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Schools and academies

Carrboro Elementary School

Carrboro Elementary School grew from a village school held about 1898 in a Center Street mill house; a brick school went up on West Main Street in 1921 and a new building at the end of Ash Street in 1959. It enrolled its first Black pupils in fall 1961, two years after Stanley Vickers was refused a transfer there.

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.

People in its history

People named in events about this site, ordered by number of mentions. Each example links to an entry with a source citation.

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Sites linked through the same people

Indexed works

Books, articles, records, and images about Carrboro Elementary School. Each has been reviewed for relevance; materials held at OCPL appear first.

About the site

Educational specifications for Carrboro Elementary School

Rosenstengel, William Everett, 1896-1958 · 1956 · University of North Carolina School of Education?

William E. Rosenstengel's report on what Carrboro Elementary School needed in classrooms, library and site layout, with a plan. Dated 1956, though May 1965 is also given. Part of North Carolina Memory.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC DigitalNC DPLA

Carrboro Elementary School, Carrboro, North Carolina.

1956 · Croft & Hammond, A.I.A.?

Croft and Hammond, architects of Asheboro, prepared this 1956 presentation of Carrboro Elementary School: ten unnumbered leaves of illustrations and plans at 22 by 28 centimeters. Topics include the school itself and elementary school buildings in Carrboro as pictorial works, which makes it a source for the design of the building as it was put up.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

Contract documents for school construction and appurtenant work : Aycock School (white), Carrboro School (white), Chapel Hill school (Negro), Hillsboro School (Negro), Murphey School (white), Orange Grove School (white), St. Mary's School (white)

Atwood and Weeks, Inc., architects and engineers, H.D. Carter, associate · 1935 · Orange County Board of Education

Contract documents prepared in 1935 by the architects and engineers Atwood and Weeks, with H. D. Carter, for a Public Works Administration school-building program in Orange County, PWA project NC 1005, issued by the county Board of Education in Hillsboro. The title lists seven schools, five for white pupils, Aycock, Carrboro, Murphey, Orange Grove and St. Mary's, and two for Black pupils, at Chapel Hill and Hillsboro, in the period's own labels. 49 leaves plus 20 unnumbered.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

Plumbing : contract documents for school construction and appurtenant work : Aycock School (white), Carrboro School (white), Chapel Hill school (Negro), Hillsboro School (Negro), Murphey School (white), Orange Grove School (white), St. Mary's School (white)

Atwood and Weeks, Inc., architects and engineers, H.D. Carter, associate · 1935 · Orange County Board of Education

Plumbing contract documents for a 1935 school construction program of the Orange County Board of Education, a Public Works Administration project numbered NC 1005, covering seven schools: Aycock, Carrboro, Murphey, Orange Grove and St. Mary's, designated for white pupils, and the Chapel Hill and Hillsboro schools, designated for Black pupils. Prepared by Atwood and Weeks, architects and engineers, with H. D. Carter, 39 leaves.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

Carrboro Elementary School Building Specifications

Rosenstengel, W. E. · 1965

Architectural drawings by W. E. Rosenstengel, made in 1965, for proposed new buildings at Carrboro Elementary School in Orange County.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

DigitalNC DPLA

Carrboro School Children: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

1910

Carrboro schoolchildren and their teachers posed outdoors in 1910. A single photograph from the schools series of the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection (CHHS.002).

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

CH Historical Society
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Carrboro Schools (Chapel Hill Historical Society vertical file)

Schools in Carrboro, in promotional material together with reports and notes. Undated folder from the Schools series of the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Vertical File Collection (CHHS.001).

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

CH Historical Society

Carrborro Elementary School: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

Carrboro Elementary School in two undated photographs: a view of the entrance and one of new construction on the site. Part of the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection (CHHS.002).

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

CH Historical Society

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Carrboro Elementary School alone: the architectural surveys that cover its town or the county, and maps drawn while it stood. Several of the surveys can be read free online at NC Digital Collections.

Carrboro Map [1935]

1935

Hand-drawn map of Carrboro from about 1935, centered on Greensboro Avenue and Weaver Street and marking buildings, lots and the main roads.

Included because: A survey or map of the town or county where the site stands.

DigitalNC DPLA

Map of Chapel Hill-Carrboro, N.C.

Gove, John R. · 1958 · Chapel Hill-Carrboro Merchants Association

Robert J. Ayers drew this folding map of Chapel Hill and Carrboro using data gathered by John R. Gove; the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Merchants Association published it under a 1954 copyright. The 1958 printing shows the towns, the University, streets, creeks and country clubs. On the back is text for the Chapel Hill School Art Guild house tour of 30 October 1960, with eleven houses marked in red.

Included because: A survey or map of the town or county where the site stands.

UNC State Archives of NC

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

Start at OCPL

    Where to look on the shelf

    These books don’t necessarily mention Carrboro Elementary School, but they cover where it stands, its kind of building and the land, family and burial records behind it, and they are where a search for a place like this usually goes next. All are at OCPL, most in the Wall Collection.

    Histories of the town and county

    • Rebecca Wall Collection · 975.656 OTTO Carrboro Otto, David · 2011

      Pictorial history of Carrboro in Arcadia's Images of America series by David A. Otto and Richard Ellington, published in 2011. Its 127 pages of photographs, maps, facsimiles and portraits cover the town's history, social life and African American community, with a bibliography and index.

    • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 975.656 OTTO Carrboro Otto, David · 2015

      Second Images of America volume on Carrboro by David A. Otto and Richard Ellington (Arcadia, 2015). Chapters follow the town from mill village to growing urban center, then turn to its merchants, the arts, festivals, changing demographics and changing architecture, in 95 illustrated pages.

    • Foundational · 975.656 RYAN Orange County Trio: Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, North Carolina, Histories and Tour Guides Ryan, Elizabeth Shreve · 2004

      Elizabeth Shreve Ryan's combined histories and tour guides for Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the three towns of Orange County, with the University of North Carolina treated alongside Chapel Hill. Each town gets a narrative history and a tour of its streets and buildings. Published by Chapel Hill Press in 2004, 369 pages with illustrations and maps.

    Show 1 more
    • Start here · NC 371.097 PENDER A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 Pender, Irene Oliver · 1983

      Irene Oliver Pender's history of the public schools of Orange County from 1752 to 1983, covering more than two centuries of schooling in Hillsborough, Efland, Cedar Grove and the rural districts of the county. Published in 1983, 186 pages with illustrations.

    Buildings and surveys

    • Foundational · NC 720.975 BIS A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont North Carolina Bishir, Catherine W. · 2003

      Catherine W. Bishir and Michael T. Southern's field guide to the historic buildings of the North Carolina Piedmont, arranged county by county from Wake and Franklin in the east to Mecklenburg and Gaston in the west. The Orange County section takes in Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro along with the rural county, with entries on individual buildings and maps for finding them. Published 2003, 596 pages with illustrations and maps.

    • Start here · NC 720.975 BRO Carrboro, N.C: An Architectural & Historical Inventory Brown, Claudia Roberts · 1983

      Architectural and historical inventory of Carrboro by Claudia Roberts Brown, published in 1983 by the Carrboro Appearance Commission and the town. The 48-page survey, with illustrations and maps, documents the town's historic buildings and their conservation.

    In the chronology

    Storyline about this site, with a page of its own:

