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Carrboro Town Hall

In Carrboro. 20 dated events, 1956–2005.

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.

Sites linked through the same people

In the chronology

  1. Carrboro commissioners suspend the police chief for two weeks After a police committee report, the Carrboro board suspended Police Chief J. Alvin Williams for two weeks without pay for doing personal business on duty in a way the board found unbecoming an officer. Public works superintendent Hughes Lloyd filled in on patrol. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 5, 1956, p. 8
  2. Carrboro's commissioners order the town police to halve their patrol car mileage To save money after the police had spent two-thirds of their $9,000 yearly budget by the end of December, Carrboro's commissioners ordered the two-man department to drive its patrol car no more than half its recent 2,345 miles a month and to walk the business district instead. A Chapel Hill official said the parked car was hard to reach by radio; Mayor R. B. Todd said downtown traffic and parking needed the officers more. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 6, 1958, p. 1
  3. Carrboro and White Cross voters reject joining the Chapel Hill school district In a special election that drew 1,494 of the 1,634 newly registered voters, the Carrboro and White Cross school areas voted 916 to 565 against enlarging the Chapel Hill city school unit to take them in at the Chapel Hill school tax rate. Carrboro voted 723 to 490 against; the News pointed to fear of losing Carrboro's identity, old ill will toward Chapel Hill and, in White Cross, the tax. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 22, 1958, p. 1
  4. Mayor Todd names a committee to find a new industry for the Carrboro mill buildings After Pacific Mills announced on June 17 that Carrboro Mills, the town's only industry with about 380 workers, would close within two or three months, Mayor R. B. Todd named a Chapel Hill and Carrboro committee to work with the state Department of Conservation and Development in finding a new industry for the plants. Collier Cobb Jr. was chairman, and the Carrboro board endorsed the plan. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Lloyd M. Senter The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 26, 1958, p. 1
  5. Carrboro adopts a $100,700 budget and keeps its 93-cent tax rate The Carrboro Board of Commissioners gave final approval to a $100,700 budget for 1958-59, $8,300 less than the year before now that a $100,000 sewer plant expansion was finished, and kept the 93-cent tax rate. Town salaries rose about ten per cent, and the board expected slower tax collections as the mill closing put people out of work. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 17, 1958, p. 6
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. Carrboro creates a zone for trailer parks The Carrboro commissioners approved an ordinance setting up a special zone for trailer parks, which had to cover at least five acres, and set a hearing on William T. Durham's request to put his newly annexed land in the new zone. They also ordered a private-line telephone alarm system for the volunteer firemen. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 12, 1961, p. 11
  9. A federal inspector looks over the new National Guard rifle platoon in Carrboro Lt. Col. Paul F. Byther inspected the newly organized rifle platoon of the 30th Infantry Division at its quarters on the ground floor of the Carrboro Municipal Building. Platoon commander Lt. James Steagall of Chapel Hill said the inspector spoke well of the unit's start. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 26, 1961, p. 11
  10. Carrboro annexes two residential tracts After a hearing with no objection, the commissioners annexed on the owners' petitions a lot on old Highway 86 north of town and a tract on the west side along W. Poplar St. that included Lions Club and town land, bringing Carrboro to about 500 acres. They agreed to extend sewer lines to both. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 14, 1961, p. 3
  11. Carrboro commissioners move to take over zoning of their suburbs The Carrboro commissioners voted to ask the next General Assembly to let the town take over zoning of its suburban area, then under the Chapel Hill District Planning Board, with an ordinance much like Chapel Hill's and a new six-member zoning board of three suburban and three town residents. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 15, 1962, p. 4
  12. Carrboro raises its minimum house-lot width to 90 feet After a public hearing, the Carrboro Board of Commissioners raised the minimum street frontage for a residential lot from 50 to 90 feet. At the same meeting it began the move to take over planning and zoning of its suburbs west of the Southern tracks and Smith Level Road from the Chapel Hill zoning district, and voted to buy a police car. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 11, 1962, p. 5
