Skip to content
Orange County Public Library (opens the library’s website in a new tab)

Local figure

Ross Scroggs

Ross Scroggs was a Chapel Hill civic official in the 1960s. In March 1963 he chaired the town Planning Board when it reviewed a regional development plan and went on record favoring a large village over a small city. Running for the Board of Aldermen in 1969, he backed an 18-month moratorium on public housing projects, and he was sworn in as an alderman that May, at the meeting where Howard Lee became mayor.

Source: The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 20, 1963

1 work about Ross Scroggs is indexed here.

Search this work Research sources View indexed works ↓

Life and Orange County connections

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

StorylineChapel Hill's noise ordinance and student parties, 1939–19911939–1991 · 27 events · Chapel Hill's aldermen passed an ordinance against unnecessary noise in 1939 and an anti-noise ordinance in 1968, and after complaints about fraternity bands a 1972 code required town permits for bands and amplified sound. After students objected to complaint-based enforcement, the town set decibel limits in 1978. A 1980 crackdown on fraternity parties led to talks with students and a 1981 ordinance that allowed louder parties only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with permits; a fraternity soon lost its permit privileges for six months. In 1987 the Town Council cut the permitted level to 75 decibels and the weekend cutoff to midnight, denied Pi Kappa Phi a permit for its Burnout benefit and tabled a student-written amendment; it granted the Burnout permit in 1988. In 1989 it revived its noise committee instead of tightening the limit as neighbors asked. In 1990 it defined nighttime nuisance noise and set fines, and in 1991 it lowered the permitted limit to 70 decibels. StorylineHoward Lee’s campaigns for mayor, Congress, lieutenant governor and the state Senate, 1968–19921968–1992 · 24 events · Howard Lee came into Chapel Hill politics in 1968 through the McCarthy and Hawkins campaigns and the town's stop of the Poor People's Campaign. In May 1969 he defeated Roland Giduz to become Chapel Hill's first Black mayor, and he won second and third terms in 1971 and 1973. In 1972 he ran for Congress against Rep. L. H. Fountain while staying on as mayor, and in 1974 he said he was finishing his last year in office. He left the mayor's office in December 1975 and opened his campaign for lieutenant governor in Chapel Hill in April 1976. In 1984 he ran for Congress again, filing in the 4th District Democratic primary against Rep. Ike Andrews and opening an Orange County campaign office on West Franklin Street. In February 1990 a district Democratic committee elected him to a vacant state Senate seat, and in May 1992 he and Russell Walker narrowly won the 16th District Democratic primary.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 21 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Chapel Hill Planning Board favors a large village in response to the Triangle commission's development plan Reviewing the Research Triangle Planning Commission staff's General Development Plan for Chapel Hill to 1980, the Planning Board went on record preferring that the town grow as a large village rather than a small city. The plan also addressed subdivision layout, a collector road system and a proposed lake on Bolin Creek north of town. People: Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Bolin CreekThe Chapel Hill Weekly, March 20, 1963, p. 1
  2. Mayoral and aldermanic candidates answer questions at the Institute of Government Lee, Giduz and all seven candidates for the Board of Aldermen took questions at an open forum. Sharp exchanges came over a police review board, which Lee said he had never favored, and over whether the town should pay to cover the Mitchell Lane drain, on which Giduz cited county health tests and Steve Bernholz answered that 'the ditch stinks'. People: Howard N. Lee, Roland Giduz, Robert Varley, Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Steve Bernholz · Also mentions: Mitchell LaneThe Daily Tar Heel, May 2, 1969, p. 1 (OCR text)
  3. Chapel Hill elects Prothro, Coxhead, Scroggs and Nassif to the Board of Aldermen In the election that made Howard Lee mayor, voters returned Mary Prothro and elected George Coxhead and Ross Scroggs to four-year terms and Joe Nassif to the two years left on Roland Giduz's seat, which Giduz had resigned the day before. The Daily Tar Heel called the turnout of almost 4,800 the largest for a local election in the town's history. People: Ross Scroggs, Roland Giduz Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Mary Prothro, George Coxhead, Joe Nassif, Howard LeeThe Daily Tar Heel, May 8, 1969, p. 1
  4. Howard Lee takes the oath as mayor of Chapel Hill at Town Hall More than 140 people packed the second-floor room of Town Hall for the 7:30 p.m. meeting at which town clerk Roberts swore in Lee after outgoing mayor Sandy McClamroch reviewed his ten years in office. New aldermen Joe Nassif, Mary Prothro, George Coxhead and Ross Scroggs were sworn in, and Lee's first board elected David Ethridge mayor pro tem. People: Howard N. Lee, Sandy McClamroch, R. D. Smith, W. David Ethridge, Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: David Ethridge, Joe Nassif, Mary Prothro, George CoxheadThe Daily Tar Heel, May 14, 1969, p. 1 (OCR text)