    1. A new mill house on Center Street becomes the community's first school The Alberta Cotton Mill built the house at 109 Center Street about 1898, apparently the first on that side of the street, and it was soon put to use as the village school. It went back to being a house when the Carrboro Public School opened on West Main Street about 1908. Town of Carrboro: Brown, McSwain and Florin, Carrboro, N.C.: An Architectural and Historical Inventory (1983), p. 44
    2. The Carrboro Public School is built on West Main Street The one-story frame school at 114 West Main Street replaced the first school, held in a Center Street mill house, and taught seven grades under Mr. McDuffie, also the Baptist pastor. After the graded school opened late in 1921 it became the Methodist parsonage, serving until 1955. Town of Carrboro: Brown, McSwain and Florin, Carrboro, N.C.: An Architectural and Historical Inventory (1983), p. 36
    3. A night school opens at the Carrboro school with about 75 pupils taught by university students The Carrboro correspondent reported that a night school opened at the school building with about 75 pupils and more expected, with university students as the teachers. The News (Chapel Hill), October 14, 1915, p. 6
    4. Superintendent Lockhart's first township teachers' meeting meets at the Carrboro school With rural supervisor Lula Cassidy, Lockhart set up meetings of the teachers in each township, smaller than the county meeting. The first, at the Carrboro school, drew a state education official and University School of Education staff, and the Merritt school came with all its teachers and its whole committee. People: Lula M. Cassidy DigitalNC: The University of North Carolina News Letter, December 22, 1915, p. 1 (The First in Orange)
    5. Carrboro School District voters approve $25,000 in school bonds Voters of the Carrboro School District approved, in a special election at L. R. Sturdivant's store on February 7, the issue of $25,000 in twenty-year bonds to build school houses, with a tax of up to 30 cents on the $100 to pay for them. On March 1 the county commissioners ordered the bonds issued to the Board of Education, which asked for bids by April 5. The News (Chapel Hill), March 11, 1920, p. 4
    6. Carrboro's new school building goes up Carrboro's new brick school building, which the News said would cost over $50,000, was under construction in the summer of 1921. By mid-August it was ready for the roof and was expected to be ready for the September term. The old schoolhouse was advertised for sale at the end of the year. DigitalNC: Greensboro Daily News, August 1, 1921, p. 3 · Also: The News (Chapel Hill), August 18, 1921, p. 1
    7. Carrboro organizes a Parent-Teacher Association Carrboro's newly organized Parent-Teacher Association, with Mrs. H. A. Blackwood as president and Mr. Ellington as secretary and treasurer, was laying out its program. The school's Washington's Birthday program on February 22 netted $39.30 for the school library, and the school had enrolled 225 pupils since September. The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 1, 1923, p. 1
    8. Carrboro's old schoolhouse is moved and split between the Methodist parsonage and church The Carrboro school replaced by the new graded school was being moved in March 1923. Part became the Methodist parsonage at 114 West Main Street, which served until the Methodists built a new parsonage on Oak Street in 1955, and part was added to the Methodist church for Sunday school rooms, with John T. Squires as contractor. DigitalNC: Durham Morning Herald, March 11, 1923, p. 19 · Also: The News (Chapel Hill), December 1, 1921, p. 8; Brown, McSwain and Florin, Carrboro Inventory
    9. Carrboro's school board lengthens the term with a payment from Durham Hosiery Mills The Carrboro school board extended the school term two weeks, to May 16, with a $1,250 payment from Durham Hosiery Mills. It was the second half of $2,500 that Julian S. Carr Jr., head of the company, had pledged toward the school when it was set up. The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 24, 1924, p. 3
    10. Durham Hosiery Mills gives the Carrboro school playground equipment Durham Hosiery Mills gave the Carrboro school playground equipment, moved from near the railway station to the school grounds, to be open to the whole town in summer along with Carrboro's new baseball park. The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 24, 1924, p. 1
    11. Carrboro school opens the year with a record 254 pupils The Carrboro school enrolled 254 children, more than ever before and up from 232 a year earlier, and averaged 241 in attendance for the first month, against a previous best monthly average of 216. The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 16, 1925, p. 1
    12. The Carrboro school closes its year with 308 pupils enrolled and keeps A. C. Hoyle as principal Figures compiled at the end of the 1925-1926 school year showed the Carrboro school's total enrollment had grown to 308, from 250 in 1923-1924 and 264 in 1924-1925, with average attendance up from 175 to 241 and the school library grown from 270 books in 1924 to 753. Principal A. C. Hoyle was re-elected for the next year. The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 11, 1926, p. 1
    Show all 88 dated events
    1. Carrboro school enrolls 282 pupils, its largest attendance yet Superintendent A. C. Hoyle reported an October enrollment of 282 at the Carrboro school, larger than ever before, with an average attendance of 264. The school had eight teachers, including a music teacher. The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 22, 1926, p. 1
    2. County commissioners call a Carrboro school tax election The commissioners set July 19 for a Carrboro vote on raising the school maintenance tax by 15 cents on the $100 while cutting the bond rate by the same amount. Superintendent C. A. Hoyle said the new law kept bond and operating funds apart, and that without the shift Carrboro would have only six months of school the next year. The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 10, 1927, p. 4
    3. Carrboro school hosts the group center commencement Schools of the Carrboro group center held their joint commencement at the Carrboro school, which the Weekly said drew the largest crowd ever at a commencement there. Taking part were Carrboro, White Cross, Orange Grove, Damascus, Smith Level, Merritt's, Andrews, Blackwood, Rock Hill and Elm Grove, and Carrboro won many first places. The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 12, 1929, p. 8
    4. Annual child health clinic examines pupils at the Carrboro school The annual child health clinic gave free examinations and vaccinations at the Carrboro school to children due to enter Carrboro, White Cross, Orange Grove, Tom's Creek, Rock Hill, Merritt's, Damascus, Andrews, Elm Grove, Blackwood, Smith Level or Chapel Hill schools the next year. Carrboro news later called it very successful. The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 24, 1929, p. 5
    5. A free dental clinic for schoolchildren opens at the Carrboro school Dr. J. P. Jones, a Chapel Hill dentist, began holding a dental clinic at the Carrboro school under the sponsorship of the Kiwanis Club and the Red Cross, giving his services while the Red Cross supplied the materials. A Movie Guild benefit picture on February 22 raised money for Orange County poor relief and for the clinic. The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 6, 1931, p. 8
