 10 between West Hillsboro and Cheeks Crossing called on the Governor at his farm, where he said he would grade and gravel the road west from the Hillsboro water plant with state surplus funds and asked them to support his candidate, Olive. Signed statements from those present differed: one said Scott tied the road to their votes 'at least 12 or 15 times', while another said there was 'no trade'. People: Sim Efland Place: Old N.C. 10 west of Hillsborough (meeting at the Governor's farm, Hawfields) · Also named: Hubert Olive · Also mentions: Hillsboro water plantSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 22, 1952, p. 1
  2. County commissioners leave the road to Governor Scott's new Orange County farm off their approved road list In an all-day review of road petitions the board approved 12 short roads totaling 5.3 miles but not the 2.5-mile road from the Efland-Cedar Grove road past the farm the Governor had recently bought, which served only four landowners; it agreed to approve that road only if the Highway Commission gave the county an extra 2.5 miles of allotment for it. People: Collier Cobb Jr. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 19, 1952, p. 1
  3. County commissioners approve, on a condition, a state road through Governor Kerr Scott's Orange County farm After a long wrangle on July 7, 1952, the commissioners approved a petition to add to the state system a 2.5-mile road off the Efland-Cedar Grove road that ran through a farm Governor W. Kerr Scott had lately bought and served four homes, provided the highway commission gave Orange 2.5 extra miles for it. Commissioner Sim Efland pressed for the road, while Chairman Collier Cobb Jr. and R. O. Forrest held that approving it outright would break the board's rule of backing the roads that served the most people. People: Sim Efland, Collier Cobb Jr., Robert O. Forrest Place: Off the Efland-Cedar Grove road, northern Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 10, 1952, p. 1
  4. The first lane of the new Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard opens The first lane of the new Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard was formally opened at noon on September 19, 1952, at the Durham-Orange county line, where the two towns' mayors and the presidents of UNC and Duke cut ribbons before Governor W. Kerr Scott, nominee William B. Umstead and highway officials, followed by a barbecue. The road cost about $1.1 million, with the grading and bridges built for a second lane to be paved when money allowed, and the Chapel Hill aldermen formally thanked the state for it the next week. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Gordon Gray, W. Kerr Scott, William B. Umstead Place: Durham-Orange county line, Durham-Chapel Hill BoulevardSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 25, 1952, p. 1
  5. Kerr Scott tells an Orange Grove supper it looks as if he will run for the Senate Former governor W. Kerr Scott, touring the state before announcing for the U.S. Senate, spoke at an oyster supper at Manley Snipes's store in Orange Grove attended by 45 or 50 friends, said it looked as if he would be in the race, and asked for their support, arguing that North Carolina had sent lawyers to the Senate for 75 years and was due for a change. Place: Manley Snipes's store, Orange Grove · Also named: Manley SnipesSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 7, 1954, p. 1
  6. W. Kerr Scott opens his campaign for the U.S. Senate with a speech in Chapel Hill Former Governor W. Kerr Scott made the first speech of his 1954 Senate campaign in Chapel Hill and used it to name Mrs. Charles W. Stanford, the Orange County Democratic chairman, as head of his women's division, which the News said surprised her. He went on to win the May primary against Senator Alton Lennon. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Mrs. Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 11, 1954, p. 1
  7. Hillsboro's town board protests a post office site by the Eno River bridge The town commissioners unanimously resolved against a proposed post office site on the west side of Churton Street just north of the Eno River bridge, calling it inconvenient and a hindrance to the town's growth, and sent the resolution to the Postmaster General, Congressman Carl Durham and Senators Scott and Ervin. Fred Cates Jr. was negotiating to build a post office there on the old livery stable lot and lease it to the government, and he defended the plan in a letter to the News. People: W. Kerr Scott, Carl T. Durham Place: Town board, Hillsboro; proposed site on Churton Street at the Eno River bridge · Also named: Fred Cates Jr. · Also mentions: Eno River bridge, Churton StreetSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 10, 1957, p. 1
  8. The Post Office Department approves Fred Cates's Churton Street building for Hillsborough's post office The Post Office Department accepted Fred Cates's offer to build and lease a new one-story, air-conditioned post office on the west side of Churton Street beside the Eno River, ending a delay caused by the town board's protest against the site, which Senator W. Kerr Scott had backed. It took a ten-year lease with two five-year options and expected the building done about September 1, 1958; carpenters were at work on it by the end of January. People: W. Kerr Scott Place: West side of South Churton Street at the Eno River, Hillsborough · Also named: Fred Cates · Also mentions: Eno River, Churton StreetSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 19, 1957, p. 1

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as W. Kerr Scott, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

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Indexed works

Works about or by W. Kerr Scott. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

William Kerr Scott (1896-1958) Papers (State Archives series)

Unknown · 1900

Audiovisual material from the papers of William Kerr Scott (1896 to 1958), governor of North Carolina from 1949 to 1953 and afterward a United States senator, in the State Archives' Audiovisual Materials. The one item concerns Chapel Hill; its date is given only as 1900.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

State Archives of NC

Robert W. Scott (1861-1929) Papers

Scott family · 1848

Papers of the family of Robert W. Scott, 1848 to 1963. Scott was an Alamance County legislator and farm leader and the father of Governor W. Kerr Scott. His letters of 1879 to 1921 go mostly to Lizzie J. Hughes, his fiancee and then wife, sent from home, from Houghton Farm in New York, where he studied experimental farming, and from travels. Hawfields, Cedar Grove and Hillsborough appear. State Archives of North Carolina, PC.200.

Included because: Catalog heading in the State Archives of NC record: Scott, William Kerr, 1896-1958.

State Archives of NC

Proposal for Institute of Outdoor Drama

Evans, W. Ney, 1898-1973; Hunter, Kermit · 1955

Kermit Hunter and W. Ney Evans drafted this 1955 proposal for creating an Institute of Outdoor Drama, later founded at UNC-Chapel Hill. Supporting letters come from Adlai Stevenson, Governor Luther Hodges, and Senators W. Kerr Scott and Sam Ervin.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

DPLA

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Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Background

  • Historical marker G-81: W. Kerr ScottNC Highway Historical Marker Governor, 1949-1953; United States Senator, 1954-1958; N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture, 1937-1948. Birthplace is nearby.

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