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Brodie Thompson

Brodie Thompson (1884–1971) was Chapel Hill's leading building contractor in the 1920s and 1930s. He built Colonial Revival fraternity houses around the campus and many village homes, among them his own house at 214 Henderson Street (1920), the Wagstaff house (about 1925) and the brick Milton Hogan house on North Boundary Street (1927).

Source: NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 58

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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. StorylineThe fraternity house boom and the University’s land, 1922–19301922–1930 · 17 events · Fraternities put up a run of large chapter houses from 1922 to 1930, and on April 20, 1926 the trustees' executive committee resolved against selling them University land. Delta Kappa Epsilon finished the first of the big Colonial Revival houses in 1923, and three fraternities bought a place on Cameron Avenue for a second fraternity court. Alumni gifts paid for the Big Fraternity Court, five houses on South Columbia Street, and fire destroyed the Phi Delta Theta house in 1927. In May 1929 the University set aside land on the Pittsboro highway for a new fraternity colony, taking lots on old Fraternity Row in exchange. That September the Daily Tar Heel counted 31 fraternities with over 900 members.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 30 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Contractor Brodie Thompson builds his own house on Henderson Street Brodie Thompson, the town's leading builder of the 1920s and 1930s and contractor for many fraternity houses and village homes, built a Colonial Revival house for himself at 214 Henderson Street. People: Brodie Thompson Place: 214 Henderson Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Henderson StreetSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 58
  2. Brodie Thompson oversees the building of the Ben Warren house on Hillsborough Street Julius A. "Ben" Warren, the university's treasurer, and his wife Pattie Spurgeon Warren built a large two-story frame house at 301 Hillsborough Street on four acres he had bought in 1917, under the supervision of local builder Brodie Thompson. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Julius A. Warren, Pattie Spurgeon WarrenSearch the index · National Register: Chapel Hill Historic District Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation (OR1750, 2015), section 7
  3. Chapel Hill Methodists build a new parsonage As its share of the building program, the local church hired J. L. Orr of Atlanta as architect in March 1922 and local contractor Brodie Thompson in May, and had the house ready in late October at a cost of $17,358.11. Until the new church was built it also served as a meeting place for boards and student groups. People: Brodie Thompson, Edgar Wallace Knight Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: J. L. OrrSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Methodist Church: A Centennial History, 1853-1953 (1954), scan p. 42
  4. 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
  5. The Pope Mattress Company opens its new store on East Franklin Street The Pope Mattress Company, mostly a furniture dealer, left Columbia Street for a new brick store on the north side of East Franklin, a few doors from the People's Bank, and opened there on Thursday, December 20, 1923. Bryant has the company putting up a two-story building; the Weekly reported in August 1923 that the Chapel Hill Insurance and Realty Company owned the new store, then planned as one story, with Brodie Thompson as builder. Berman's department store moved into it in 1926. People: Brodie Thompson Place: Pope Mattress Co. building, north side of East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Columbia StreetSearch the index · Bernard Lee Bryant Jr., Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (1998; Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999), scan p. 219 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, August 9, 1923, p. 2; Chapel Hill Weekly, November 29, 1923, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, December 20, 1923, p. 5
  6. S. J. Brockwell begins rebuilding the Pickwick as a fireproof theatre Weeks after the fire, owner S. J. Brockwell began rebuilding the Pickwick on Franklin Street as a fireproof theatre seating 725, 50 by 90 feet, with two stores flanking an entrance corridor, under builder Brodie Thompson, and hoped to open about May 1. People: Samuel Jackson Brockwell, Brodie Thompson Place: Pickwick Theatre site, Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Franklin StreetThe Chapel Hill Weekly, February 28, 1924, p. 1
  7. 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