    6. The Carrboro school's night school reopens The night school at the Carrboro school reopened for the year on a Monday evening under Mrs. Grumman, with Mr. Olive leading the singing. The same week Joseph Hyde Pratt spoke on the Red Cross at a citizens' meeting at the school, and the pupils were preparing an exhibit for the county fair. The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 30, 1931, p. 1
    7. Carrboro school pupils give a music recital to a packed auditorium Thirty-eight pupils of Mrs. J. I. Mann, a Carrboro school teacher since 1924, gave a music recital with songs, piano pieces and a first-grade toy orchestra; dozens had to stand. Her music class gave a recital every month and had built programs on Mendelssohn, Stephen Foster and the new bell tower chimes. The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 12, 1932, p. 3
    8. The Carrboro Night School closes its third term At exercises in the Carrboro school building, R. M. Grumman awarded certificates and spoke on adult education in the state, Mrs. E. R. Mosher also spoke, and Ed Vaughn, the first pupil enrolled, who had not missed a meeting in three terms, received a Bible. Pupils thanked the Carrboro school board for the building, the P.T.A. for lights, the Woman's Club and Missionary Society for teachers and the Kiwanis Club for money. People: Russell M. (Russell Marvin) Grumman The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 27, 1932, p. 8
    9. Carrboro's night school for adults completes its first session The night school in Carrboro, directed by Mrs. R. M. Grumman, closed its first session on December 19, with classes to resume February 1. In January she took four of its pupils to Berea College in Kentucky for three weeks, and students back from Berea were to describe that school to the Community Club's education department on February 7. The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 23, 1932, p. 1
    10. A community library begins at the Carrboro school In 1933 Nellie Roberson gave the Carrboro school 145 books as the nucleus of a library for grown people as well as children. Built up by teachers, pupils and parents, it was formally dedicated in May 1937 and lent adult books to Carrboro residents. The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 12, 1933: Gift to the Carrboro School
    11. Carrboro's night school for adults holds its commencement The Carrboro Community School, the adults' night school, held its commencement exercises. That spring the Chapel Hill Kiwanis Club raised money for a Berea College scholarship for the school, and one of its pupils won a state prize. The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 14, 1933, p. 5
    12. A Carrboro night-school pupil wins the state clubwomen's award for most improvement The State Federation of Women's Clubs cited Marvin Pendergraph of the Carrboro night school for adults as the night-school pupil in North Carolina who improved most in the year. The Carrboro school's exhibit at the federation's Raleigh meeting was judged splendid and was to be printed in the federation handbook. The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 12, 1933, p. 4
    13. Orange County builds an addition to the Carrboro school By May 22, 1936 an addition to the Carrboro school, contract price $5,798, was among the ten county school projects under way with PWA aid. The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 22, 1936, p. 6
    14. Carrboro's federal community school stages two folk plays at the Carrboro school To promote the New Deal adult community school in Carrboro, teacher Rachel Crook put on two Carolina folk plays with a local cast in the Carrboro school auditorium, which was crowded. Thomas Evans's Carrboro orchestra played and a chorus of 60 children trained by Mrs. Ira C. Mann sang. The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 15, 1938, p. 5
    15. The Carrboro school library, open to the town, has grown to 2,639 books Built up over six years by teachers, pupils and parents, the Carrboro school library had 2,639 books, Dewey classification and a section of adult books lent to Carrboro residents at regular weekly hours. It had been formally opened and dedicated the previous May before State Library and W.P.A. library officials. The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 13, 1938, p. 3
    16. The Carrboro School News, printed by a pupil on a home press, issues its first number The first issue of the Carrboro School News, four two-column pages edited and printed by a Carrboro schoolboy on a small press at his family's home, was handed out at the Carrboro school in the week ending November 3, 1939. It carried items on the school's chapel choir, rhythm band, safety patrol, Girl Scouts, reading club, a hobby show, a trip to Raleigh and school improvements. The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 3, 1939, p. 5
    17. The Leonidas Polk chapter of the U.D.C. gives a portrait of Lee to the Carrboro school On behalf of the Leonidas Polk chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, its historian Mrs. W. T. Mattox presented a portrait of Robert E. Lee to Mrs. Coley's grade at the Carrboro school on January 18, the day before Lee's birthday, and the children held a ceremony with speeches and singing. The Weekly noted that neither the University nor the Chapel Hill schools marked the birthday. The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 19, 1940, p. 5
    18. Orange County pays off the Carrboro school bonds A $25,000 Carrboro school bond issue, which had cost the county $2,334 a year, was retired in full on May 1. The payoff was the largest part of a $4,187 drop in debt service in the 1940-41 county budget, which kept a tentative $1 tax rate although spending rose $5,209, mostly for welfare. The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 19, 1940, p. 1
    19. The Carrboro Athletic Club dedicates its lighted ball field at the Carrboro school More than 500 people came as the Carrboro Athletic Club dedicated the reconditioned ball ground at the Carrboro school, which the club had fitted with lights for night games at a cost of $2,300 raised from members and donors. Mayor I. A. West spoke, and the club team beat the Carrboro Firemen 5 to 4 in the opening softball game. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 8, 1947, p. 3
    20. The Carrboro P.-T. A. honors retiring principal Mrs. L. R. Sturdivant On May 25, 1948, the Carrboro P.-T. A. crowned Mrs. L. R. Sturdivant May Queen at a school festival of about 250 pupils and gave her a watch and a portrait to hang in the school. She was retiring after 48 years of teaching, 34 of them at Carrboro, the last 16 as principal. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 27, 1948, p. 3
