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Schools and academies

Central High and Central Elementary, Hillsborough

Central High School was Hillsborough's school for Black students, built in 1936 with Public Works Administration aid and renamed Central High in 1943 under principal A. L. Stanback. After its last high school class graduated in 1968 it became A. L. Stanback School, and in 1996 the North Nash Street campus reopened as Hillsborough Elementary School.

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 Central High and Central Elementary, Hillsborough. Each has been reviewed for relevance; materials held at OCPL appear first.

Published by or for this institution

Bulldog

Central High School (Hillsborough, N.C.) · Central High School (Hillsborough, N.C.)

The yearbook of Central High School in Hillsborough, published by the school under the title Bulldog. Filed with school yearbooks for Hillsborough and Orange County, it is the sort of annual family researchers turn to when placing a student or a teacher in a particular year.

Included because: Published by or for this institution.

UNC

Bulldog [1968]

Central High School (Hillsborough, N.C.) · 1968

Bulldog, the 1968 yearbook of Central High School in Hillsborough, from the North Carolina Yearbooks collection. The volume carries several personal inscriptions.

Included because: Published by or for this institution.

DigitalNC DPLA

Blue Flame [1965]

1965

Blue Flame for 1965 is the student yearbook of Central High School in Hillsborough. It comes from the Orange County Public Library, in DigitalNC's North Carolina Yearbooks collection.

Included because: Published by or for this institution.

DigitalNC DPLA

The Blue Flame [1962]

1962

'The Blue Flame' for 1962 is the student yearbook of Central High School in Hillsborough. Orange County Public Library is the contributing institution for this North Carolina Yearbooks record at DigitalNC.

Included because: Published by or for this institution.

DigitalNC DPLA

The Blue Flame [1961]

1961

The 1961 Blue Flame records a year at Central High School in Hillsborough, Orange County. Contributed by the Orange County Public Library to DigitalNC's North Carolina Yearbooks collection.

Included because: Published by or for this institution.

DigitalNC DPLA

The Blue Flame [1959]

1959

Hillsborough's Central High School published 'The Blue Flame' in 1959 as its student yearbook. It reached DigitalNC's North Carolina Yearbooks collection through the Orange County Public Library.

Included because: Published by or for this institution.

DigitalNC DPLA
Show 2 more of its own publications

The Blue Flame [1958]

1958

'The Blue Flame' for 1958, the yearbook of Central High School in Hillsborough. The volume comes from Orange County Public Library and appears in DigitalNC's North Carolina Yearbooks collection, with no page count given.

Included because: Published by or for this institution.

DigitalNC DPLA

The Blue Flame [1957]

1957

Students at Central High School in Hillsborough produced this 1957 volume of The Blue Flame. One of the Orange County Public Library's contributions to DigitalNC's North Carolina Yearbooks collection.

Included because: Published by or for this institution.

DigitalNC DPLA

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Central High and Central Elementary, Hillsborough 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.

Hillsborough architectural survey

Slane, Heather Wagner · 2017 · hmwPreservation

Survey of Hillsborough's historic buildings by Heather Wagner Slane of hmwPreservation, completed in September 2017. The 40-page report covers the town's architecture and history with color illustrations and maps.

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

NC Cardinal NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Time in place, place in time : history and sense of place in Hillsborough, North Carolina

Warren, Cheryl Davis · 2005

Cheryl Davis Warren's 2005 study of history and sense of place in Hillsborough, 216 leaves with illustrations, maps and a bibliography. Written as human geography, it treats the town's past alongside its social conditions and the ways residents understand where they live.

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

UNC

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Hillsboro, Orange County, North Carolina.

1905

Fire insurance map of Hillsborough, spelled Hillsboro, drawn by the Sanborn Map Company in January 1905 on two sheets, from the Sanborn Maps collection.

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

Library of Congress Digital Collections

Birdseye View of Hillsboro, N.C. Looking East

1905 · A. C. Bosselman & Co., New York, N.Y

Bird's-eye view of Hillsborough looking east, with houses and industrial buildings, on a postcard published by A. C. Bosselman & Co. of New York about 1905 to 1915. Card number 11116.

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

DPLA

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 Central High and Central Elementary, Hillsborough, 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

    • Start here · NC 975.656 LLO History of the Town of Hillsborough, 1754-1982 Lloyd, Allen Alexander · 1983

      A 1982 revision of Allen Alexander Lloyd's history of Hillsborough, now written with Pauline O. Lloyd and carried forward from the town's founding in 1754 to 1982. Published in Hillsborough by A. A. Lloyd, 310 pages with illustrations and a bibliography.

    • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 975.656 HOLADAY Hillsborough Holaday, Chris · 2002

      J. Chris Holaday's Images of America volume on Hillsborough (Arcadia, 2002), built mostly from photographs and postcards. Chapters cover homes, churches and schools, business and industry, local people, scenes around town, and sports, entertainment and events.

    • 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.

    • Foundational · NC 720.975 HILLSBOR Hillsborough Historic District Inventory 2006

      An inventory of the buildings in the Hillsborough Historic District, dated 2006. It concerns historic buildings and the buildings and structures of Hillsborough. Useful for anyone checking a particular property in the town's historic district.

    • Start here · NC 720.975 BEL Photocensus: A Photographic Survey of Buildings in the Hillsborough, N.C. Historic District Built Before 1950 Bellinger, Susan McArtor · 1991

      Susan McArtor Bellinger's photographic survey of the buildings in the Hillsborough Historic District put up before 1950, self-published in Hillsborough in 1991. Arranged as a guidebook, it records houses and other structures in photographs. 142 pages with illustrations.

    Show 1 more
    • Rebecca Wall Collection · 917.565 DUL The Pelican Guide to Hillsborough, Historic Orange County, North Carolina Dula, Lucile Noell · 1989

      Lucile Noell Dula's guidebook to Hillsborough and its historic buildings, published by Pelican in 1989. It pairs a tour of the town with notes on its history, in 128 illustrated pages with a bibliography. Part of the Wall Local History Collection.

    Land, family and burial records

    • Foundational · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots: The Complete Reference Guide Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2013

      Stewart E. Dunaway worked through Hillsborough, N.C., lot by lot, giving each town lot a synopsis of its history, a plat showing where it sits and transcripts of the deeds he could locate for it. The second issue runs to 720 pages with illustrations, maps and facsimiles.

    • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots: Addendum 2015 Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2015

      Stewart E. Dunaway's 2015 addendum to his history of Hillsborough's town lots, adding deed records arranged by lot number and further town history, with the expansion of the 1890s covered for the first time. Self-published in North Carolina as version 1.0, 446 pages with illustrations, facsimiles and maps. Topics include deeds, court records, land titles and real property in Hillsborough.

    • Foundational · NC 333.3 IND An Index to the Town Lots of Hillsborough: Orange County, North Carolina 1982

      An index to the town lots of Hillsborough, Orange County, compiled in 1982 as a guide to the deeds and court records that trace each lot's ownership.

    In the chronology

    Storylines about this site, each with a page of its own:

