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Local figure

Charles W. Stanford

Charles Whitson Stanford Sr. served on the Orange County Board of Education from 1941 to 1967, much of that time as its chairman. The district dedicated a middle school to him in 1970, shortly before his death, and in February 2021 voted 5 to 2 to rename it after objections to the unequal funding of segregated schools during his tenure.

Source: Chapelboro: Orange County Schools to Change C.W. Stanford Middle's Name (February 25, 2021)

Orange County Indexed has not yet linked an indexed work directly to Charles W. Stanford. The biography and the dated events on this page provide sources about Charles W. Stanford’s life and work. Suggest a source.

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Life and Orange County connections

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 29 dated events in the chronology →

  1. James S. Compton is nominated without opposition for the county board of education With three places to fill on the Orange County board of education and only three Democratic candidates, M. W. Durham, James Compton and C. W. Stanford, there was no contest and their names stayed off the primary ballot. Compton went on to serve ten years on the board. People: Moody W. Durham, Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 19, 1940, p. 1
  2. Charles W. Stanford joins the Orange County Board of Education Charles W. Stanford was elected to the county Board of Education in 1941 to fill the vacancy left by E. L. Lockhart. He stayed on the board until 1967.Search the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 80
  3. Orange County's officers face no opposition in the Democratic primary C. A. Bivins, chairman of the county board of elections, announced that every county officer would run again without a primary opponent, so the clerk of court, sheriff, register of deeds, coroner, board of education and county commissioners would stay in office. John W. Umstead, Jr., was also unopposed for the county's seat in the state house. People: Houston J. Walker, Collier Cobb Jr., Samuel Weldon Andrews, Ben F. Wilson, Kemp S. Cate, James S. Compton, Alonzo W. Kenion, Samuel T. Latta Jr., Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 24, 1942, p. 1
  4. Orange County dairymen send buyers to Wisconsin and Tennessee for high-producing cows To raise the area's milk supply, Orange County commercial dairymen sent buyers to Wisconsin and Tennessee for more than a hundred Holstein, Jersey and Guernsey cows, with the Farmers' Mutual Exchange Livestock Market of Hillsboro financing the shipments. Henry S. Hogan and Walter I. Simmons went to Wisconsin with orders for 70 Holsteins and authority to spend up to $15,000. People: Henry S. Hogan, Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 19, 1943, p. 1
  5. Dairy farmers buy a Chapel Hill lot for a cooperative milk plant About 50 dairy farmers from Orange, Durham and Chatham counties bought a lot on Roberson Street in Chapel Hill for a plant to pasteurize and bottle milk and make ice cream. Henry Hogan and Charles Stanford led the project with help from Representative John W. Umstead Jr.; building waited on the government's release of materials. People: Charles W. Stanford, John W. Umstead Jr., Henry S. HoganSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 8, 1945, p. 3
  6. Orange County's new Board of Education organizes with Kemp S. Cate as chairman Meeting for the first time with the members named by the 1949 legislature, the county Board of Education chose Kemp S. Cate of Chapel Hill as chairman and moved its members to six-year terms. It bought C. W. Davis's tract on the Chapel Hill highway beyond the prison camp for a school bus garage, at an estimated $10,000, and voted to put stokers in the county schools over three years. People: Charles W. Stanford, Kemp S. CateSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 5, 1949, p. 1
  7. The county school board keeps the Hillsboro and Aycock high school lines nearly unchanged After hearing committees from each district, the Board of Education voted 2 to 1 to follow a state committee's advice, adding only a small area north of Kennedy's on Highway 86 to the Aycock High School district, and rejected Zeb Burton's motion to send Efland and Caldwell freshmen to Aycock. Both the Hillsboro and Aycock groups appealed to the State Board of Education, which put off its decision in May. People: Bonner D. Sawyer, Charles W. Stanford, Kemp S. CateThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 20, 1950, p. 1
  8. The county school board drops its bid to redraw the Aycock school lines After delegations from Efland, Caldwell and Hillsboro called its July 3 boundary resolution unworkable and unfair, the county Board of Education voted 2 to 1 on August 31 to rescind it and accept the State Board's June ruling, keeping all districts and bus routes as they had been. The State Board approved the rescission in September, and member Zeb C. Burton, who had led the fight to enlarge the Aycock district, said he would probably resign. People: Charles W. Stanford, Kemp S. CateThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 7, 1950, p. 1
  9. The first long-distance call goes out from the new rural telephone lines near White Cross The first long-distance call from a rural telephone in the White Cross area reached the News of Orange County's office from Charles W. Stanford's farm, the farthest point on the new rural lines and the University Telephone Company's test station. The lines had gone up after residents cut the rights of way during the summer, and all the rural telephones were to be in by the end of January. People: Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 14, 1950, p. 1
