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Local figure

Ira Ward

Ira Ward, an Orange County native, joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 after graduating from UNC and won the Distinguished Flying Cross as a radio operator in the Southwest Pacific. Back home he served as Orange County manager, tax supervisor and commissioner.

Source: Orange County Courthouse Mural: Ira Ward

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

Research sources
Ira Albert Ward, Yackety Yack, 1942
Ira Albert Ward, Yackety Yack, 1942

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.

StorylineOrange County's property revaluations, 1930–19631930–1963 · 13 events · Orange County passed over a general revaluation of property for taxes in 1937 and postponed one in 1945, and when it hired professional appraisers, the county's valuation rose by about 89 percent. Assessors were appointed in 1930 for a 1931 revaluation. In 1937 the commissioners chose a review of the tax lists instead of a general revaluation, and in 1945 the wartime labor shortage postponed another. In 1947 a board of assessors inspected nearly every tract, and the valuation was raised. In 1952 the commissioners hired the J. M. Cleminshaw Company to revalue all property at market value, and some 40 citizens protested its values in 1954. In 1963 Associated Surveys of Greensboro began the next ten-year revaluation.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 24 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Gilbert W. Ray becomes Orange County's first full-time county accountant Under the 1927 County Fiscal Control Act the county hired Ray as accountant, tax supervisor and purchasing agent, succeeding J. L. Lockhart, who had served part time and as county accountant drew up the 1927-28 and 1928-29 budget estimates. Ray set up the county's first working system of books and central buying, and he stayed in the job until August 31, 1947. People: Ira Ward, Gilbert W. Ray Place: Hillsborough · Also named: J. L. LockhartSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 222 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, July 13, 1928, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 12, 1928, p. 6
  2. County commissioners choose Ira A. Ward as auditor and tax supervisor At a special meeting the commissioners picked Ira A. Ward, a 26-year-old Orange native, army air forces veteran and UNC graduate, from three applicants to succeed Gilbert W. Ray, who had held the post 19 years. Ward was paid $3,600 a year and took office on September 17. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Gilbert W. Ray Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 21, 1947, p. 1
  3. Revaluation raises Orange County's taxable property to $25.2 million Final figures released by county accountant Ira A. Ward showed that the spring 1947 revaluation had raised the county's property valuation from $18,828,912 to $25,245,043, an increase the paper put at about 30 percent. The tax notices mailed that month carried a rate of 85 cents, 3 cents below the year before. People: Ira Ward Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 23, 1947, p. 1
  4. Chapel Hill Township's taxable property outvalues the rest of Orange County County accountant Ira Ward's figures put Orange County's 1949 assessed valuation at $29,115,886, up $1,862,594 from the year before, with Chapel Hill Township at $14,170,704 against $13,177,443 for all the other townships together, not counting utilities. Hillsboro Township stood at $4,672,746. People: Ira Ward Place: Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 30, 1949, p. 1
  5. County commissioners endorse ten road paving projects totaling 39.7 miles The Orange County commissioners approved ten first-priority paving projects, 39.7 miles in all, already chosen by the township committees, among them the Cole Mill Road to St. Mary's, the road from Carrboro to the Chatham line, the Antioch Church Road to the Alamance line, the airport road north past Blackwood Station and New Hope Church, and the Buckhorn-Cheeks Crossing road. They held back on the other 35 miles and reappointed Ira Ward as tax supervisor. People: Ira Ward Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: New Hope ChurchSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 8, 1949, p. 1
  6. Alamance gives up its claim to a Cheeks Township taxpayer on the county line W. D. Shoe, 76, of the Hebron Church community had voted and listed his taxes in Orange for 40 years until surveyors told him his land lay in Alamance, which listed him from a 1928 map. After the Orange commissioners ordered an inquiry, Alamance officials turned his tax list over to Orange rather than pay for more surveys. People: Ira Ward Place: Hebron Church community, Cheeks Township · Also named: W. D. ShoeSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 22, 1951, p. 8
  7. Orange County's taxable property rises 11.5 percent and Chapel Hill township passes half the total Figures for the 1951 tax levy put Orange County's real and personal property at $33,827,792, up $3.5 million or 11.5 percent in a year. Chapel Hill township added more than $2 million and for the first time held over half the county's valuation, 50.9 percent; the books also listed property separately for white and Black owners. People: Ira Ward Place: Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 30, 1951, p. 1