    1. Hillsborough's new high school for Black students is built Hillsborough's new school for Black students was built in 1936 with Public Works Administration aid on land the county board bought from Louis Wilson and George Mayo. When the Chapel Hill Weekly toured it in May it had eight rooms and an auditorium, with completion expected in about six weeks. It opened as Hillsboro High School for Negroes under principal E. C. Hester. A. L. Stanback became principal in 1942, and in 1943 the school became Central High School. From 1948 the PTA staffed the school library three times a week so it could be opened to the Black community. People: A. L. Stanback NC State Historic Preservation Office: Cedar Grove School, National Register nomination (OR3044), p. 25 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, May 22, 1936, p. 1; DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 18, 1935, p. 1; Open Orange: Central High School
    2. Orange County builds a brick school for Black students in Hillsboro Under a PWA-aided building program the county built an eight-room brick school for Black children in Hillsboro in 1935-36, with an auditorium, steam heat and plumbing. High school grades are first reported there for 1938-39, as the Hillsborough High School for Negroes; it became Central High School. The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 22, 1936, p. 1 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, October 18, 1935, p. 1
    3. The county school board buys land for a new Black school in Hillsboro The Orange County Board of Education bought the Hillsboro colored school site from Louis Wilson and George Mayo, paying $1,100 to each. The new school for Black students went up there that year. DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 80
    4. A. L. Stanback succeeds E. C. Hester as principal of Hillsborough's high school for Black students Albert Leon Stanback, a teacher at the Hillsboro High School for Negroes, replaced its first principal, E. C. Hester, in 1942. The school took the name Central High School the next year, and Stanback later pushed for the Cedar Grove consolidated school to take the lower grades. People: A. L. Stanback NC State Historic Preservation Office: Cedar Grove School, National Register nomination (OR3044), p. 25
    5. The Hillsborough High School for Negroes takes the name Central High School Under principal A. L. Stanback, the school for Black students in Hillsborough changed its name to Central High School in 1943. People: A. L. Stanback National Register: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation (2014), p. 215
    6. Black citizens of Hillsboro organize a health committee with Roosevelt Warner as chairman At a meeting with county health department leaders at the Hillsboro high school for Black students, local parents and teachers organized to improve health conditions, electing Roosevelt Warner chairman and Mrs. William Alston co-chairman and naming district leaders to help them. The effort grew out of a faculty health committee at the school. A News account that August, written up for visiting University of Virginia researchers, put the founding mass meeting of the Health Club in the first week of May 1944, and said its districts followed the ones laid out for Red Cross work. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 10, 1945, p. 5 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 2, 1945, p. 1
    7. Hillsboro's high school for Black students holds its 1945 commencement Hillsboro's high school for Black students held its commencement exercises on May 31. G. F. Newell, field executive of the Occoneechee Council of the Boy Scouts of America, was the principal speaker, two seniors gave the salutatory and valedictory addresses, and members of the senior class received the prizes for essays on tuberculosis. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 7, 1945, p. 3
    8. Orange County's Black home demonstration clubs hold their first Federation Day About 300 members of the county's Black home demonstration clubs met at the Hillsboro high school for Black students on June 8 for their first Federation Day. They heard each club's report and remarks from district home agent Dazelle F. Lowe, county agent M. C. Burt and Caswell County home agent Helen Payne, then a book review, a film on home drying of fruits and vegetables and a slip-cover demonstration. Council president Ella H. Trice presided. People: Moses Cimuel Burt The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 14, 1945, p. 6
    9. Central High School adds a twelfth grade Central High School, the county's high school for Black students in Hillsborough, added a twelfth grade for the 1946-47 school year. By 1949-50 it served 443 elementary and 206 high school students. People: A. L. Stanback National Register: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation (2014), p. 215
    10. The county board approves twelve classrooms and a gymnasium for Central School The board approved a building program of twelve classrooms and a gymnasium at Central, the county's school for Black students in Hillsborough. DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 81
    11. A play school for young children opens at Hillsboro's high school for Black students Teacher Betty A. Pretty opened a play school for the youngest children of Hillsboro's Black community at the Hillsboro high school, and a number of children began attending. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 17, 1947, p. 7
    12. The county school board signs contracts for a three-room addition to the Hillsboro high school for Black students By May 6, 1948, the Orange County Board of Education had signed contracts totaling $23,681.70 for a three-room addition to the Hillsboro Negro High School, with T. W. Poe and Sons of Durham as general contractor and H. Raymond Weeks of Durham as architect. Work was to begin when school closed, with the rooms ready for September 1. People: Howard Raymond Weeks The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 6, 1948, p. 1
    Show all 81 dated events
    1. Construction begins on a home economics building at the Hillsboro school for Black students By July 29, 1948, the county had begun building a 22 by 60 foot home economics department at the Hillsboro school for Black students, built to state specifications after the state warned the school could lose its home economics program. Superintendent Glenn T. Proffit said capital outlay money in the new county budget paid for it. People: Glenn T. Proffit The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 29, 1948, p. 1