  5. Chapel Hill aldermen call the Fiber Industries site unfortunate The Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen voted 6 to 0 for David Ethridge's resolution welcoming Fiber Industries to the county but calling its site near New Hope Creek unfortunate and asking for stricter rules if the county commissioners rezoned it. George Coxhead had come with a resolution welcoming the plant at that location, then voted with Ross Scroggs for Ethridge's. People: Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: David Ethridge, George CoxheadSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, September 16, 1969, p. 21
  6. Aldermen hear the merchants' call to regulate Chapel Hill's flower ladies At a public hearing the Board of Aldermen took up a letter from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Merchants Association asking for rules on street vending by the flower ladies, the Black women who had sold flowers on Franklin Street for about fifty years. Residents spoke on both sides, and Mayor Howard Lee named a committee of three aldermen to study street vending and report. People: Howard N. Lee, Roland Giduz, Ross Scroggs Place: Franklin Street, Chapel HillThe Daily Tar Heel, January 14, 1970, p. 1
  7. Chapel Hill aldermen name a committee to study buying the University's utilities On Mayor Pro Tem Joe Nassif's recommendation, the Board of Aldermen agreed to study buying the water, electric and telephone systems the University owned and ran for Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and Mayor Howard Lee named Nassif, Ross Scroggs and Steve Bernholz to work with a Carrboro committee. Lee also named a second joint committee on problems the two towns shared. People: Howard N. Lee, Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill (Board of Aldermen meeting) · Also named: Joe Nassif, Steve BernholzThe Daily Tar Heel, February 11, 1970, p. 1
  8. Mayor Lee, President Friday and Chancellor Sitterson set up a town-gown study committee Meeting with William Friday and Carlyle Sitterson on July 2, Mayor Howard Lee presented the aldermen's resolution for a Town and Gown Commission, and the meeting set up a six-member committee, three from the town and three from the University, convened by vice president Ferebee Taylor, to study it. Lee also pressed for town control of the water system and for limiting the Horace Williams Airport to University use. People: Howard N. Lee, William C. Friday, J. Carlyle Sitterson, Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Ferebee Taylor · Also mentions: Horace Williams AirportSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, July 9, 1970, p. 8
  9. A town and University committee turns down Mayor Lee's proposed town-gown committee After Mayor Howard Lee proposed a standing town-gown committee in June, he, Chancellor J. Carlyle Sitterson and President William Friday agreed on July 2 to a six-member ad hoc committee, with Alderman Ross Scroggs, town manager Bob Peck and town attorney Emory Denny for Chapel Hill. Later that summer it reported no need for such a committee, leaving disputes to administrators, and Lee called the rejection a personal defeat. People: Howard N. Lee, J. Carlyle Sitterson, William C. Friday, Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Bob Peck, Emory DennySearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 17, 1970, p. 1
  10. Chapel Hill aldermen keep a ban on all street vending, flower ladies included After the court ruling, the aldermen voted to let the vending ordinance stand without its flower exemption, so that all selling on Chapel Hill's public sidewalks would end when the current licenses ran out at the end of June. Mayor Howard Lee, who favored stalls or zones, called the decision hypocrisy and said the flower ladies, some of whom had sold on Franklin Street for 35 to 40 years, had no other decent way to earn the money they needed. People: Howard N. Lee, Ross Scroggs Place: Town Hall, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Franklin StreetSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, June 24, 1971, p. 7
  11. Chapel Hill aldermen set a flat $3 dog license fee By a 5-1 vote the Board of Aldermen revised the town code to set all dog tags, new or replacement, at $3 a year, rejecting a plan to prorate the fee after dog warden Gus Shoffner and Alderman Ross Scroggs argued the dog program was not paying for itself. The board also told police to patrol school grounds against mini-bikes. People: Ross Scroggs, R. D. Smith Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Gus ShoffnerSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, November 10, 1971, p. 2
  12. Chapel Hill aldermen approve a power substation at the 15-501 Bypass and Mt. Moriah Church Road Over the protests of residents of the Mt. Moriah Church Road area, the Board of Aldermen approved the substation and transmission line that the University and Duke Power Company proposed at the northeast corner of the 15-501 Bypass and Mt. Moriah Church Road, accepting the University's warning of a critical power shortage by summer. The board asked that single tubular steel poles be used instead of lattice towers wherever Duke Power could get them; the company estimated five months for planning and construction. People: Ross Scroggs Place: 15-501 Bypass and Mt. Moriah Church Road, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, February 9, 1972, p. 4
Show all 21 dated events
