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Churches and lodges

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, the first Lutheran congregation in Orange County, was organized in Chapel Hill on July 21, 1946, with 34 charter members and D. P. Rudisill as pastor. Its brick Gothic Revival church on Pickard Lane, built in 1951 with 300 seats, was consecrated on January 6, 1952.

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.

In the chronology

  1. Lutherans organize Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill Holy Trinity, the first Lutheran congregation in Orange County, was organized with 34 charter members and D. P. Rudisill as pastor. Its building was consecrated on January 6, 1952. Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 312
  2. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church consecrates its Chapel Hill church Holy Trinity Lutheran's new church in Chapel Hill, built in 1951 with 300 seats, was consecrated on January 6, 1952. Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 312
  3. E. C. Cooper resigns as pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill The Rev. E. C. Cooper, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church since a few weeks after it was organized in 1946 and pastor to Lutheran students at the university, announced at the Sunday service that he would retire after Easter, April 5, having passed the church's retirement age after 40 years in the ministry. He said the building program that gave the congregation its church in January 1952 had filled most of his pastorate. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 19, 1953, p. 8
  4. Protesters ask Holy Trinity Lutheran Church to delay razing the Breckenridge House ECOS demonstrators gathered at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on East Rosemary Street to ask for a delay in tearing down the 80-year-old Breckenridge House, which was to be removed from church property that week to make room for an addition to the church. The Daily Tar Heel, November 1, 1978, p. 3
  5. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church joins the Reconciling in Christ program Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill, sponsor of Lutheran Campus Ministries, joined Reconciling in Christ, the Lutheran effort to be openly affirming of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Lambda listed it with Binkley Baptist, the Chapel of the Cross and other area congregations as welcoming. Lambda (Carolina Gay and Lesbian Association, UNC), October 2010, p. 11

Open these in the chronology →

Indexed works

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

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Holy Trinity Lutheran Church 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.

Churches in Orange County, North Carolina, South of Interstate 85 from 1756 to 2000

Johnson, George Arthur · 2000

George Arthur Johnson surveys the churches of southern Orange County, the part of the county south of Interstate 85 that takes in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, from 1756 to 2000. The volume also includes his talk to the Chapel Hill Historical Society on March 4, 1996, on the university, the churches and the Jews of Chapel Hill. Published by the society in 2000, 144 pages plus lettered pages A to F.

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

UNC CH Historical Society

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.

NC Cardinal UNC Duke NC State Durham Chapel Hill PL Library of Congress CH Historical Society

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 Cardinal NC Digital Collections DPLA

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 Cardinal NC Digital Collections DPLA

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 Cardinal NC Digital Collections DPLA

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

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina.

1925

Sanborn Map Company fire insurance map of Chapel Hill, June 1925, on eleven sheets, with Carrboro also drawn. Sanborn maps recorded the outline, construction and use of each building for fire insurers, so the set shows both towns block by block in the mid 1920s.

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

Library of Congress Digital Collections
Show 1 more surveys and maps

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.

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    Where to look on the shelf

    These books don’t necessarily mention Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 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.

    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.

    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.

    National Register files

    Historic sites, markers, and maps

    Records of the time 7

    Show all 7

    Collections and databases 5

    Local help 6

    Nearby

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    Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026