  8. Bruce Strowd starts a two-story garage at Franklin and Columbia streets Construction began on Bruce Strowd's new garage on the old Carr place at the corner of Franklin and Columbia streets, a $30,000 building by contractor Brodie Thompson to plans by H. D. Carter, with 60 feet on Franklin Street, 120 on Columbia, elevators to the second floor and twice the floor space of his old garage. Thompson expected to finish by the end of the year. People: Bruce Strowd, Brodie Thompson, H. D. Carter Place: Franklin and Columbia streets, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Franklin StreetThe Chapel Hill Weekly, August 21, 1924, p. 4
  9. Brodie Thompson builds a house for historian Henry McGilbert Wagstaff For Henry and Mary Wagstaff, Thompson built a two-story frame house at 206 North Boundary Street with a fanlit entrance, a porch with turned balusters, a high hipped roof and a long side porch toward Rosemary Street. People: Brodie Thompson Place: 206 North Boundary Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: Henry McGilbert Wagstaff, Mary Wagstaff · Also mentions: Rosemary StreetSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 58
  10. Brodie Thompson builds a house on East Rosemary Street for George and Sarah Pickard Contractor Brodie Thompson builds a two-story, five-bay Colonial Revival house for George and Sarah Pickard at the southeast corner of East Rosemary and North Boundary streets. People: Brodie Thompson Place: 602 East Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: George Pickard, Sarah PickardSearch the index · National Register: Chapel Hill Historic District Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation (OR1750, 2015), section 7 · Also: Chapel Hill Historic Sites Survey; Chapel Hill Weekly, August 28, 1925, p. 3
  11. The Chapel Hill school opens its iron-walled gymnasium The Chapel Hill school's physical education building, an iron-plated hall modeled on the University's Tin Can and nicknamed Ironsides for Superintendent L. R. Sides, was formally opened on May 29, 1925, with drills, relay races, singing games and volleyball by the pupils. Built by Brodie Thompson on land bought from M. E. Hogan, it let 100 or more children exercise under one roof in bad weather. People: Brodie Thompson, L. R. Sides Place: Chapel Hill school grounds, Chapel Hill · Also named: M. E. HoganSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 4, 1925, p. 1
  12. S. J. Brockwell hires Brodie Thompson to build a Dutch Colonial house on Henderson Street S. J. Brockwell and his wife let Thompson the contract for a two-story Dutch Colonial house on the west side of Henderson Street next to the W. P. Jordan home. The house at 211 Henderson Street was much enlarged in 1968. People: Samuel Jackson Brockwell Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: W. P. Jordan · Also mentions: Henderson StreetSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 28, 1925, p. 3 (Brockwells' New Home)
Show all 30 dated events
  1. Five fraternity houses by Brodie Thompson form the Big Fraternity Court Alumni gifts paid for the Big Fraternity Court on the first block of South Columbia Street: five Colonial Revival houses built by Brodie Thompson and set around a shared court, in the manner of the new campus quadrangles. A smaller court stands around the corner on Cameron Avenue. People: Brodie Thompson Place: 100 block of South Columbia Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Cameron Avenue, South Columbia StreetSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 61 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, September 24, 1926, p. 2
  2. Brodie Thompson builds a brick Colonial Revival house for banker Milton Hogan At 104 North Boundary Street, Thompson built a two-story brick house for Milton and Carrie Hogan with a Doric-columned entrance, modillion cornice and one-story side porches. People: Milton E. Hogan, Brodie Thompson Place: 104 North Boundary Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: Milton Hogan, Carrie HoganSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 58
  3. Fire guts the MacRae house on Franklin Street Sparks from a burning chimney set fire to the roof of Mrs. R. S. MacRae's home on Franklin Street opposite the Episcopal church during supper, ruining the second and third floors. Durham sent equipment to help the Chapel Hill firemen, and the Weekly called it the most spectacular fire the town had seen in years; Brodie Thompson began rebuilding at once. People: Brodie Thompson Place: MacRae house, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Franklin StreetSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 14, 1927, p. 1
  4. 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: 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