Show all 20 dated events
  1. Carrboro decides to seek its own zoning authority over its suburbs The Carrboro Board of Commissioners decided to ask the General Assembly for planning and zoning power over its suburban area entirely separate from the Chapel Hill District Planning Board, changing its earlier plan to share that board. A 1957 act had let Carrboro zone its fringe, but only through the Chapel Hill planners. People: Luther James Phipps The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 20, 1962, p. 8
  2. Carrboro endorses a draft bill for its own zoning set-up The Carrboro board endorsed a special act drawn by Town Attorney L. J. Phipps with Chapel Hill attorney J. Q. LeGrand that would let Carrboro zone the town and its suburban area, then part of the Chapel Hill zoning district. The same night it rezoned a lot at Center and Short streets to industrial, annexed a lot on Hanna Street and gave $130 to civil defense. People: Luther James Phipps The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 14, 1963, p. 8
  3. Carrboro police chief J. Alvin Williams leaves office The town's police chief of 13 years quit at the end of his shift, and the commissioners accepted his one-sentence resignation at a special meeting the next night while officials gave no reason. Town minutes later showed that on February 27 the board had voted on its police committee's report of complaints to dismiss him as of March 3 with a month's pay. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 7, 1963, p. 9
  4. Carrboro re-elects Mayor C. T. Ellington in a record turnout Of 857 registered voters, 625 went to the polls and gave Ellington 471 votes to 107 for former police chief J. Alvin Williams, with two other challengers far behind. Hughes Lloyd, Bryant Hackney and incumbent Ralph Morgan won the three commissioner seats, and Mrs. Lattice Vickers, whom the News called the town's first Black candidate, ran among 11 board candidates. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 9, 1963, p. 10
  5. The county welfare department opens a full-time branch office in the Carrboro Town Hall The Orange County Welfare Department opened a full-time branch office in the Carrboro Town Hall, with a receptionist on weekdays and a caseworker taking applications on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Welfare Superintendent James Wight announced the opening. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 6, 1964, p. 6
  6. Carrboro's town board endorses Community Action, Inc. After a four-month delay the Carrboro commissioners voted 3 to 2 to take part in Community Action, the public-private corporation formed to deal with the community's race problems, and left appointments to Mayor C. T. Ellington. Wiley Franklin, Ralph Morgan and E. O. Hardee voted for it; Hughes Lloyd and H. B. Hackney voted against. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 11, 1964, p. 3
  7. E. O. Hardee resigns from the Carrboro board after twenty years Carrboro commissioner and grocer E. O. (Bill) Hardee resigned from the six-member town board after twenty years, many of them as finance chairman, because he had moved to Calvander outside the town limits. On October 19 the board chose Delos O'Daniel, assistant manager of the N.C. Cafeteria, to fill the six months left in his term. People: Paul H. Robertson The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 15, 1964, p. 5
  8. Mike Nelson presides over his last meeting as mayor of Carrboro At the December 6, 2005 meeting the Board of Aldermen approved the November 8 election results, in which Mark Chilton defeated Alex Zaffron for mayor, 1,337 to 776, and outgoing Mayor Michael Nelson gave his parting comments. People: Mark Chilton, Diana McDuffee, Alex Zaffron Town of Carrboro: Board of Aldermen minutes, December 6, 2005

Open these in the chronology →

Indexed works

The index has no works about Carrboro Town Hall itself yet. The surveys and maps below cover where it stands. Search the index for Carrboro Town Hall, or tell us about a book or record we have missed.

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Carrboro Town Hall 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 Town Hall, 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.

    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.

    Research sources

    Sources cited in this site’s history, National Register documents, and places to get research help. Research guide: Investigate a school or community institution.

    Background

    Historic sites, markers, and maps

    Records of the time 20

    Show all 20

    Collections and databases

    Local help 5

    Nearby

    Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
    Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026