William B. Umstead

Life and Orange County connections

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

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 14 dated events in the chronology →

1. June 24, 1936 The Post Office Department decides to build a new Chapel Hill post office Congressman William B. Umstead telegraphed Postmaster Robert A. Eubanks that the fourth assistant postmaster general had given definite assurance of a new building, after inspectors found the old office too small and damaged by termites. By August the allotment was tentatively set at $155,000, and in September the Treasury's supervising architect, Louis A. Simon, came to Chapel Hill and promised a Colonial design in keeping with the campus. People: William B. Umstead, Robert A. Eubanks Place: Post office, Franklin and Henderson streets, Chapel Hill · Also named: Louis A. SimonSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 26, 1936, p. 1
2. by August 27, 1937 The PWA grants $185,000 toward a new University medical building Washington announced a Public Works Administration grant of $185,000 for the University's new public health and medical building, to cost about $411,000 with the $200,000 the legislature had appropriated. A trustees' committee had chosen a wooded site across the highway from the high school near the fork of the Pittsboro and Raleigh roads. People: William B. Umstead Place: University of North Carolina, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 27, 1937, p. 1
3. Spring 1939 Construction begins on the Institute of Government building on Franklin Street A $10,000 gift from Will Reynolds, given after Congressman William Umstead won an IRS ruling that the Institute was a charity, paid for the land. Gifts from Gordon and Bowman Gray covered half of the $50,000 cost and Julian Price's Jefferson Standard Life lent the rest on Coates's signature, against more than half his salary, for a scaled-down Federal-style building of three floors over a raised basement. People: Albert Coates, Gordon Gray, William B. Umstead, Bowman Gray Jr. Place: Institute of Government building, East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: Will Reynolds, Julian PriceSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., The Good Government Man: Albert Coates and the Early Years of the Institute of Government (2018), p. 182 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, August 5, 1938, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, September 2, 1938, p. 4; Chapel Hill Weekly, December 2, 1938, p. 6; Chapel Hill Weekly, September 8, 1939, p. 5
4. April 19, 1940 Col. John K. Ross-Duggan plans 75th-anniversary exercises at the restored Johnston headquarters house Col. John K. Ross-Duggan, who with his wife had restored the Dickson house outside Hillsborough, announced afternoon exercises there on Friday, April 26, for the 75th anniversary of the war's end, and a special postal cachet showing the house. A. H. Graham and W. B. Umstead of Durham were to speak. People: Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, William B. Umstead Place: Alexander Dickson House (Johnston headquarters), near the junction of NC 86 and the Durham road, outside Hillsborough · Also named: John K. Ross-DugganSearch the index · DigitalNC: Henderson Daily Dispatch, April 20, 1940, p. 5 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, April 19, 1940, p. 1; Wilmington Morning Star, March 19, 1940, p. 6
5. December 1942 Two bus companies make their case in Chapel Hill for a route through Hillsboro At the Town Hall, J. G. Humphrey and William B. Umstead for the Carolina Coach Company and Willis Smith for the Virginia Stage Lines explained rival applications to the state Utilities Commission to the mayor, aldermen and other citizens: Carolina Coach sought to extend service from Chapel Hill through Hillsboro and Yanceyville to Reidsville, the Virginia Stage Lines to run from Raleigh through Chapel Hill, Hillsboro and Yanceyville toward Washington. Both promised several daily round trips to Hillsboro, and by January 7 about fifty citizens, Mayor Madry among them, had signed a petition for the Virginia Stage Lines. People: William B. Umstead, Robert W. Madry Place: Town Hall courtroom, Chapel Hill · Also named: J. G. Humphrey, Willis SmithSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 24, 1942, p. 1
6. April 19, 1947 Chapel Hill dedicates its new bus station Several hundred people attended the formal dedication of Chapel Hill's new bus station, with talks by Senator William B. Umstead, Representative Carl T. Durham, University President Frank P. Graham, Lt. Gov. L. Y. Ballentine and others. Mayor R. W. Madry accepted the station for the town and said Chapel Hill, at about 15,000 people, now ranked as a small city. People: William B. Umstead, Carl T. Durham, Frank Porter Graham, Robert W. Madry Place: Bus station, West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: L. Y. BallentineSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 24, 1947, p. 8
7. October 31, 1950 Orange Democrats hold their election rally at Schley Grange Hall, with Willis Smith on the platform Orange County Democrats held their pre-election barbecue rally at the Schley Grange Hall, where William B. Umstead of Durham praised the county's government and the party's record, and Senate nominee Willis Smith, who had beaten Orange County's Frank P. Graham in the spring primary, appeared and was introduced as an old friend. The paper judged Smith's welcome cooler than Congressman Carl T. Durham's but put it down to his being little known. People: William B. Umstead, Carl T. Durham, Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham Place: Schley Grange Hall, Schley · Also named: Willis Smith, Frank P. GrahamThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 2, 1950, p. 1
8. April 19, 1952 William B. Umstead opens his Orange County campaign for governor at a rally at Occoneechee Speedway The rally and barbecue was the first organizational meeting of the Orange County Umstead-for-Governor Club, which said more than 1,500 county residents had signed petitions for him; the News later reported that upwards of 1,600 people attended. People: Robert O. Forrest Place: Occoneechee Speedway, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 1, 1952, p. 1
9. May 31, 1952 Orange County Democrats renominate Forrest and Efland, add R. J. M. Hobbs and choose Clarence D. Jones for the school board In the primary Orange gave William B. Umstead 3,314 votes to Hubert Olive's 1,594 for governor and Congressman Carl T. Durham 3,028 to Tom Sawyer's 1,228. For three commissioner seats R. O. Forrest, Sim L. Efland and UNC professor R. J. M. Hobbs beat R. E. Murray and Roland McClamroch, keeping the board's balance between Chapel Hill and the rest of the county, and Jones of Hillsboro won the school board nomination with 2,006 votes over four Chapel Hill candidates. People: Sim Efland, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, William B. Umstead, Carl T. Durham, Roland P. McClamroch, Robert O. Forrest Place: Orange County · Also named: Clarence D. Jones, Roland McClamroch, Hubert OliveSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 5, 1952, p. 1
10. September 19, 1952 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
11. October 13, 1952 William B. Umstead opens the Orange County Democrats' fall campaign at Schley Grange At a Young Democrats barbecue rally in the Schley Grange Hall on October 13, 1952, gubernatorial nominee William B. Umstead gave a 35-minute speech backing Adlai Stevenson for president, arguing that General Eisenhower's lifetime in the army disqualified him, and urged the party faithful to work. His brother John W. Umstead, running again for Orange's seat in the General Assembly, and state senate nominee Ralph H. Scott were introduced. Place: Schley Grange Hall, Schley · Also named: John W. Umstead, Ralph H. ScottSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 16, 1952, p. 1
12. May 12, 1953 Hillsborough's A. H. Graham returns as chairman of the State Highway Commission Governor William B. Umstead named A. H. "Sandy" Graham of Hillsborough chairman of the newly expanded State Highway Commission, the post Graham had held from 1945 to 1949, and he was sworn in the next day. At his first press conference he named the commission's reorganization, the growth of the primary road system and the upkeep of the many recently built rural roads as its main problems. People: Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, William B. Umstead Place: State Highway Commission, RaleighSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 14, 1953, p. 1