  5. Aldermen choose John Foushee to succeed E. M. Knox as town manager After E. M. Knox, Chapel Hill's town manager since 1922, resigned to become city manager of High Point, the aldermen on June 21, 1928, approved their committee's choice of John Foushee, his engineering assistant for two years and a University engineering graduate. The Weekly credited Knox with paved streets, sewer extensions, a disposal plant, a health department and better fire protection, all without a higher tax rate. People: Brodie Thompson, Gustave M. Braune, Zeb P. Council, John M. Foushee, Edward M. Knox Place: Chapel Hill town government · Also named: John FousheeSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 22, 1928, p. 1
  6. Mary Graves Rees finishes a studio and names Park Lane By February 1929 the artist Mary Graves Rees had finished a studio rebuilt by Brodie Thompson from Mrs. Gore's barn on the lane behind the University houses in Park Place, and named the lane Park Lane. People: Brodie Thompson Place: Park Lane, Chapel Hill · Also named: Mary Graves Rees · Also mentions: Park PlaceSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 15, 1929, p. 1
  7. Chapel Hill re-elects its aldermen in a record town vote Chapel Hill voters returned the sitting board of aldermen and Mayor Zeb P. Council, and chose C. P. Hinshaw over L. J. Phipps by 37 votes for judge of the Recorder's Court. The 730 ballots, cast in the school athletic building known as the "tin can," were far more than in any earlier town election, the Weekly said. People: Brodie Thompson, R. D. W. Connor, Ralph M. Trimble, Peter L. Burch, Zeb P. Council, Clarence P. Hinshaw Place: School athletic building ("tin can"), Chapel Hill · Also named: L. J. PhippsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 8, 1931, p. 1
  8. Brodie S. Thompson gets the contract to repair the termite-damaged Orange County Training School Brodie S. Thompson, the low bidder at $623, won the contract to repair the Orange County Training School building, rebuilding the floors and sills of the two east rooms, the concrete floors of the three west rooms, ceilings and beams, and the front porch and steps. H. C. Wills and Sons got the tin work on both the white and the Black school buildings. People: Brodie Thompson Place: Orange County Training School, Chapel Hill · Also named: H. C. WillsThe Chapel Hill Weekly, August 18, 1933, p. 5
  9. S. J. Brockwell takes the top story off the oldest brick building on Franklin Street's business block After the M System fire, S. J. Brockwell had contractor Brodie S. Thompson take the third story off his building at Franklin and Columbia streets, built about 1900 of brick made on his own farm, and give it a new roof, front, steel beams and wiring as a two-story building with offices upstairs. The Weekly called it the oldest, and the first, brick building on the business block. People: Samuel Jackson Brockwell, Brodie Thompson Place: Brockwell building, Franklin and Columbia streets, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Franklin and Columbia streetsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 30, 1934, p. 1
  10. The park below the University Lake dam opens as a public recreation ground The state board of health had closed the picnic ground below the dam for want of sanitary facilities. With $250 from the Chapel Hill Movie Guild, private gifts and Emergency Relief labor, the town built two bath-houses and a septic tank and hired a caretaker-lifeguard, and the University turned the three-acre park over to the town for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. People: Brodie Thompson, George H. Lawrence, Peter L. Burch, Carl T. Durham Place: Park below the University Lake dam, near CarrboroThe Chapel Hill Weekly, June 22, 1934, p. 1
  11. Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Foushee and elects R. H. Wettach alderman In the town election Mayor John M. Foushee was returned without opposition, P. L. Burch (268 votes) and R. J. M. Hobbs (207) were re-elected aldermen, and law professor R. H. Wettach (236) won the third seat from Brodie S. Thompson (174). L. J. Phipps kept the recorder's court judgeship with 201 votes to 169 for C. P. Hinshaw and 102 for Roy W. McGinnis. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Brodie Thompson, Luther James Phipps, Robert H. Wettach, Peter L. Burch, Clarence P. Hinshaw, John M. Foushee Place: School athletic building, Chapel Hill · Also named: Roy W. McGinnisSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 10, 1935, p. 1
  12. The Orange Printshop and the Chapel Hill Weekly finish a brick addition on Rosemary Lane A 60-by-32-foot brick addition with a fireproof roof, designed by H. D. Carter and built by Brodie Thompson, went up in front of the old building of the Orange Printshop and the Chapel Hill Weekly on Rosemary Lane, giving room for offices, paper stock and student editors. The shop held an open house on September 13 with its presses and linotypes running. People: H. D. Carter, Brodie Thompson, Louis Graves Place: Orange Printshop, Rosemary Lane, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Rosemary LaneSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 23, 1935, p. 3