    21. Carrboro school committeemen oppose putting Carrboro and White Cross in the Chapel Hill school tax district Dwight Ray of the district committee and E. T. Hearn and Raymond Andrews of the Carrboro school committee told the county board of education that Carrboro preferred to stay in the county school unit and opposed a proposal, raised in September by Chapel Hill school board member Carl Smith, to enlarge the special Chapel Hill school tax district to take in Carrboro and White Cross. The county board said it was not sponsoring the idea. People: Dwight Ray, Carl Smith (Chapel Hill businessman and county commissioner) The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 14, 1950, p. 1
    22. The county school board lets contracts for a Carrboro School auditorium Bids for a new auditorium and renovations at Carrboro School came in within the $40,000 set aside in the school bond program, and contracts totaling $38,752 were let, the general contract to Delta Construction Company. Bids the same day for the Aycock School gymnasium ran over the money available and were held over. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 19, 1951, p. 1
    23. Carrboro School is placed on the state's list of accredited elementary schools In early September 1952 the State Department of Public Instruction told Superintendent G. Paul Carr that Carrboro School had been added to its list of accredited elementary schools, making it the second in the county system after West Hillsboro. Principal Thomas S. Turbyfill and his teachers had worked with elementary supervisor Irene Pender to meet the standards. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 11, 1952, p. 1
    24. Carrboro parents ask the county for a new school building to relieve crowding A Carrboro Parent-Teacher Association delegation asked the county to choose a site and begin a six-classroom first unit of a new school. They cited enrollment growth from 325 to 389, about 100 new homes in the area and a 32-year-old building with four substandard and two temporary classrooms. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 8, 1953, p. 1
    25. The county school board asks the state to split the Carrboro-White Cross school district At the request of Carrboro school patrons protesting heavy teacher loads and crowded rooms, the Orange County Board of Education voted to petition the State Board of Education to divide the Carrboro-White Cross district so that Carrboro could gain a teacher. The board also called for a ten-year study of attendance trends to plan long-range building. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 22, 1953, p. 1
    26. State school planners urge a new Carrboro school site and a merger with the Chapel Hill unit A survey team from the State Department of Public Instruction told the county school board that the 3.5-acre Carrboro School site was inadequate and recommended buying 10 to 15 acres near the new Carrboro Methodist Church on the Hillsboro road, building a six-classroom unit there, and folding the Carrboro-White Cross district into the Chapel Hill administrative unit under one school tax. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 3, 1953, p. 1
    27. A grand jury reports the Carrboro School extremely shabby The grand jury at the December term of Superior Court found the county's school buildings generally in good condition but called the Carrboro School "extremely shabby," listing a leaking roof, broken plumbing, 22 windows with cracked or missing glass and a fire escape door that opened inward. It also found that no school had adequate fire extinguishers and that those on hand had not been serviced since 1951. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 24, 1953, p. 1
    28. The county school board buys nine acres in Carrboro for a new school The Board of Education bought a nine-acre site behind the new Carrboro Methodist Church, off the Carrboro-Hillsboro road, from Herman B. Lloyd and Eric A. Neville for the proposed new Carrboro school, paying $5,000 in county bond money borrowed from other school projects. The board hoped to add land for a 15- to 20-acre campus. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 8, 1954, p. 1
    29. Carrboro parents get a fourth-grade class moved out of a flooded basement room After water stood half an inch deep in a basement classroom of the Carrboro school on opening day, the PTA met with the district school committee, which approved moving the class to the music room. Parents told of floods and ice in the room the year before, no fire extinguishers and an auditorium long condemned, and set out to start a citizens' drive to improve the schools. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 15, 1955, p. 1
    30. The county school board enlarges its site for a future Carrboro school The Orange County Board of Education agreed to pay $4,250 for four more acres to square off its lot for a future Carrboro school, bringing the site to about 18 acres. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 6, 1955, p. 8
    31. Carrboro's district school committee votes to stay in the county unit and seek a 15-cent school tax The Carrboro District School Committee voted 4 to 0 to keep the Carrboro school in the Orange County administrative unit rather than join the Chapel Hill district, and to ask Carrboro voters to approve a 15-cent supplementary school tax. Part of the money would pay Chapel Hill for the Carrboro children who attended its schools. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 3, 1955, p. 1
    32. Part of a plaster ceiling falls in a Carrboro school classroom Shortly after lunch a large section of plaster fell from the ceiling of the third-grade room at the elementary school in Carrboro as the teacher sent the children running. One pupil was cut and taken to Memorial Hospital and the teacher sprained an ankle; the class moved into the library while all the plaster was taken down and replaced with beaverboard. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 27, 1955, p. 1
    33. Carrboro parents fill the school auditorium to debate joining the Chapel Hill school district A special meeting called by the Carrboro PTA drew parents from the Carrboro and White Cross districts for a long debate on merging the Carrboro school district with the Chapel Hill administrative unit. Speakers split over whether merger or staying with the county would bring Carrboro its long-awaited new school building sooner; County Commissioner Dwight Ray said the county had already bought 14 acres for a school site. People: Dwight Ray The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 3, 1955, p. 1
    34. The county school board names Lloyd Senter and Mrs. Jesse West to the Carrboro school committee At a special meeting the Orange County Board of Education filled the two Carrboro District School Committee seats left by the resignations of Walter Clark Jr. and Mayor R. B. Todd. Mrs. West, a PTA leader, had been put forward by a Carrboro citizens' committee that wanted a woman on the board, and pharmacist Lloyd Senter by a petition of several hundred citizens. People: Lloyd M. Senter The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 15, 1955, p. 1
    35. Carrboro school committee asks the county board for a modern new school Carrboro school committeemen asked the Orange County Board of Education to commit to a modern building like a new school in Asheboro, saying it would win Carrboro votes for the coming bond issue. The board would not pledge a design but said Carrboro could expect about $311,000 from the bonds plus $65,000 in state money. People: G. Paul Carr, Lloyd M. Senter The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 9, 1956, p. 6
