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Eno River road bridge, Hillsborough

The Eno River road bridge at Hillsborough was rebuilt more than once: a flood swept one away in 1875, and in 1922 the State Highway Commission built the reinforced concrete bridge now on Exchange Park Lane. That bridge was the main way into town from the south until the South Churton Street high bridge opened in 1964.

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 Eno River road bridge, Hillsborough. Each has been reviewed for relevance; materials held at OCPL appear first.

About the site

Eno River Bridge, Hillsboro, N.C.

1905 · W. A. Hayes Drug Store, Hillsboro, N.C

Bridge over the Eno River at the Hillsborough city limits, on a postcard published by the W. A. Hayes Drug Store of Hillsboro and printed by the Albertype Co., dated about 1905 to 1915. Signs on the bridge name the river and the town line, and the caption lists N.C. Highways 10 and 14 and U.S. Highway 70.

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

DPLA

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Eno River road bridge, 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

[Plan of the town of Hillsborough in Orange County, North Carolina]

Sauthier, Claude Joseph · 1768

Claude Joseph Sauthier's 1768 plan of the town of Hillsborough in Orange County, reproduced as a colored facsimile of the pen and ink manuscript on a sheet 43 by 53 centimeters. Relief is shown by hachures and the sheet is indexed for points of interest. The 1975 reproduction was made from negatives taken of the original in the Map Room of the British Museum.

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

UNC

Plan of the town of Hillsboro, taken in October 1863

1863

Plan of Hillsborough drawn in October 1863, showing the downtown blocks around the crossing of Tryon and Churton Streets, with the Eno River, spelled Enoe on the sheet.

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

DigitalNC DPLA

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 Eno River road bridge, 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.

    • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 975.656 NAS Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary Nash, Frank · 1953

      Francis Nash's history of Hillsborough in colonial and Revolutionary times, first published in 1903 and reprinted in 1953 by Edwards & Broughton with an index and a sketch of the author. Topics include the Regulator Insurrection of 1766 to 1771, the Revolution and local genealogy.

    Show 2 more
    • 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.

    • Foundational · NC 307.1 HIL Hillsborough, North Carolina General Development Plan 1968-1988 1968

      Hillsborough's general development plan for the twenty years from 1968 to 1988, prepared for the town's planning commission with a federal urban planning grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Issued in Hillsborough in 1968, 110 pages with maps, some in color.

