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Local figure

Benjamin Smith

Benjamin Smith, a Revolutionary soldier and later governor of North Carolina, was one of the university's first trustees and on December 18, 1789 became its first donor, giving 20,000 acres of land in what became Tennessee. Smith Hall, now the Playmakers Theatre, was named for him. He held more than 220 people in slavery, more than any other trustee.

Source: UNC Names in Brick and Stone: PlayMakers Theater

1756–1826 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗

1 work about Benjamin Smith is indexed here.

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Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each opens its own page, with its events date by date.

StorylineEnlarging the antebellum campus, 1840–18611840–1861 · 21 events · In 1840 President David L. Swain began the stucco finish on the brick college buildings, and by August 1841, with the session crowded beyond its rooms, the university had contracted for two new dormitory buildings. Swain then brought in the architect Alexander Jackson Davis, who first came to Chapel Hill in 1844. Davis's three-story additions to Old East and Old West, on which the masonry subcontractor Dabney Cosby put enslaved workmen, among them Osborne and his brother Albert, were finished in 1848 with halls for the Dialectic and Philanthropic societies, furnished by the free Black cabinetmaker Thomas Day. Smith Hall followed, named in 1852, and New East and New West, begun in 1858, were ready on July 31, 1861. StorylineSmith Hall becomes the Playmakers Theatre, 1850–19821850–1982 · 9 events · Alexander Jackson Davis designed Smith Hall, built from 1850 to 1852 as the university's library and ballroom and named for Benjamin Smith. The Carolina Playmakers made it their theatre in 1925, and it reopened after a 1938 fire. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1974, and a federally funded restoration reopened it in January 1982.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 5 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Benjamin Smith serves as a trustee of the university Benjamin Smith of Brunswick County, the university's first donor, sat on its board of trustees from the charter of 1789 until 1824, and was president of the board in 1810 while governor. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · NCpedia: Benjamin Smith
  2. Benjamin Smith gives the university 20,000 acres of western land Davie announced at the trustees' first meeting that Smith of Brunswick County had given land he received for Revolutionary service, in what became Obion County, Tennessee. It sold some 25 years later for $14,000, and Smith Hall, now the Playmakers Theatre, bears his name. People: William Richardson Davie, Benjamin Smith Place: Fayetteville · Also mentions: Smith HallSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 73
  3. The General Assembly restores the university's escheats The bill passed the House 82 to 35 and the Senate 32 to 23, returning escheated property whose Tennessee land warrants later became the university's endowment. Maurice Moore, one of the first students, was among its strongest advocates. People: William Gaston, Benjamin Smith Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Maurice MooreSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 139
  4. Smith Hall is built to Alexander Jackson Davis's design as the university library and ballroom The New York architect Alexander Jackson Davis designed Smith Hall, built from 1850 to 1852 for just over $10,300 and named for the trustee and former governor Benjamin Smith. It served as library and ballroom and is now the Playmakers Theatre. People: Alexander Jackson Davis, Benjamin Smith Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Smith HallSearch the index · UNC Names in Brick and Stone: PlayMakers Theater · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, February 2, 1982, p. 1
  5. Trustees honor Benjamin Smith by naming the new hall for him In 1852 the trustees gave the new library and ballroom building the name of Benjamin Smith of Brunswick, whose gift of 20,000 acres of Tennessee land at the board's first meeting was the first donation to the university. Place: Smith Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillSearch the index · Kemp P. Battle, An Address on the History of the Buildings of the University of North Carolina (1883), scan p. 16 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, February 2, 1982, p. 1

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Benjamin Smith, 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

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Petitions (Real Estate and Confiscated Property)

North Carolina. General Assembly · 1791

Petitions to the North Carolina General Assembly of 1791 to 1792 concerning real estate and confiscated property, 176 images. Petitioners from across the state sought relief over land titles, estates, wills and debts. Hillsborough and the University of North Carolina appear among the places and bodies named.

Included because: Catalog heading in the NC Digital Collections record: Smith, Benjamin, 1756-1826.

NC Digital Collections

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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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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