  1. Chapel Hill aldermen form a committee to study the town's noise On a motion by Alderman Alice Welsh, who said periods of quiet in Chapel Hill were getting shorter, the Board of Aldermen formed a committee to study noise and recommend changes; Alderman Ross Scroggs blamed loud mufflers and outdoor amplified rock music and proposed tightening the anti-noise ordinance. George Coxhead cast the only vote against, calling the committee a waste of time. People: Ross Scroggs Place: Municipal Building, Chapel Hill · Also named: Alice Welsh, George CoxheadSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, March 7, 1972, p. 2
  2. Chapel Hill aldermen declare a garbage emergency and reopen the old Plant Road landfill On Labor Day, September 4, the Board of Aldermen declared the garbage situation an emergency and voted to reopen the old town landfill on Plant Road off Franklin Street, unused for about 20 years, for Chapel Hill's use for a week or two so collection could resume. Opponents of the Eubanks Road site told the board that the engineers' report had missed springs and wet bore holes on the tract. People: Howard N. Lee, Ross Scroggs Place: Plant Road landfill, off Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Eubanks Road, Franklin StreetThe Daily Tar Heel, September 5, 1972, p. 1
  3. Chapel Hill aldermen return the Neighborhood Development Program to its 1969 boundaries On September 18 the aldermen voted 4 to 2, with Ross Scroggs and Alice Welsh opposed, to return the Neighborhood Development Program to its original 1969 boundaries, taking back areas near downtown that had been dropped for lack of federal money, ahead of the October 1 application to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. James E. Kerr, who had resigned the week before as Redevelopment Commission director, said the program's $480,000 yearly grant might otherwise have been at risk. People: Ross Scroggs Place: Municipal Building, Chapel Hill · Also named: Alice Welsh, James E. KerrSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, September 19, 1972, p. 1
  4. Chapel Hill residents protest a zoning change for group rehabilitation homes At a joint public hearing of the Board of Aldermen and the Planning Board, residents objected to a zoning amendment that would let rehabilitation or group service houses locate in every district but industrial ones, saying the term was vague and neighbors had no say. Alderman Ross Scroggs proposed requiring a special permit for each home. Neighbors also objected to a State Employees Credit Union office building on Pittsboro Road. People: Ross Scroggs Place: Municipal Building, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, November 29, 1972, p. 1
  5. Chapel Hill aldermen dismiss Town Manager Robert Peck Meeting in special session, the Board of Aldermen voted 4 to 1, with Ross Scroggs dissenting, to relieve Robert Peck of his duties after he refused to resign; he had been town manager since September 1961. Mayor Howard Lee read a statement citing two years of disagreement over how Peck ran the town rather than any dishonesty, the board named Assistant Town Manager Maryl Levine interim manager, and Scroggs said it was the first time he had been ashamed to be a member of the board. People: Howard N. Lee, Ross Scroggs Place: Old town hall, above the police department, Chapel Hill · Also named: Robert Peck, Maryl LevineSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, January 18, 1973, p. 1
  6. Alderman Shirley Marshall announces for election to the Chapel Hill board Shirley Marshall, appointed to the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen in March 1972 to replace Jim Wallace, announced on September 3, 1973, that she would run for the seat, saying appointed members should face the voters and calling for a commission to review the town charter. Aldermen Joseph Nassif and Thomas Gardner said on September 10 and 11 that they would not run, and Ross Scroggs had already declined, leaving her the only incumbent in the race. People: Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Shirley Marshall, Joseph Nassif, Thomas Gardner, Jim WallaceSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, September 5, 1973, p. 1
  7. Chapel Hill restricts building on flood plains to six-acre lots Voting 4 to 2 on September 18, 1973, the Chapel Hill aldermen adopted a flood plain ordinance that limited building there to single-family houses on lots of at least six acres; the Planning Board had recommended no building at all. Alderman Joseph Nassif, who wanted none, called the rule a start, while Ross Scroggs, who argued for channeling streams instead, and R. D. Smith voted no. People: Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Joseph Nassif, R. D. SmithSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, September 19, 1973, p. 1
  8. Chapel Hill aldermen clarify band permits under the noise ordinance After students and fraternities protested a police rule that hired bands play only in enclosed buildings, the Board of Aldermen clarified that every band still needed a police permit but none would be refused, and that bands had to be indoors after 8 p.m. with no curfew. People: Ross Scroggs Place: Municipal Building, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, October 17, 1973, p. 3
  9. Chapel Hill's Charter Commission sends its charter changes to the aldermen unchanged After a public hearing on January 20 that drew only six citizens, the Chapel Hill Charter Commission held its final meeting and forwarded its whole package unchanged: two more aldermen with overlapping four-year terms, a four-year term for the mayor and a vote for the mayor on every question. It asked the aldermen to send a rewritten charter to the General Assembly rather than to a local referendum. People: Bill Thorpe, Ross Scroggs Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, January 25, 1975, p. 2