  10. Charles W. Stanford succeeds Kemp S. Cate as chairman of the county Board of Education Organizing for the new two-year term, the Orange County Board of Education heard Stanford nominate Cate to succeed himself. Cate instead nominated Stanford as the board's senior member, and Stanford was elected with the backing of new member Harry P. Breeze. People: Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 10, 1951, p. 1
  11. The school board withdraws its choice of a northern route for an all-weather road between Aycock and Caldwell On April 7 the board had recommended paving the 7.1-mile northern route, serving 69 families by Walnut Grove Church and Laws Store, ahead of two shorter routes; when its delegation found Highway Commissioner James H. Barnwell about to pave the southern route from Vincent's Service Station, the board withdrew its letter and asked only that the northern route be improved when possible. People: G. Paul Carr, Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 17, 1952, p. 1
  12. The school board retires Hillsboro teacher Rebecca Liner after 37 years under its age rule Miss Liner, 65, who had taught thousands of primary pupils in Hillsboro, asked to keep teaching, but the local committee and the county board held to their retirement age policy and instead passed a resolution of thanks for her 37 years in the schools of Hillsboro and North Carolina. People: G. Paul Carr, Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 29, 1952, p. 1
Show all 29 dated events
  1. James S. Compton sits on Orange County's board of the Neuse River Soil Conservation District Henry S. Hogan, J. S. Compton and C. W. Stanford were the three men who represented Orange County on the Neuse River Soil Conservation District board and directed the county's federal soil conservation technicians. People: Henry S. Hogan, Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · FamilySearch: Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 254
  2. Cedar Grove School's six-classroom north wing is finished The north wing Archie Royal Davis had drawn in 1951, a $60,000 addition of six classrooms closely matching the original classroom wing, was accepted from the builder by the county board on January 4, 1954 and occupied that week, bringing the school to 14 classrooms and moving six classes out of the auditorium and halls. With the new rooms the multipurpose room became the gymnasium and auditorium. Davis and board members Harry Breeze and C. W. Stanford inspected the wing that January. People: Archie Royal Davis, Charles W. StanfordNC State Historic Preservation Office: Cedar Grove School, National Register nomination (OR3044), p. 20 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 7, 1954, p. 1
  3. The county school board puts off naming school committees while the legislature acts on segregation Reorganizing for a new two-year term, the Orange County Board of Education re-elected Charles W. Stanford chairman and G. Paul Carr superintendent. At the suggestion of State Superintendent Charles F. Carroll it delayed reappointing the committeemen for the county's schools because of segregation bills pending in the General Assembly. The board also took up a $2,123.99 bill for rock excavation at the new Cameron Park School then going up in Hillsboro. People: G. Paul Carr, Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 7, 1955, p. 1
  4. Carrboro and White Cross school committeemen weigh joining the Chapel Hill tax district Meeting with the county board of education, the Carrboro and White Cross district committeemen asked for a "realistic review" of school costs before deciding whether to join the Chapel Hill administrative unit and its supplementary tax. They voted to get the Chapel Hill per-pupil figures straightened out first, and the county board left the choice to the districts. People: Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 8, 1955, p. 8
  5. County commissioners ask both school boards to plan for a school bond election Chairman R. J. M. Hobbs called the county and Chapel Hill school boards before the commissioners and asked them to study the county's school needs with a view to calling an election on a large bond issue. Chapel Hill chairman Carl Smith agreed at once and put his district's need at about a million dollars over five years; the county board, reluctant, agreed only to meet the Chapel Hill board on November 7. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Carl Smith (Chapel Hill businessman and county commissioner), Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 6, 1955, p. 1
  6. Hillsborough dedicates the new Cameron Park School The county dedicated Cameron Park School on St. Mary's Road, then in its third month of use, with an address by Charles Milner of the UNC Extension Division and the passing of keys from school board chairman C. W. Stanford to local committee chairman Bonner D. Sawyer to principal Fred W. Rogers. The newly formed Cameron Park Parent-Teacher Association sponsored the program and installed Harry P. Breeze as its president. People: G. Paul Carr, Bonner D. Sawyer, Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 29, 1956, p. 1
  7. The county school board turns down a Carrboro-only school tax vote The Orange County Board of Education refused to call a supplementary school tax election in the Carrboro district alone, telling the Carrboro committee its only sound choices were a county-wide supplement or joining the Chapel Hill city unit. Because the Carrboro committee would not back a county-wide 15-cent tax, the board called no election at all, and talks were still deadlocked in mid-May. People: G. Paul Carr, Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 4, 1957, p. 1
  8. Carrboro citizens petition for a vote on joining the Chapel Hill school district A Carrboro citizens' delegation handed the county Board of Education a petition with 341 signatures asking it to have the commissioners call an election on putting the Carrboro school attendance area into the Chapel Hill special school tax district. The Carrboro district school committee, whose majority wanted a separate Carrboro tax district instead, was split, and after a tense meeting the next night board members leaned toward calling the vote. People: Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 6, 1958, p. 1