    36. County school board names its first projects under the new bond issue The Orange County Board of Education gave first priority to a new 16-room Carrboro school, allotted $376,000, a lunchroom, library and commercial department at Aycock School, and renovation of Hillsboro High School. It kept Archie Royal Davis as architect for the county projects except Carrboro. People: G. Paul Carr, Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 12, 1956, p. 1
    37. County school board picks an Asheboro firm to design the new Carrboro school The Orange County Board of Education chose an Asheboro architectural firm over three others to design the new elementary school at Carrboro, the first project of the bond program. Carrboro's school committee had recommended Chapel Hill architect James M. Webb. People: James M. Webb, G. Paul Carr The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 26, 1956, p. 1
    38. Architects show the first plans for a new 18-classroom Carrboro school Croft and Hammond of Asheboro showed preliminary plans to the Carrboro district school committee, the county school board and townspeople for a T-shaped school of about 40,000 square feet on 20 acres behind Carrboro Methodist Church, with a 500-seat auditorium, cafeteria and library. The committee also voted to ask for a 15-cent supplementary school tax vote within 90 days after the new building was accepted. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 16, 1956, p. 1
    39. The county school board puts the new Carrboro school first in a $1.17 million building program The board approved a building program and timetable through 1960 totaling $1,171,704 from county school bonds and state bond money, and Superintendent G. Paul Carr presented it to the State Review Panel. All $199,772 of the state money went to the new Carrboro school, first on the list at an estimated $376,202, with the Central School addition next at $283,730. People: G. Paul Carr The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 18, 1956, p. 1
    40. The school board approves plans for a new Carrboro Elementary School The county Board of Education approved the finished plans of architects Croft and Hammond of Asheboro for the new Carrboro School and set February 21 for opening bids. The design, shown to Carrboro school and PTA leaders on February 11, called for 14 classrooms for 480 pupils on a 20-acre tract, with a library, a 500-seat auditorium and a dining room, and room to grow to 720 pupils. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 10, 1957, p. 1
    41. The county school board lets contracts for a new sixteen-classroom Carrboro school The Orange County Board of Education let contracts of about $395,000 for a one-story school for Carrboro, with the general contract going to the Dickerson Company of Monroe at $294,900. Plans by Croft and Hammond of Asheboro called for sixteen classrooms, a 500-seat auditorium, a 250-seat lunchroom and a library. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 28, 1957, p. 1
    42. Work begins on the new Carrboro school Grading began on the site of Carrboro's new sixteen-classroom school behind the Methodist church off Hillsboro Road and Poplar Street, with foundations to follow within days. In May the county school board asked the Carrboro commissioners to run a water line to the building, by then under construction. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 11, 1957, p. 8
    43. Carrboro agrees to run a water line to the new Carrboro school The town of Carrboro agreed to install 300 feet of four-inch water line and a meter to serve the new Carrboro school then under construction, with the county schools paying $1,890, the sum the county Board of Education had offered in December after taking bids. By early January the new school's buildings were roofed and some wings glazed. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 23, 1958, p. 1
    44. Klay K. Box is named principal of the new Carrboro Elementary School The county school board approved Klay K. Box, a Matthews native who had taught at Hawthorne Junior High in Charlotte and was working on a doctorate at UNC, as principal of the new Carrboro Elementary School. He followed Reid Suggs, who resigned to join the Chapel Hill schools as the school moved into its new building. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 3, 1958, p. 1
    45. Black Carrboro parents apply to send their child to the new white Carrboro school Thomas Lee and Lattice Vickers of Carrboro, whose children attended Northside, Chapel Hill's school for Black pupils, applied to have a child assigned to the new Carrboro Elementary School, built for white pupils. The county board had put off their June request for assignment forms on June 30, and on July 29 Superintendent G. Paul Carr told the board the application had come in and would be heard August 11; he refused to tell a reporter how many he had received. People: G. Paul Carr The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 31, 1958, p. 1
    46. Carrboro voters approve merging their school district with the Chapel Hill unit On August 5, 1958 the Carrboro school district voted 713 to 303 to merge with the Chapel Hill city school unit and levy a 15-cent school tax, after a spring vote had failed. The county board sold the old Carrboro School to R. B. Todd for $30,000 in September 1959. DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 84
    47. The county school board denies Stanley Vickers a place at the white Carrboro school The Orange County Board of Education turned down the Vickers family's application, the only one it had received from Black parents, for their son to attend the new Carrboro school. The board cited ambiguity in the form, which also named Chapel Hill Elementary, and the parents' absence from the hearing, and said that after the August 5 merger vote the boy could attend Chapel Hill schools without tuition. People: Stanley Vickers The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 14, 1958, p. 1
    48. The Vickers family appeals and asks the county to run its schools without segregation In a letter to the county superintendent, Thomas Lee and Lattice Vickers appealed the denial for their son Stanley B. Vickers, 10, who lived a block from Carrboro Elementary but was assigned to Northside Elementary in Chapel Hill, more than a mile away. They also appealed the board's 'failure and refusal' to operate the county schools on a non-segregated basis. People: Stanley Vickers The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 21, 1958, p. 1
    49. The county school board denies a Black Carrboro couple's request to send four children to Carrboro Elementary The Orange County Board of Education turned down Darnell and Clara Mae Walden's request to move their four foster children from Chapel Hill's Northside School to the new all-white Carrboro Elementary School, which they said was a block from their Carr Street home. The Rev. Charles M. Jones and Preston Weaver, who had twice asked the Chapel Hill board to integrate, attended with the couple. People: Charles M. Jones The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 4, 1958, p. 1