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Ross Scroggs, 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.

Indexed works

Works about or by Ross Scroggs. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

Recording with Ross E Scroggs, 1978 (Chapel Hill Historical Society cassette)

1978

Ross E Scroggs, recorded on cassette in 1978 for the Chapel Hill Historical Society. Part of the society's CHHS.012 Audiovisual Materials Collection.

Included because: Its title names this person.

CH Historical Society

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows them all.

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.

All places and the county map →

Research sources

Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.

Collections and databases

  • NC LIVE: prepared search for Ross Scroggs Library card Search NC LIVE for this subject and Orange County. You can change the search terms. Sign in through your North Carolina library to access the materials.
  • Ancestry Library Edition In the libraryOrange County Public Library Census, birth, death and marriage records, and more, free on the public computers at OCPL libraries

Local help

Search further

Search other catalogs and collections for this name. Results may include other people with the same name and have not been reviewed by the Friends.

Books about Ross Scroggs

Find copies at other libraries

Photographs, papers, and newspapers

Historical records and collections

These searches use Ross Scroggs’s name without birth or death dates, so results may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

More to discover

Keep Reading Local

The Friends connect people with new library materials, local writers and publishers, and resources documenting Orange County.

Browse New Arrivals → Meet Local Authors → Explore Local Publishers →
Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026