    2. School board lets the regional library build a library for Black readers at the Hillsboro Negro High School At its monthly meeting the county board of education gave the Hyconeechee Regional Library Association permission to put up a library building on the grounds of the Hillsboro Negro High School. The county librarian brought word of the decision to the Black community's library committee, which was raising money to build. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 4, 1948, p. 1
    3. Central High's 1949-50 reports show 649 pupils and crowded classrooms Central High School served 443 elementary and 206 high school students with twelve and eight teachers. Its library of 1,120 books also served the Black community, but nine of its eleven elementary classrooms were too small. NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), Education Context
    4. The Negro Library Committee accepts a school lot for a library building for Black residents The Negro Library Committee formally accepted a lot given by the Orange County Board of Education at the northeast corner of the Hillsboro Negro High School playground, set aside solely for a library building for the county's Black residents. The committee also set up a temporary library upstairs in the Community Center, to be in use by February 1. People: A. L. Stanback The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 20, 1949, p. 9
    5. The Black public library's building committee buys a Camp Butner building The library building fund committee bought a building at Camp Butner to be torn down and rebuilt on the north corner of the Black high school grounds in Hillsboro as a library, and Mrs. Marinda McPherson called for fifty men and boys to go and dismantle it on July 21. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 14, 1949, p. 8
    6. Hillsboro's high school for Black students opens a vocational agriculture department After years of asking, Black citizens won state and county approval for a vocational agriculture department at the Hillsboro high school, and volunteers tore down an Army building at Camp Butner bought by the Board of Education and hauled it back to rebuild on the school grounds at no labor cost to the county. The department opened July 1 under teacher J. M. Murfree, and its building was going up in time for the school opening. People: A. L. Stanback, Roosevelt Warner The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 11, 1949, p. 1
    7. Hillsboro's high school for Black students officially becomes Central High School The county's high school for Black students in Hillsboro took the official name Central High School on September 1, 1949, and opened the year under principal A. L. Stanback with eight new teachers. First-day enrollment was 518. People: A. L. Stanback The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 8, 1949, p. 10
    8. Orange County's association of Black parent-teacher groups meets at Central High with record membership The county association of Black parent-teacher groups held its first meeting of the year at Central High School in Hillsboro and reported the largest membership in its history. Parents talked over the school bond issue and the conditions in the county's schools for Black children, heard health educator Howard Fitts on child guidance, and elected officers to be installed November 17 at Sartin School. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 20, 1949, p. 1
    9. Work begins on a building for the county library for Black readers beside Central High The News pictured the beginning of a library building for Black residents on the northeast corner of the Central High School playground in Hillsboro, on land given to the county-wide Black PTA to build a free library for the whole county. Writer Marinda McPherson traced the library from 300 donated books in 1943 through moves to a filling station, an Odd Fellows hall and a classroom. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 29, 1950, p. 1
    10. Bids for an addition to Central School come in far over budget Bids opened September 14 for an eight-classroom addition and lunchroom at Central School, Hillsboro's consolidated school for Black pupils, came to $129,423.90 with the architect's fee, against $100,000 set aside from the bond issue and state school funds. No contracts were let, and the school board turned to the commissioners for help. People: Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 21, 1950, p. 1
    11. The county council of Black PTAs gives $100 toward the Orange County Negro Library building At its first meeting of the school year at Central High School, the county parent-teacher association of the Black schools voted $100 toward the Orange Negro Library building, a project the PTA had begun several years earlier. The building was nearing completion, with vocational agriculture students doing the work, and bookmobile service had been opened to every school. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 5, 1950, p. 8
    12. Efland's Black school patrons refuse a plan to drop their promised school and send pupils to Hillsboro School officials met committees from the Efland area to ask Black patrons to give up the $74,000 Efland school promised in the 1949 bond campaign and send children from the Efland, Gravelly Hill and High Rock schools to an enlarged Central School at Hillsboro. Board of education chairman Kemp Cate reported that the officials 'didn't get to first base': the patrons wanted the $74,000 spent at Efland, and the commissioners kept the school in the program. People: Kemp S. Cate The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 12, 1950, p. 1
    13. County commissioners accept bids for an eight-classroom addition to Central School Calling it the county's most urgent school need, the commissioners accepted the low bids for an eight-classroom and lunchroom addition to the Central School for Black students at Hillsboro, though the bids ran $29,425.90 over the money set aside. To cover the gap they voted to issue up to $16,000 in bonds without a public vote and to use money saved by cancelling an order for six new school buses, and they pledged to keep the promises made in the 1949 bond campaign. People: Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 12, 1950, p. 1
    14. A Black delegation led by M. C. Burt wins floor and paint money for the new Central school Acting on a request from a delegation headed by M. C. Burt, the Board of Education approved $3,200 for flooring and $1,500 for painting at Hillsboro's new elementary school for Black children, items cut from the plans to save money. The delegation also asked for a seven-member committee of Black citizens with power over the school, which the board held over with little chance of approval. People: Moses Cimuel Burt The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 4, 1951, p. 1