    50. A new Carrboro Elementary School is built at the end of Ash Street The new Carrboro Elementary School held an open house on September 5, 1958 and opened to pupils the next Monday, September 8. With the new school open, the 1921 graded school on West Main Street, where Josie Sturdivant had been principal until about 1947, was later converted to Carrboro Town Hall. Town of Carrboro: Brown, McSwain and Florin, Carrboro, N.C.: An Architectural and Historical Inventory (1983), p. 36 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 4, 1958, p. 1
    51. The county school board denies the Vickers family's appeal for a place at Carrboro Elementary After a hearing held under the state's pupil assignment law, the Orange County Board of Education denied Lee and Lattice Vickers's appeal to move their child from Northside School to the all-white Carrboro Elementary School. Their Durham attorney, whom the paper calls C. O. Pierson, had handled most NAACP school cases in the area; Carl Braden of the Southern Conference Educational Fund also attended. People: Charles M. Jones The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 11, 1958, p. 1
    52. The county school board denies the Walden family's appeal after a hearing For the second time in two weeks the Orange County Board of Education rejected a Black Carrboro family's appeal for places at the all-white Carrboro Elementary School, ruling that the Waldens' original reasons, distance and Chapel Hill tuition, no longer held. The paper said the two couples now had to go to court if they wanted to press their claims. People: Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 18, 1958, p. 1
    53. Carrboro's schools join the Chapel Hill city unit The merger Carrboro voters approved in August 1958 took effect with the 1959-60 school year, taking 462 pupils out of the Orange County system; in 1958-59 Carrboro Elementary had stayed under the county board while high school pupils and Black elementary pupils could attend Chapel Hill schools free. DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 140
    54. Stanley Vickers's parents apply for his transfer from Northside Elementary to Carrboro Elementary After ten-year-old Stanley Boya Vickers finished fifth grade at Northside Elementary School in June 1959, his parents, Thomas Lee and Lattice Vickers, filed a written application to have him reassigned to Carrboro Elementary School, which was much nearer their home. The school board denied it on August 3, 1959. Caselaw Access Project: Vickers v. Chapel Hill City Board of Education, 196 F. Supp. 97 (M.D.N.C. 1961)
    55. Chapel Hill school board refuses Stanley Vickers a transfer to all-white Carrboro Elementary and adopts a first-grade proximity policy The Chapel Hill City Board of Education denied ten-year-old Stanley Vickers a transfer from all-Black Northside Elementary to the nearer all-white Carrboro Elementary School, and at the same meeting adopted a policy of limited integration at the first-grade level starting with the 1960-61 year. UNC law dean Henry Brandis, who had twice moved to approve the transfer, resigned from the board in protest and called the action both morally and legally indefensible. People: Stanley Vickers, Henry P. Brandis Jr. The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 6, 1959, p. 1 · Also: Justia: Vickers v. Chapel Hill City Board of Education, 196 F. Supp. 97
    56. The county school board deeds the new Carrboro Elementary School to the Chapel Hill board for a dollar Carrying out the agreement made before the 1958 vote that put Carrboro's school in the Chapel Hill district, the Orange County Board of Education approved a $1 deed to the Chapel Hill Board of Education for the Carrboro elementary school, whose site had been pieced together from four tracts. At the same meeting it moved to auction the old Carrboro school, which the Chapel Hill board had declined, so the Town of Carrboro could buy it. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 6, 1959, p. 1
    57. The county school board sells the old Carrboro School to the Town of Carrboro After the new Carrboro elementary school opened, the Orange County Board of Education accepted the town's $30,000 bid, the only one at an August auction, for the empty 14-classroom building and auditorium on West Main Street. The town planned to make it a municipal building, and voters approved a $95,000 bond issue for the purchase and renovation on March 19, 1960. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 17, 1959, p. 3 · Also: DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983; Chapel Hill Weekly, March 21, 1960, p. 1
    58. Carrboro applies to issue $95,000 in bonds to buy and remodel the old Carrboro School as a town hall The town commissioners took legal steps to issue $95,000 in bonds, $30,000 to buy the 14-classroom school and $65,000 to renovate it as a municipal building, subject to a referendum not yet dated. The county school board later extended its deadline for the vote, and notice of the application to the Local Government Commission ran in December. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 12, 1959, p. 3
    59. Carrboro voters approve $95,000 in bonds to make the old school a town hall Carrboro voters approved, 122 to 28, the issue of $95,000 in bonds to buy the old Carrboro School property for $30,000 and remodel it as a town hall. About a quarter of the 596 registered voters took part. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 24, 1960, p. 14
    60. Federal court refuses to throw out the Vickers school suit but drops the board members as defendants Ruling on the Chapel Hill school board's motions, Judge Edwin Stanley declined to dismiss Stanley Vickers's desegregation suit, though he said class actions had not been upheld in the circuit, and he dismissed the suit against the six board members as individuals. He gave the board until May 5 to answer, which meant the boy would not enter all-white Carrboro Elementary that year. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 7, 1960, p. 10
    61. Carrboro borrows $30,000 to close its purchase of the old Carrboro School The Bank of Chapel Hill bought the Town of Carrboro's $30,000 bond anticipation note at three per cent interest, letting the town close its purchase of the old Carrboro School and its land. By mid-June the town reported it had paid $30,000 for the building and about four acres. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 19, 1960, p. 1
    62. Carrboro commissioners approve $25,000 to turn the old Carrboro School into a town hall The Carrboro Board of Commissioners authorized a $25,000 bond anticipation note to renovate the old Carrboro School as the new town hall, out of up to $90,000 approved by voters the previous spring. The board planned to repair the roof of the 35-year-old three-story brick school for town offices and to use the adjoining auditorium as a fire station and perhaps for the police. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 16, 1960, p. 5
    63. Carrboro's board orders the old Carrboro School remodeled as its town hall The Carrboro commissioners voted to remodel the main floor of the old 14-classroom Carrboro School as a town hall, joining two rooms into a meeting room for community use and turning the separate auditorium into a police and fire station. Contractor L. G. Tripp, who had won a $5,000 reroofing contract in August, did the work, and Mayor C. T. Ellington hoped to finish by the end of the year. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 15, 1960, p. 4