    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

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

    1. The court orders a public bridge over the Eno at the Town Ford The court ordered a bridge built over the Eno at or near the Town Ford and named William McCauley, John Taylor, John Hogan, William Lytle and James Carson to let the building. The bridge was to be a public one when finished. People: William McCauley, Colonel John Hogan Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1787
    2. The court names men to oversee the Town Ford bridge and sets a seven-year repair term The court appointed William McCauley, John Taylor, William Lytle, William Watters and Absalom Tatom to oversee the building of a bridge over the Eno at or near the Town Ford. The undertaker was to keep the bridge in repair for seven years. People: William McCauley, Absalom Tatom Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1788
    3. The court repays John Walker for spending on the Eno bridge at the Town Ford The court allowed John Walker £50 for money he had spent on the bridge over the Eno at or near the Town Ford by Hillsborough. Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: August Term 1788
    4. John Elliott is paid more for the bridge over the Eno opposite Hillsborough On a petition from John Elliott about the bridge over the Eno River opposite Hillsborough, the court allowed him £15 in addition to what he had already received. Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: February Term 1790
    5. The court orders a bridge across the Eno at Hillsborough and levies a tax for it Finding a bridge across the Eno at Hillsborough 'highly necessary', the court named Sterling Harris, Samuel Benton, Samuel Hopkins, Abner B. Bruce and John Taylor Jr. commissioners with full power to contract for it. It ordered the sheriff to collect a tax of sixpence on the poll, on every 300 acres and on every 100 pounds of town property to pay for the bridge. People: Samuel Hopkins Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1804
    6. The court tells Henry Goodloe to repair the Eno bridge at Hillsborough or be sued on his bond The court ordered that unless Henry Goodloe, the undertaker and builder of the bridge across the Eno near Hillsborough, put it in good repair by April 1, suit be brought against him on his bond. Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: February Term 1808
    7. The court names a committee to have the Eno bridge at Hillsborough repaired The court appointed John Taylor, James Phillips and James Child a committee to contract with a suitable person to repair the bridge across the Eno at Hillsborough and to report to the next court. Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1813
    8. The court pays James Faucett for repairing the Eno bridge at Hillsborough On the report of the committee for repairing the bridge across the Eno at Hillsborough, the court allowed James Faucett 50 pounds for the work, to be paid by the county trustee. Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: August Term 1813
    9. The court orders a new bridge across the Eno at Hillsborough and levies a tax for it The court ordered a bridge built across the Eno at or near Hillsborough, named Dr. James Webb, James S. Smith, Thomas Clancy, Samuel Child and John Young a committee to contract for building it and keeping it in repair for seven years, with bond from the builder, and levied a tax of ninepence on each poll, each 100 pounds of town property and each 300 acres to pay for it. People: James Webb, James Strudwick Smith, Samuel Child Mark Chilton, transcription of the Orange County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes: May Term 1814
    10. Commissioners seek bids to repair the Eno bridge at Hillsborough John U. Kirkland was one of five commissioners, with Cadwallader Jones, Edmund Strudwick, Josiah Turner and Catlett Campbell, who advertised for proposals to repair the bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough, with bids due in November. People: Edmund Strudwick, Cadwallader Jones, Josiah Turner Jr. Hillsborough Recorder, October 18, 1838
    11. Orange County contracts for a new bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough The Orange County court at its May 1853 term named commissioners to contract for a new bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough in place of the old one, and by early August the contractor had taken the old bridge down and was laying the foundations for a new and durable span. With no bridge, the Raleigh stage overturned in the rain-swollen river at the Hillsborough crossing on the night of July 26; the passengers were saved with difficulty, but three trunks were lost and the mails soaked. Hillsborough Recorder, August 10, 1853, p. 2
    12. County commissioners call for builders of a new bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough In a notice dated March 4, 1863, commissioners William H. Brown and J. W. Norwood announced they would let the building of a bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough to contract at the courthouse on Saturday, March 14. The plan was on view at the county court clerk's office. People: John Wall Norwood, William H. Brown Hillsborough Recorder, March 11, 1863, p. 3
    Show all 21 dated events
    1. A flood on the Eno sweeps away the Hillsborough bridge A heavy rainstorm that began on Wednesday, August 14, broke into a downpour between one and two o'clock the next afternoon and raised the Eno at Hillsborough eighteen inches to two feet above any level in years. The flood carried off the bridge at the town, and the editor heard that every bridge on the river had gone, with mill dams and bottomland crops ruined. Hillsborough Recorder, August 21, 1867, p. 2
    2. A flood carries away the road bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough After a storm of thunder, lightning, rain and high wind on the night of Monday, March 1, 1875, the Eno rose higher than it had in many years and by Tuesday morning had swept away the town bridge at Hillsborough, and the river rose to within a few feet of the railroad bridge. The same flood took bridges across Caswell County. The new bridge over the Eno at McCown's mill, finished the year before and thought to be above the reach of any water, was also carried off, and in May the county commissioners ordered both rebuilt. DigitalNC: The Daily Journal (Wilmington), March 5, 1875, p. 1 · Also: DigitalNC newspaper, March 9, 1875, p. 3; Hillsborough Recorder, March 3, 1875, p. 3; Hillsborough Recorder, March 10, 1875, p. 3; Hillsborough Recorder, May 5, 1875, p. 3
    3. The Eno rises over the bridge at Hillsborough after eight days of rain After about eight days of nearly constant rain and sleet, the Eno at Hillsborough rose higher than it had in many years and by sundown on Monday was running over the bridge. It was back in its channel by the next morning, though the paper feared for crops still in the field. Hillsboro Recorder, November 3, 1887, p. 3
    4. The State Highway Commission builds a concrete bridge over the Eno at Hillsboro The commission let State Project 453, a bridge over the Eno at Hillsboro, to contractor George W. Kane for $30,651.20 on February 8, 1922, and work was well along by July. The reinforced concrete bridge, now on Exchange Park Lane, was the main way into town from the south until 1964. DigitalNC: Greensboro Daily News, February 9, 1922, p. 1 · Also: Durham Morning Herald, July 16, 1922, p. 4; The News (Chapel Hill), February 1, 1923, p. 1; National Register 2014 additional documentation, section 7 p. 8
    5. The concrete highway bridge over the Eno at Hillsboro is opened to use The concrete bridge over the Eno on the state highway east of Hillsboro was in use while its approaches were graded, and Hillsboro's own new pavement to the depot was open to cars ahead of its asphalt top. The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 24, 1923, p. 3
    6. Road crews begin pouring concrete on the Hillsboro-Durham highway at the Eno bridge In the week before June 26, 1924, the road force building the hard-surfaced highway from Hillsboro to Durham began pouring concrete at the Eno bridge. By early July Route 10 between Hillsboro and Durham was closed for the work, expected to take a month or more, and traffic between the two towns was sent through Chapel Hill on routes 75 and 4. The News (Chapel Hill), June 26, 1924, p. 5
    7. Hillsboro's town board protests a post office site by the Eno River bridge The town commissioners unanimously resolved against a proposed post office site on the west side of Churton Street just north of the Eno River bridge, calling it inconvenient and a hindrance to the town's growth, and sent the resolution to the Postmaster General, Congressman Carl Durham and Senators Scott and Ervin. Fred Cates Jr. was negotiating to build a post office there on the old livery stable lot and lease it to the government, and he defended the plan in a letter to the News. People: W. Kerr Scott, Carl T. Durham The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 10, 1957, p. 1
    8. Bids are opened for the new access road from Interstate 85 into Hillsboro The State Highway Commission opened bids on the 1.129-mile relocation of SR 1009 from Interstate 85 north to a point south of Margaret Lane, and C. C. Mangum, Inc., of Raleigh was low at $351,925.19, subject to approval on September 5. The route crosses the Eno at the south end of Churton Street, and the town had voted on July 9 to pay $2,000 as its share of the right of way. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 29, 1963, p. 1
    9. The new high bridge over the Eno opens on South Churton Street The 375-foot bridge, 55 feet above the river and built for about $450,000 with state and federal money, opened with the new access road from Interstate 85 into Hillsborough in the summer of 1964, taking traffic off the 1922 bridge. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 27, 1964, p. 6 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 30, 1964, p. 10; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 26, 1964, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 10, 1964, p. 21

    Open these in the chronology →

    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 9

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    Historic sites, markers, and maps

    Records of the time 15

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    Collections and databases

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