    15. School board accepts the new Cedar Grove school for Black children The county board of education accepted three new buildings, subject to approval by the architect and the state: the new Cedar Grove Negro School, the Efland School lunchroom and a classroom addition at Central School in Hillsboro. It also named a five-man advisory committee from patrons of the small schools consolidated into Cedar Grove: Elijah Poole, Shepherd Burnett, Wayne Compton, D. W. Torian and Oscar Beasley. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 8, 1951, p. 1
    16. Central High hosts a Kellogg Project leadership conference for Black educators of three counties Black educators from Alamance, Harnett and Orange counties met at Central High School in Hillsboro under the Kellogg-funded Cooperative Project in School Improvement and Leadership Development, hearing North Carolina College faculty and visiting principals on how communities improve their schools. Dr. W. Carson Ryan of the university spoke at a banquet in the Central High cafeteria, and project director Allan S. Hurlburt summed up the planning sessions. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 30, 1953, p. 3
    17. Orange County's 1949 school building program nears its end, with most Black schools rebuilt Of the $1,401,000 in 1949 county bonds and state aid, all had been spent except $160,000 held for a Chapel Hill elementary school and $105,000 for one in Hillsboro, and the county system had spent $602,944.68 on buildings since 1950. The largest outlays went to Black schools, a new Cedar Grove school ($159,154.75), eight classrooms and a lunchroom at Central High ($137,128.69) and a new six-classroom Efland school ($80,932.41), while white schools got lunchrooms, a new Aycock gymnasium and a Carrboro auditorium. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 14, 1953, p. 1
    18. A Central High School drive pays off the school's lunchroom debts Faculty and students of Central High School, Hillsborough's high school for Black students, raised $1,099.65 in seven sections of the county to pay off the school lunchroom's outstanding debts, with teachers Mrs. V. K. Speller and Miss Margaret Bizzell bringing in the most. People: A. L. Stanback The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 10, 1953, p. 10
    19. Central High's New Farmers chapter wins the Cotton Merrick Federation livestock judging contest Central High School in Hillsboro hosted the Cotton Merrick Federation of the New Farmers of America, and its own livestock judging team took first place with 241.5 of 300 points, ahead of Louisburg and Little River. The win sent the chapter to the state contest at A. & T. College in June. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 18, 1954, p. 10
    20. The Cooper Four, a local Black musical group, celebrates its fourth anniversary at Central High The Cooper Four, a Black musical group from the Hillsboro area, marked its fourth anniversary with a program at Central High School, giving away 100 door prizes engraved with the group's name and crowning a Miss Cooper Four of 1955. Disc jockeys from radio stations WSRC and WSSB in Durham took part. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 5, 1955, p. 5
    21. The Central School PTA starts a Cub Scout pack for Black boys in Hillsboro The Central School PTA in Hillsboro organized Cub Scout Pack 116 for Black boys, and some sixty people came to the new pack's first meeting, where cubs put on skits and charter members received their Bobcat pins. Clarence Kay was cubmaster, with Roosevelt Warner and Luther DeLon on the sponsoring PTA's committee. People: Roosevelt Warner The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 5, 1955, p. 3
    22. 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 The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 29, 1955, p. 1
    23. Black farm and school leaders form the Rural Activity Organization of Orange County Black agricultural workers, community leaders and school leaders met at Central High School and formed a group to give awards and scholarship aid to deserving farm youth, electing Gattis Russell president. Later meetings named it the Rural Activity Organization of Orange County and chose a board of directors from about two dozen communities. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 19, 1956, p. 1
    24. 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
    25. Principal A. L. Stanback tells the county school board that Central School needs twelve more classrooms Central School, Hillsboro's twelve-grade school for Black pupils, had 937 pupils, 84 more than a year before, many of them children who had gone to Durham schools until Durham began charging out-of-county pupils $50 tuition. The board asked the state's school buildings division to survey the county's Black schools, had its architect begin studies, and approved buying 1.13 acres next to Central. People: A. L. Stanback The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 4, 1956, p. 1
    26. The county school board adopts a state survey team's building plan for its three Black schools The board unanimously accepted the recommendations of a survey team from the State Department of Public Instruction and UNC: a 14-classroom addition, a gymnasium and remodeled rooms at Central School in Hillsboro, a cafeteria but no new classrooms at Cedar Grove, and three classrooms, a cafeteria and a multipurpose auditorium at Efland-Cheeks. Bond money set aside was $283,730 for Central, $118,000 for Cedar Grove and $98,000 for Efland-Cheeks. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 8, 1956, p. 1
    27. The school board approves plans for new Central School buildings The county Board of Education tentatively approved architect Archie R. Davis's plans for a 14-classroom elementary building and a gymtorium at Central School, Hillsborough's school for Black pupils, enlarging the gymtorium to seat about 800 and adding public toilets, and told him to seek state approval. People: Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 13, 1956, p. 1
    28. Ray Motor Company provides a new car for Central High's driver training Ray Motor Company of Hillsborough gave Central High School, the Black high school in Hillsborough, the use of a new 1957 Ford for its driver training program for the rest of the school year. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 31, 1957, p. 1