    64. Carrboro gives its library a room in the new town hall The Carrboro commissioners granted $300 toward the Carrboro Library's yearly budget and agreed to give it a room in the old school being made into the town hall; in November they assigned the library, sponsored by the Women's Civic Club, a large main-floor room on the north side. The October meeting also elected service station operator Ralph Morgan to the board seat Mayor C. T. Ellington had left. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 13, 1960, p. 3
    65. Carrboro Elementary School enrolls its first Black pupils Eight Black first graders were assigned to Carrboro Elementary under the 1961 zoning map, the school Stanley Vickers had been refused two years earlier. All but two requested and received transfers back to the Black school, so two Black children enrolled at Carrboro that fall. People: Stanley Vickers Civil Rights Movement Archive: Civil Rights U.S.A., Public Schools Southern States 1962 (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights)
    66. Chapel Hill assigns first graders by residence zone and becomes the first North Carolina district with no all-white school A school board elected on a desegregation platform took office in July 1961. At its first meeting, on Monday, July 3, it voted four to one to assign first graders by residence zone, and on Friday, July 7 it approved a single first-grade attendance map, assigning 24 Black children to Glenwood, 10 to Estes Hills and 8 to Carrboro Elementary after the zones were redrawn to reduce Carrboro's share. When school opened, every school in the district had at least one Black pupil for the first time in the state's history, and no incidents were reported. Civil Rights Movement Archive: Civil Rights U.S.A., Public Schools Southern States 1962 (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights) · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 6, 1961, p. 3; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 13, 1961, p. 1
    67. The Carrboro Public Library moves into the new town hall The library run by the Women's Civic Club moved into new quarters on the main floor of the town's municipal building, the former Carrboro School. Started about ten years earlier and now a branch of the Hyconeechee Regional Library, it had about 2,000 books of its own; the town gave the room and $300 a year for books. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 12, 1961, p. 18
    68. Carrboro shows off its new town hall in the old Carrboro School Several hundred people toured the renovated school at an open house. It now held the mayor's and clerk's offices, an auditorium, the public library, the police and fire departments with a jail, and National Guard quarters; the town had begun moving in that winter. The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 10, 1961, p. 1 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, April 1, 1961, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 15, 1960, p. 6
    69. Carrboro Elementary adopts the ungraded primary plan The Chapel Hill school board approved replacing the first three grades at Carrboro Elementary School, beginning in the fall of 1961, with nine levels through which each child would move at his own pace. The News called it the first elementary school in Orange County to adopt the plan. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 4, 1961, p. 9
    70. Chapel Hill opens its special education classes to pupils of both races For the coming year the school board set up four special education classes, two at Carrboro Elementary and two at Northside, each open to pupils from anywhere in the district until full. The News called it the complete end of legal segregation at that one level. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 19, 1962, p. 1
    71. The Chapel Hill school board chooses an eight-room wing at Carrboro School over enlarging Frank Graham School The Chapel Hill school board decided at its February 24 meeting to add eight classrooms to Carrboro Elementary School, following the building's original plans, rather than 12 rooms at the three-year-old all-Black Frank Graham School on Smith Level Road. Most of the 50 patrons at a January 27 hearing had favored the Graham addition, which some citizens saw as a step toward integration, while The News backed the board's neighborhood-school reasoning. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 27, 1964, p. 13
    72. Chapel Hill school board lets contracts for an eight-classroom addition to Carrboro Elementary The Chapel Hill School Board awarded $136,270 in contracts, led by general contractor Van Thomas of Siler City, for an eight-classroom, flat-roofed addition to the six-year-old Carrboro Elementary School, to be rushed for use before the end of the school year. The job also enlarged the school library. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 3, 1964, p. 4
    73. Carrboro Elementary parents fill a school board meeting to oppose moving sixth-graders to the junior highs More than 60 parents, teachers and educators packed the Lincoln Center meeting room as parents of Carrboro Elementary School pupils urged the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education to study every answer to overcrowding before moving sixth-graders into a junior high. Superintendent Gerry House called the move an option, not a recommendation; the school, built for 484 pupils, held about 600, and the board set up a committee of parents, teachers and administrators to report in February. The Daily Tar Heel, November 18, 1987, p. 2
    74. Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board moves Carrboro Elementary sixth-graders to Culbreth Junior High To relieve crowding at Carrboro Elementary School, which held about 605 pupils in a building meant for 482, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education voted 7-0 to move the school's sixth grade to Grey Culbreth Junior High School by August 1988. Several parents spoke against the move; Superintendent Gerry House had recommended it as consistent with the system's planned shift to middle schools, at an estimated cost of $250,000 to $300,000. The Daily Tar Heel, February 3, 1988, p. 4
    75. Carrboro Elementary School begins a $1.3 million library and gymnasium project Carrboro Elementary School was beginning a $1.3 million construction project including a library and gymnasium, as the Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools weighed reassigning pupils to relieve crowding. The Daily Tar Heel, January 30, 1989, p. 3
    76. Carrboro aldermen reject a joint town-school gymnasium at Carrboro Elementary The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 4-2 against joining the schools to enlarge a new gymnasium to be built at Carrboro Elementary School. Alderman Tom Gurganus said the plan lacked strong community support, the town could not afford both the gym and a community center, and it would not have sole control of the building; Mayor Eleanor Kinnaird said she was disappointed. People: Ellie Kinnaird The Daily Tar Heel, March 10, 1989, p. 3

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