  8. County civil defense chairman R. L. Mohler names his deputy directors At a Home Demonstration Council program on women's part in civil defense in Gerrard Hall, Mohler announced welfare superintendent Annie Strowd as deputy for emergency relief and welfare, school superintendent G. Paul Carr for air raid services, home agent Kathryn Hamrick for public information and tax supervisor Ira Ward for personnel and records. People: Annie Strowd, G. Paul Carr, Ira Ward, Robert L. Mohler Place: Gerrard Hall, Chapel Hill · Also named: Kathryn HamrickSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 15, 1952, p. 1
  9. Orange County commissioners turn to professional appraisers for a property revaluation In August 1952 the commissioners heard a representative of the Southern Mapping and Engineering Company and told county accountant and tax supervisor Ira Ward to draft a contract. By January 1953 they had decided with Ward that values would be set at current market value as of January 1, 1953, with a board of assessors overseeing the appraisers. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 8, 1952, p. 1
  10. Orange County's taxable property rises to $36 million County Accountant Ira Ward told the commissioners in early September 1952 that Orange County's 1952 tax valuation stood at $36,046,107, up 6.6 percent in a year, enough at the $1 rate to raise about $360,000. Chapel Hill Township, at $16.4 million, made up more than half of the county's total. People: Ira Ward Place: Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 4, 1952, p. 1
  11. R. O. Forrest becomes chairman of the county commissioners When the new Board of County Commissioners took office on December 1, 1952, with R. J. M. Hobbs joining R. O. Forrest and Sim L. Efland, the members chose Forrest of Hillsboro as chairman in place of Collier Cobb Jr., chairman since 1942. The board reappointed Recorder's Court Judge L. J. Phipps, Solicitor John Q. LeGrand, accountant Ira L. Ward and the township tax listers. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Sim Efland, Collier Cobb Jr., Luther James Phipps, Ira Ward, Robert O. Forrest Place: Courthouse, Hillsboro · Also named: John Q. LeGrandSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 4, 1952, p. 1
  12. County commissioners name Samuel M. Gattis county accountant and tax supervisor The Board of County Commissioners chose Samuel M. Gattis, 28, assistant clerk of Superior Court since 1951, to succeed Ira A. Ward as county accountant and tax supervisor from October 19. Ward had resigned in August to become secretary-treasurer of the Hillsboro Building and Loan Association, and Mrs. Joe Howard of Efland had been acting accountant. People: Ira Ward, Sam M. Gattis III Place: Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Samuel M. Gattis · Also mentions: Hillsboro Building and Loan AssociationSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 8, 1953, p. 1
Show all 24 dated events
  1. The county board names a committee to study school segregation after Brown Answering a letter from the Governor's Advisory Commission on Education, chaired by Thomas Pearsall, the Orange County board appointed a local committee to study the problems the Supreme Court's segregation ruling raised for its schools. Ira Ward and Delmar Brown soon replaced two of the first members, Bonner D. Sawyer and W. T. (Buck) Murray. People: Ira Ward, Roosevelt Warner, Carter White, Bonner D. Sawyer, Lloyd M. Senter Place: Orange County · Also named: W. T. Murray, Delmar BrownNC State Historic Preservation Office: Cedar Grove School, National Register nomination (OR3044), p. 21
  2. Scouting in Orange County grows, with new Black troops and packs at three schools Opening its fund drive, the Scout council reported a 25 percent rise in Orange County membership that year and four new units, among them a West Hillsboro PTA Cub pack. It noted the growth of Black scouting, led by principal A. L. Stanback, with a Cub pack and a troop at Central School and troops at Efland and Cedar Grove led by their principals. People: A. L. Stanback, Ira Ward Place: Central School, Hillsborough; Efland; Cedar GroveSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 29, 1955, p. 1
  3. Ira Ward and John Clayton lay out the Dimmocks Mill subdivision west of Hillsboro The 110-lot development covered 29 acres bought from the Monroe Oakley estate on the north side of old Highway 10, a mile west of town across from the town water plant, with lots on both sides of a new Oakland Drive built by the owners. The paper expected it to house many of the families who had to leave the Eno Mill village as its houses were disposed of. People: Ira Ward Place: Old Highway 10, one mile west of Hillsborough · Also named: W. John Clayton · Also mentions: Eno Mill villageThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 10, 1956, p. 1
  4. The Hillsboro Building and Loan Association becomes Hillsboro Savings and Loan Association On a vote of its stockholders, the association changed its name to Hillsboro Savings and Loan Association, announced alongside the largest dividend in its history. People: Ira Ward Place: 420 Calvin Street, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 28, 1956, p. 1 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 28, 1956, p. 8