    29. Central School's new activity bus arrives after a community fund drive A new activity bus for the athletic teams, band and glee club arrived at Central School, two years after the Hillsborough school for Black pupils had begun using a retired school bus for the purpose. Students, parents and teachers had raised $2,509 by the November 30, 1956 harvest festival that closed a two-month drive led by principal A. L. Stanback and J. M. Murfree, and on January 7 the county board approved borrowing the balance of about $1,800. People: A. L. Stanback The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 17, 1957, p. 1
    30. The school board fixes sites for new gyms at Hillsboro High and Central School The county Board of Education placed Hillsboro High's new 85-by-110-foot gymnasium behind the bus parking lot west of the school, beside new Hazel Street, and told the architect to begin drawings; at Central School it turned down the state consultants' two sites and chose to build the gymtorium behind the cafeteria as fast as possible. It also endorsed the State Board of Education's legislative program, including teacher pay raises. People: G. Paul Carr The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 7, 1957, p. 1
    31. Central High School's enrollment reaches 1,000 Central High School in Hillsboro, which taught Black pupils in grades one through twelve, enrolled 1,000 students in 1956-57, 500 girls and 500 boys, a mark the News called a first in the school's history. About 80 of them came from the eastern edge of the county after Durham began charging tuition to out-of-county pupils, and the school asked for room for four more teachers. People: A. L. Stanback The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 23, 1957, p. 1
    32. Central High School holds its 1957 commencement Central High School, the county's Black high school in Hillsborough, held commencement for its seniors with a speaker from North Carolina College in Durham, and the school glee club sang. A minister from Shaw University had preached the baccalaureate sermon, and the school's eighth-grade graduation was held the same week. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 30, 1957, p. 8
    33. County school board turns an old lodge building into classrooms for Central School At its June meeting the county Board of Education approved fitting up the old abandoned lodge building on North Wake Street as four temporary classrooms for Central School until its new addition was built, putting up $800 to match $800 from the Central PTA. The board also accepted the new Aycock School lunchroom from the builders and approved turning space under the Hillsboro High auditorium into a science department. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 6, 1957, p. 1
    34. The county takes bids for a gymtorium and twelve classrooms at Central High School H. F. Mitchell Construction Company was low bidder for two buildings at Central High, a twelve-classroom addition and a gymtorium seating about 1,200, designed by Archie Royal Davis. The whole project came to $266,094, and the gymtorium was nearly finished in February 1958. People: Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 1, 1957, p. 1 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 20, 1958, p. 1
    35. Black parents petition the school board against the Odd Fellows Hall annex to Central School A delegation of 14 Black citizens, carrying a petition said to bear 300 names, protested to the county Board of Education against putting Central School classes in the old Odd Fellows Hall on Wake Street, against ice cream sales on the school grounds and against the school's hiring policy. The board compromised by keeping one whole fifth-grade section at the main building and two fifth-grade and one sixth-grade classes in the hall, and declined to act on the other complaints. People: A. L. Stanback The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 10, 1957, p. 1
    36. Black home demonstration clubs hold their achievement program at Central High School The county's Black home demonstration clubs held their annual achievement program at Central High School, with a fashion show on dressing to suit one's figure, and the Cedar Grove club received the gold loving cup for the best record of the year. Ten of the eleven clubs took part, and two nights later 125 husbands and wives attended the clubs' husbands' banquet in the Lincoln High cafeteria. People: Bonnie B. Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 2, 1958, p. 6
    37. Central High's new gymnasium is finished Central High School's gymnasium, part of an addition already nearly finished when the main building burned in February 1958, was completed late that year. Archie Royal Davis designed the new main building that replaced the one lost in the fire. People: Archie Royal Davis NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), Education Context · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 20, 1958, p. 1
    38. Central High School burns Early on the morning of February 14, 1958, fire destroyed the main building of Central High School, Hillsborough's high school for Black students, a one-story brick-veneer building of fifteen classrooms that also held offices and an auditorium. Its library of more than 4,000 books was lost. Classes moved into a new twelve-classroom building nearly finished on the campus for the elementary grades, with a few in the lunchroom, shops and nearby buildings. The county board had Durham architect Archie Royal Davis design a new building on the same site; contracts were let in May 1958, and the two-story classroom building was finished in 1959-60. People: Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 20, 1958, p. 1 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 27, 1958, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 13, 1958, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 22, 1958, p. 1; Hillsborough Historic District National Register Additional Documentation (2014); Open Orange: Central High School
    39. The school board orders a new main building for Central High on the day of the fire The night the old Central High building burned, the county board set aside $214,892 for a new 18-classroom building designed by Archie Royal Davis's firm. Construction went on through 1958. People: Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 20, 1958, p. 1 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 1, 1959, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 11, 1958, p. 1
    40. Central High School students move into their new twelve-room building Less than three weeks after fire destroyed Central High School's main building, its students began classes in a new twelve-room classroom building at the school. The school board ordered Central to hold classes on Saturdays through March and April to make up eight lost days and still close on May 31. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 6, 1958, p. 1
