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Schools and academies

Glenwood Elementary School

Glenwood Elementary School in Chapel Hill took 24 Black first graders in fall 1961, when the district assigned pupils by residence zone and became the first in North Carolina with no all-white 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.

Indexed works

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

About the site

Glenwood Elementary, students of: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

Nathan Hillery showing a Glenwood Elementary student how to throw a frisbee, in one undated 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.

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Glenwood 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.

The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, North Carolina: 1795-1975

Little-Stokes, Margaret Ruth · 2006

Margaret Ruth Little-Stokes's survey of Chapel Hill's town and campus buildings from 1795 to 1975, published by the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill in 2006. Chapters run from the first campus buildings through David Swain's romantic campus to midcentury modernism, followed by area surveys of the campus, east and west Chapel Hill, downtown, Northside and the suburbs.

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

The town and gown architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975

Little, M. Ruth · 2004 · Preservation Society of Chapel Hill

M. Ruth Little's 2004 architectural history of Chapel Hill and the university campus from 1795 to 1975, written for the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill. A 99-page survey with a bibliography.

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

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

Chapel Hill historic sites survey : final report.

Gatza, M. B. · 1992 · Chapel Hill Planning Department

M. B. Gatza's final report of the 1992 Chapel Hill historic sites survey for the town Planning Department, with contributions by Beverly C. Kawalec and Catherine Bishir. It covers historic buildings and districts in Chapel Hill in 80 pages.

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

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

Chapel Hill township survey final report

Lally, Kelly A. · 1992

Kelly A. Lally's October 1992 final report on the architectural survey of Chapel Hill township, including Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Besides the report and a bibliography, most of its 56 pages form an annotated index of the historic buildings surveyed.

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

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

Map of Chapel Hill & vicinity.

1933

Street and property map of Chapel Hill and the surrounding country, revised to 1 January 1933 and printed in the town. Topics include streets, real property and the historical geography of Chapel Hill along with maps of the University of North Carolina in its 1793 to 1962 period. A useful sheet for tracing lot lines and street names as they stood at the start of the 1930s.

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

UNC

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 Glenwood 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 · NC 975.656 STO Chapel Hill: A Pictorial History Stolpen, Steven · 1978

      Steven Stolpen's pictorial history of Chapel Hill, one of the Donning Company's photographic town histories, published in Norfolk, Virginia in 1978. Photographs and portraits carry the story of the town and the university, including references to Thomas Wolfe's years as a student at Carolina. 156 pages with illustrations.

    • 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.

    • 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 917.56 HIS Historic Buildings and Landmarks of Chapel Hill, N.C Chapel Hill Historical Society · 1973

      A pocket-sized guide to the historic buildings and landmarks of Chapel Hill, prepared by the Chapel Hill Historical Society and printed by Creative Printers in 1973. Forty pages with illustrations and maps, 14 by 22 cm. Topics include architecture, historic buildings and historic districts in Chapel Hill, and the guide is useful for a walking tour of the older parts of town.

    Land, family and burial records

    • Foundational · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY Chapel Hill, N.C. History of Town Lots (1790-1930s) Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2014

      Deed transcripts for the town lots of Chapel Hill and adjoining land from 1790 to the 1930s, compiled by Stewart E. Dunaway. Each transcript keeps only the working facts: grantor and grantee, price, acreage and the metes and bounds of the parcel. Self-published in 2014 as Issue 1G, 702 pages with maps and facsimiles.

    In the chronology

    1. The county school board accepts Chapel Hill's new Glenwood School from its builder At its early September meeting the Board of Education accepted Chapel Hill's new Glenwood school from the builder, subject to a few minor corrections noted by the architect. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 17, 1953, p. 1
    2. County commissioners order $50,000 in bonds for an eight-room Glenwood School addition With no objections raised, the commissioners finally passed an order for up to $50,000 in county school building bonds toward building and equipping an addition to Glenwood School in Chapel Hill, put at $100,000 in the order. The Chapel Hill board had backed architect Marion A. Ham's plan for an eight-classroom wing with a lower-level multipurpose room, about $145,000 in all. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 19, 1959, p. 11
    3. Chapel Hill school board lets a $133,000 contract for an eight-classroom Glenwood School wing The Chapel Hill school board let a $133,000 contract to O. G. Thompson of Burlington, builder of the first Glenwood buildings, for an eight-classroom wing, leaving a covered walkway and other items to be added from next year's funds. It hoped to have the wing ready for the fall term. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 28, 1960, p. 9
    4. Work starts on a classroom addition at Glenwood School Chapel Hill issued a $102,000 building permit in April 1960 for a classroom addition to Glenwood Elementary School, built by the O. G. Thompson Co. of Burlington. The school board later asked the county for about $54,000 more to finish the wing, which was expected to be done the next year. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 12, 1960, p. 8
    5. 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

    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

    Historic sites, markers, and maps

    Records of the time 6

    Collections and databases

    Local help 5

    Nearby

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    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