  9. The county school board asks for a vote on joining Carrboro and White Cross to the Chapel Hill district Without dissent the Orange County Board of Education asked the county commissioners to call an election in the Carrboro and White Cross school attendance areas on joining the Chapel Hill special school tax district. The Chapel Hill school board had already endorsed the vote by polling its members, and a delegation from Carrboro's Citizens Committee for Schools pressed for an early date. People: G. Paul Carr, Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 6, 1958, p. 1
  10. White Cross residents petition for a new vote on joining the Chapel Hill school district At a meeting called by the White Cross School PTA, residents gave county school board chairman Charles W. Stanford petitions signed by at least 220 people asking for a new election on merging the White Cross area into the Chapel Hill school district and for tuition-free places in Chapel Hill schools meanwhile. Voters had rejected the merger by more than two to one on May 20. People: Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 28, 1958, p. 1
  11. The Chapel Hill school board lets White Cross pupils attend without tuition The Chapel Hill school board voted to waive tuition for the coming year for about 75 white and Black pupils from the White Cross attendance area, on condition that White Cross hold another referendum and vote to join the Chapel Hill special tax district as soon as one could be called. People: Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 4, 1958, p. 1
  12. The county school board orders Black pupils from Person and Caswell out of Cedar Grove School In a border fight over pupil assignments, the Orange County Board of Education voted to send some 19 or 20 Black children from Person and Caswell counties who were enrolled at the Cedar Grove school for Black pupils back to their home counties. The board acted after Person County barred 13 white border children from attending Aycock School and Caswell kept Orange children enrolled at Prospect Hill. People: Charles W. StanfordThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 11, 1958, p. 1
  13. The county school board asks the legislature to enlarge it from three members to five The three-member Orange County Board of Education recommended that the General Assembly add two members, one for a two-year and one for a four-year term, and the county commissioners endorsed the request the same day, adding that school board members' pay and travel allowances should match their own. The News had urged the change in a December editorial, noting that 66 of the state's 100 counties already had five-member boards. People: Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 5, 1959, p. 1
  14. The General Assembly enlarges the Orange County Board of Education to five members A bill introduced by Representative John W. Umstead Jr. passed the House on March 25 and the Senate on March 26, raising the county school board from three members to five and naming Charles M. Walker Jr., Gordon B. Cleveland and F. Ross Porter to terms beginning in April. The three took the oath on April 6, when the enlarged board reelected Charles W. Stanford chairman and G. Paul Carr superintendent. People: G. Paul Carr, Charles W. Stanford, John W. Umstead Jr.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 2, 1959, p. 4
  15. The county school board orders the old Efland Colored School property sold The Orange County Board of Education resolved to sell at public auction the Efland Colored School property, two tracts on Efland Avenue and Forrest Avenue that the board had bought in 1920 and 1924. The sale was set for July 18 at the courthouse door, subject to the board's confirmation. People: Charles W. StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 25, 1964, p. 14
  16. Charles W. Stanford resigns from the county school board after 26 years Charles W. Stanford resigned from the Orange County Board of Education after 26 years on it, 16 of them as chairman. The board elected A. B. Coleman to his seat and Roger Marshall as chairman.Search the index · DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 86
  17. The Orange County school board votes to rename C. W. Stanford Middle School The Orange County Board of Education voted 5 to 2 to take Charles W. Stanford's name off the middle school near Hillsborough dedicated to him in 1970. Supporters pointed to unequal funding and slow integration of segregated schools under his leadership; descendants objected. In June the board chose the name Orange Middle School.Search the index · Chapelboro: Orange County Schools to Change C.W. Stanford Middle's Name (February 25, 2021)

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 the 5 with a known location.

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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People named in the same events

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Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection whose titles, catalog subjects, or descriptions match this person. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 708.56 STA Art for Humanity's Sake: The Story of the Mary Duke Biddle Gallery for the Blind Stanford, Charles W. · 1976

    Charles W. Stanford Jr., who proposed it, tells how the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh opened its gallery for blind visitors in 1966, with a 1964 grant from the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, and let them handle the works. Chapters trace its planning, visitors and influence on other museums, with a sketch of Mrs. Biddle and a list of the collection. Published in 1976; 88 pages.

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