    41. Orange County receives $152,000 in insurance for the burned Central High School The State Insurance Department, which carried the fire insurance, paid Orange County $152,000 in full settlement for the Central High School building lost in February, and the commissioners put the money in six-month certificates of deposit until it was needed for the new building. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 8, 1958, p. 1
    42. The county school board lets contracts for a new Central High School building The Board of Education opened bids at the old courthouse and at once let contracts for a new main building at Central High School, replacing the one that burned in February; the low bids totaled $149,346, under the architect's estimate. C. T. Poe Construction Company of Durham won the general contract at $113,143, and the work included clearing the debris of the burned school. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 22, 1958, p. 1
    43. Archie Royal Davis's new main building for Central High goes up After the 1958 fire, Archie Royal Davis designed a two-story, flat-roofed brick main building and a barrel-roofed gymnasium for Central High School. The main building went up in 1959-60; the campus is now Hillsborough Elementary. People: Archie Royal Davis NC State Historic Preservation Office: Cedar Grove School, National Register nomination (OR3044), p. 32
    44. The county school board accepts the new Central High School building The Board of Education accepted the new Central School building in Hillsboro from its contractors, subject to a final check by the architect and the state department. In April the board had let an $8,125 contract for science equipment for the school. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 4, 1959, p. 1
    45. White Cross's Black pupils begin the long bus ride to Central School in Hillsboro With White Cross left outside the Chapel Hill schools after the August merger vote failed, and tuition now required to attend there, 70 Black pupils from the White Cross area, grades 1 through 12, opened the term at Central School in Hillsboro, 15 miles or more from home. White pupils from the area in grades 7 and 8 were bused to Hillsboro High, and at least two families picked up transfer application forms. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 3, 1959, p. 1
    46. A vocational building is added at Central High School Between 1960 and 1962 the county added a one-story, flat-roofed, brick-veneered vocational building with metal awning windows to the Central High campus in Hillsborough. NC State Historic Preservation Office: Cedar Grove School, National Register nomination (OR3044), p. 32
    47. Central High builds its "300" elementary wing Another classroom building, the "300" wing or Elementary School building, went up at Central High from 1960 to 1962. With a vocational and band building finished in 1962, the campus reached the six buildings that stand today. NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), Education Context
    48. Central High School runs an experimental adult education program Hillsboro's Central High School held an experimental adult school in the spring of 1960, enrolling 42 adults in reading and writing, algebra, typing, driving and high school history, English and mathematics, without credit. Principal A. L. Stanback asked the county board to make it a regular program, noting that Central's enrollment of 1,096 put it among the state's largest Black union schools. People: A. L. Stanback The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 14, 1960, p. 4
    49. The county school board lets the contract for a new agriculture building at Central High The Orange County Board of Education let a $35,931 contract for an agriculture building at Hillsboro's Central High School, with the general contract going to Delta Construction Co. of Durham as low bidder among eight. The whole building was estimated at $44,846, but the bond money on hand limited the first contract; the old frame agriculture shop was torn down and construction had begun by late June. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 5, 1960, p. 8
    50. County commissioners let the school board plan a 16-classroom junior high beside Central High The county Board of Education won the commissioners' go-ahead to build a 16-classroom junior high next to Central High School, Hillsboro's school for Black pupils, at an estimated $200,000 to $225,000, aiming for fall 1964. Superintendent G. Paul Carr called the need very urgent, saying some teachers allotted by enrollment had no rooms. People: G. Paul Carr The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 15, 1962, p. 22
    51. The county school board drops its Central High junior high plan for a new elementary school north of US 70 Only a month after asking for $200,000 to build a junior high beside Central High School, the county Board of Education suddenly voted to build another elementary school on a site to be found north of Highway 70 instead. The same day the commissioners read the board's earlier letter asking them to set up the junior high fund. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 6, 1962, p. 6
    52. The county school board picks a site near Central High for a new Hillsborough elementary school On December 2 the Orange County Board of Education decided to build a new elementary school, with a 250-seat cafeteria and a library, on a 20-acre site near Central High School, after the commissioners agreed to add $200,000 on July 1, 1964, to the $200,000 already set aside. The Negro School Advisory Committee had approved the site and a faction of the PTA had opposed it; Durham architect Archie R. Davis was hired to design the school. People: Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), December 5, 1963, p. 4
    53. County schools add distributive education, manual arts and diversified occupations departments On February 3 the Orange County Board of Education voted to set up departments of distributive education, manual arts and diversified occupations at Orange High, Orange Junior High and Central High, at about $16,000 a year. Part of the money would come from not replacing Assistant Superintendent Grady Brown when he retired that year. People: G. Paul Carr, Grady A. Brown The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 6, 1964, p. 6