  5. Hillsboro buys 15 acres around its water plant to guard the town water supply The town board bought three tracts totaling 15 acres on both sides of the water plant on old NC 10 near the Eno River from W. John Clayton and Ira A. Ward for $4,500. The land had been laid out as house lots for buyers of the Eno Mill village houses being moved away, and the board feared pollution so close to the town's water source. People: Ira Ward Place: Hillsboro water plant, old NC 10 at the Eno River, Hillsborough · Also named: W. John Clayton · Also mentions: Eno Mill village, Eno RiverThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 15, 1956, p. 1
  6. Thirteen men organize the Hillsboro Investment Club Thirteen Hillsborough men met in the board room of the old courthouse and organized the Hillsboro Investment Club, an affiliate of the National Association of Investment Clubs, to study investing and invest surplus funds together, electing Ira Ward president, G. P. Carr vice president, John P. Ballard secretary and Ted Smith treasurer. People: Ira Ward, G. Paul Carr, John P. Ballard Place: Old Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Ted SmithSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 7, 1957, p. 1
  7. The Hillsboro Exchange Club stages its annual minstrel show for its recreation park Between 900 and 1,000 people came on two nights to the Hillsboro Exchange Club's 'Ole Time Minstrels' in the high school auditorium, with a cast of 45 local residents as end men, singers and dancers and a children's 'miniature minstrel'. Minstrel shows were stage comedy built on caricatures of Black Americans; the club put the proceeds into its recreation park south of town. People: Ira Ward Place: Hillsboro High School auditorium, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 3, 1958, p. 1
  8. Hillsboro organizes a Little League, and 98 boys turn out for its first practice Parents meeting at Cameron Park School formed a Little League association with Ira A. Ward as president and planned six teams playing three games a week through the summer. At the first practice on May 19, 98 boys aged 9 to 12, birth certificates in hand, worked out at the high school field. People: Ira Ward Place: Hillsboro High School athletic field, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Cameron Park SchoolSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 22, 1958, p. 1
  9. Hillsboro Savings and Loan buys a Churton Street lot for a downtown office The 46-year-old association, begun in 1913 in the back of a West Hillsboro drugstore and for ten years in its own building on Hillsboro Avenue, bought a lot on Churton Street south of the A. H. Graham office building from Graham and the Fred Cates estate, cancelling a planned auction, to build a downtown drive-in office reached from Churton and East King streets. Its assets had passed $3,115,000. People: Brodie S. Carr, Ira Ward, Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham Place: North Churton Street south of the A. H. Graham office building, Hillsboro · Also named: Fred Cates · Also mentions: Churton StreetSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 24, 1959, p. 1
  10. The Hillsboro Savings and Loan Association opens its new downtown office The association held a public open house with prize drawings at its new office on North Churton Street, the building later known as the Hillsborough Savings Bank. Its 1950 office stayed open as a second location. People: Ira Ward Place: 112 North Churton Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: North Churton StreetSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 13, 1961, p. 24 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 13, 1961, p. 28; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 20, 1961, p. 12
  11. Orange Savings and Loan moves into a new colonial-style building at Rosemary and Columbia streets The Orange Savings and Loan Association, chartered in Chapel Hill 43 years earlier, opened its new downtown office at East Rosemary and North Columbia streets and set a grand opening for July 2 through 20. The paper put its resources near $10 million, against $725,000 when it first took its own quarters on West Franklin Street in 1951. People: Ira Ward, John S. Bennett Place: East Rosemary and North Columbia streets, Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 28, 1962, p. 4
  12. County planning board recommends rezoning the Blackwood Station tract for Fiber Industries The Orange County Planning Board unanimously recommended rezoning the 450-acre Blackwood Station tract from residential to industrial for a $100 million Fiber Industries plant promising 1,500 jobs. Board member Mark Burnham pressed for stricter performance standards, and commissioners Carl Smith, Ira Ward and Harvey Bennett had backed the Chamber of Commerce's pro-Fiber campaign. People: Carl Smith (Chapel Hill businessman and county commissioner), Harvey Bennett Place: Orange County · Also named: Mark BurnhamSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, July 24, 1969, p. 1

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 3 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

People named in the same dated entries as Ira Ward, 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.

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Picture: Ira Albert Ward, Yackety Yack, 1942. Public domain. Yackety Yack, 1942 (University of North Carolina yearbook); via the Internet Archive

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