  13. Chapel Hill relaxes its zoning line for the Village Apartments On April 13, 1936 the zoning board of adjustment recommended that Roland P. McClamroch and his wife be let build their apartment house on Franklin Street opposite the Graham Memorial nearer the street than the zoning ordinance allowed, citing the town's need for such quarters, and the aldermen then approved a front line 12 feet from the street. The owners instead bought Mrs. Irene Lee's adjoining lot on Rosemary Lane and set the 30-apartment building 22 feet back. People: Brodie Thompson, Roland P. McClamroch Place: Village Apartments, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Graham Memorial, Franklin Street, Rosemary LaneSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 24, 1936, p. 1
  14. The McClamrochs build the Village Apartments on East Franklin Street Mr. and Mrs. Roland P. McClamroch put up a thirty-apartment house just east of the University Presbyterian Church, opposite the Graham Memorial, among the street's houses. Watts Carr drew the plans, the contractor Brodie Thompson cleared the ground in April 1936, and by mid-September every apartment was taken. People: Brodie Thompson, Roland P. McClamroch Place: Village Apartments, East Franklin Street east of the University Presbyterian Church, Chapel Hill · Also named: Watts Carr · Also mentions: Graham Memorial, University Presbyterian ChurchSearch the index · Bernard Lee Bryant Jr., Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (1998; Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999), scan p. 257 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, April 17, 1936, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, April 24, 1936, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, July 10, 1936, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, September 18, 1936, p. 1
  15. Brodie Thompson rebuilds the burned Odum house in record time After fire gutted the Odum house on Sunday, February 20, 1938, the insurance was settled in five days and Thompson's crew began clearing the ruins on the sixth. Within 26 days of the fire the new house on the old foundations had its walls, roof and most of its weatherboarding, which the Weekly called the fastest building job Chapel Hill had seen. The paper names only Mr. and Mrs. Odum; the house was probably that of sociologist Howard W. Odum. People: Howard W. Odum Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 18, 1938, p. 1 (Odum House Rises Fast)
  16. Fire guts Mrs. Irene Lee's apartment house at Franklin and Boundary streets Fire that apparently started in the basement near the gas flame under the water tank swept the inside of Mrs. Irene Lee's three-apartment house, the former Hendon house, on the afternoon of October 29, causing about $2,400 in damage. Co-eds in one apartment, cut off by smoke on the stairs, climbed out a window and slid down a tree to call the fire department; most of the tenants' belongings were carried out, the frame was saved, and rebuilding began at once under Brodie Thompson. People: Brodie Thompson Place: Corner of Franklin and Boundary streets, Chapel Hill · Also named: Irene LeeSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 1, 1940, p. 1
  17. Forty-five Chapel Hill and Carrboro men commute daily to building jobs at Fort Bragg Forty-five carpenters, plumbers and sheet metal workers from Chapel Hill and Carrboro were driving 63 miles each way every day to build barracks and other Army structures at Fort Bragg, carpenters at 90 cents an hour and plumbers and metal workers at $1.25. A worker estimated they brought home about $2,250 a week, and local builders said the boom had raised Chapel Hill building costs about fifteen percent. People: Brodie Thompson Place: Chapel Hill and Carrboro to Fort BraggSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 21, 1941, p. 1
  18. A fuel oil rationing committee is named for Chapel Hill and Carrboro Collier Cobb Jr. as chairman, J. S. Bennett and Brodie S. Thompson were appointed to ration fuel oil and kerosene for Chapel Hill and Carrboro under an OPA plan allowing enough oil to keep a house at 65 degrees, working alongside Moody Durham's rationing board. The committee urged householders with oil furnaces to change to coal where they could. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Brodie Thompson, John S. Bennett, Moody W. Durham Place: Chapel Hill and Carrboro · Also named: Moody DurhamThe Chapel Hill Weekly, October 16, 1942, p. 1

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