    54. Central High principal A. L. Stanback dies Albert Leon Stanback, who came to Central as a coach and mathematics teacher in 1938 and was its principal from 1942, died after a short illness on March 20, 1964. His funeral was held in the school's auditorium on Monday, March 23, before an estimated 2,000 people, white and Black. Under him the school grew to about 1,200 students. People: A. L. Stanback DigitalNC: The Carolinian, April 11, 1964, p. 16 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 21, 1964, p. 25; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 26, 1964, p. 11; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 26, 1964, p. 1
    55. The county school board adds a library to the planned ten-classroom school near Central The Orange County Board of Education kept its plan for a ten-classroom elementary school near the Central School site in West Hillsborough but added a library, raising the estimate from $200,000 to $270,000 after studying the plans with a Central committee. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 9, 1964, p. 9
    56. The county school board lets contracts for a new elementary school for Black pupils near Central After the commissioners added $68,800 to the $200,000 set aside a year earlier, the Orange County Board of Education let $271,415.63 in contracts for a ten-classroom elementary school for Black pupils across the road from Central School. Bids opened July 2 had run about $80,000 over the money on hand; the News recounted that the school had been delayed a year while a site acceptable to an integration-minded Black group was sought. People: G. Paul Carr, Carl Smith (Chapel Hill businessman and county commissioner), Archie Royal Davis The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 30, 1964, p. 12
    57. J. M. Murfree becomes principal of Central High School The county school system named J. M. Murfree principal of Central High School, Hillsborough's school for Black pupils, for the 1964-65 year, and Mrs. Evelyn Patterson principal of Aycock Elementary. They were the system's two new principals as its 192-member faculty prepared for 4,700 pupils. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 20, 1964, p. 8
    58. Central Elementary School is built north of West Hillsborough Planned as a segregated school for Black pupils next to Central High School, the flat-roofed brick and concrete building designed by Archie Royal Davis was finished a few years before desegregation and then served an integrated student body. Additions followed in 1975 and during the 1990s. People: Archie Royal Davis NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 15
    59. The board names the first principals of Stanford Junior High and Central Elementary Paul Raspberry was chosen to lead the new Stanford Junior High, and Tarleton Davis was picked to open Central Elementary as its first principal. DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 86
    60. Central High School becomes A. L. Stanback School After Central High's last high school class graduated in 1968 and its older students moved to Orange High School, the school was renamed for its longtime principal A. L. Stanback and became an elementary school. People: A. L. Stanback NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), Education Context
    61. Central High students march and Orange County schools integrate In 1968 Black students at Central High School in Hillsborough walked out and marched to protest a plan for phased desegregation. After Central's last class graduated that spring, its high school students moved to Orange High, ending the county's dual school system in 1968–69. Alliance for Historic Hillsborough: Central High School/Agnes Kindergarten
    62. Alethea Burt retires from teaching at Central High School Alethea Burt, who had led Ridge Road School until it closed in 1951 and then moved with her pupils to teach the elementary grades at Central High School in Hillsboro, retired at the end of the 1968-69 year. People: Alethea Anne Arrington Burt NC State Historic Preservation Office: Ridge Road School, National Register nomination (OR1104), p. 18
    63. Orange County Schools open kindergarten classes and extend them to every five-year-old Kindergarten began in the county schools with the 1969-70 reorganization, housed at Central Elementary and Efland-Cheeks. By the end of Superintendent Williams's term in 1977 it had grown from a partial program to one serving all five-year-olds. People: George F. Williams DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 139
    64. Orange County Schools regroup pupils by grade across the Hillsborough schools to complete integration For 1969-70 the county put all its pupils outside the Efland area into Hillsborough schools, each serving set grades: kindergarten at Central Elementary, grades 1-2 at Cameron Park, 3-4 at Central, 5-6 at the old Orange Junior High, 7-9 at a new Orange Junior High and 10-12 at Orange High. Efland-Cheeks took kindergarten through third grade and Efland Elementary grades 4-6, and Aycock, Cedar Grove and West Hillsborough dropped out as separate schools. People: G. Paul Carr DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 139
    65. West End Graded School closes The West Hillsborough elementary school closed in 1969, perhaps because the new Central Elementary School took its pupils once schools were integrated. The main building later burned, leaving only the rear wings. NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 15
    66. A. L. Stanback School becomes a middle school The former Central High School, used as A. L. Stanback elementary school since 1968, became a middle school in 1975 and served until the late 1980s, when it closed for several years. NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), Education Context
    67. Central Elementary School in Hillsborough gets a large addition Ten years after the first building went up, the county added about 18,700 square feet to Central Elementary under Superintendent George F. Williams, bringing the school to roughly 44,600 square feet. People: Archie Royal Davis, George F. Williams DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 166
    68. Hillsborough Elementary School opens in the old Central High buildings as the county's first year-round school After standing closed for several years, the former Central High campus on North Nash Street reopened in 1996 as Hillsborough Elementary School, the first year-round school in Orange County. NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 402 N. Nash Street, Central High School
    69. Central Elementary School gets a second large addition Around 2000 another large addition was built across the center of Central Elementary School's front on Hayes Street in Hillsborough, following the 1975 addition by John James Croft. NC State Historic Preservation Office: Cedar Grove School, National Register nomination (OR3044), p. 32

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