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Churches and lodges

University Lodge

University Lodge No. 80, Chapel Hill's first Masonic lodge, was chartered in 1824; after lapses, local Masons revived it in 1888 as University Lodge No. 408. In 1931 the lodge bought the old Baptist church on Franklin Street, first used in 1855, and made it into its lodge hall.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

People in its history

People named in events about this site, ordered by number of mentions. Each example links to an entry with a source citation.

Sites linked through the same people

In the chronology

  1. University Lodge No. 80 is chartered at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill's first Masonic lodge, University Lodge No. 80, was chartered. It stopped meeting in 1849 as older members died or moved away. Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 320
  2. University Lodge dedicates its new Masonic hall at Chapel Hill on St. John's Day Members of University Lodge and visiting Masons marched with a band to the College Chapel, where the Rev. William M. Green of Hillsborough gave the oration, then returned in procession to their new hall, which was dedicated to Masonry. The day ended with a dinner at the Eagle Hotel. People: William Mercer Green, Isaac C. Patridge Columbian Repository (Chapel Hill), July 2, 1836, p. 3
  3. Caldwell Lodge No. 180 is chartered at Chapel Hill Members of the defunct University Lodge took out a new charter as Caldwell Lodge No. 180, honoring the late university president Joseph Caldwell. People: Joseph Caldwell, Solomon Pool, Adolphus Williamson Mangum Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 320
  4. The Baptist Church of Chapel Hill opens its first church Services began on Sunday, May 6, 1855 in the brick meeting house, with vestibule, belfry and bell, that the Baptist congregation put up after it organized in September 1854. The building later became the Masonic temple of University Lodge. People: James Pleasant Mason DigitalNC: The Biblical Recorder, May 10, 1855, p. 2 (Dedication at Chapel Hill) · Also: Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952
  5. Fire destroys Caldwell Lodge's records and the lodge gives up its charter A fire destroyed all of Caldwell Lodge's old records, and the Chapel Hill lodge surrendered its charter the same year. Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 320
  6. Baptist minister George W. Purefoy dies near Chapel Hill George W. Purefoy, a Baptist preacher for about half a century and author of a history of the Sandy Creek Baptist Association, died at his home near Chapel Hill at 71. He was buried the next afternoon in the family graveyard with Masonic honors before several hundred people, and Caldwell Lodge No. 180 adopted resolutions in his memory. The Chapel Hill Ledger, April 24, 1880, p. 2
  7. University Lodge No. 408 is chartered at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill Masons had opened University Lodge by October 1887, with Prof. Nelson B. Henry as Worshipful Master, and revived it under a new charter as University Lodge No. 408 in 1888, with W. N. Pritchard as first Master. It met for years above a store on Franklin Street. Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 320 · Also: Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), October 8, 1887, p. 2
  8. Masons lay the cornerstone of the Alumni Building Chapel Hill's University Lodge No. 408 took part in the Masonic laying of the cornerstone for the university's Alumni Building. Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 320
  9. Masons lay the cornerstone of a new dormitory on University Day On University Day, October 12, 1921, the Grand Lodge of Masons, with about sixty local members marshaled by M. C. S. Noble, laid the cornerstone of a new dormitory, the first building of the state's new program for the campus. Lefler and Wager's lodge histories name it Grimes Dormitory and say Past Grand Master Samuel M. Gattis of Hillsborough's Eagle Lodge ran the ceremony and gave the address, with Chapel Hill's University Lodge taking part. The News called it the new Steele dormitory, then nearing completion; the group of four dormitories that includes Grimes had not yet been started. People: Samuel Mallett Gattis, M. C. S. Noble Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 319 · Also: The News (Chapel Hill), September 8, 1921, p. 3; The News (Chapel Hill), October 13, 1921, p. 1
  10. University Lodge buys Chapel Hill's old Baptist church for its hall University Lodge No. 408 bought the old Baptist church building at Franklin and Church streets, which had stood empty for several years, and had P. L. Burch renovate the interior as its lodge hall. The Weekly reported the purchase on January 16, 1931; in February it said the Masons had decided to buy two or three months earlier, so the deal may date from late 1930. People: Peter L. Burch Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 320 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, January 16, 1931, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, February 6, 1931, p. 1
  11. University Lodge No. 408 dedicates its new hall in the old Baptist church The Masons of University Lodge No. 408 held their first meeting and dedication in the former Baptist church at Franklin and Church streets, renovated inside under P. L. Burch, with more than 100 present and visiting Masons from Raleigh, Durham, Hillsboro, Sanford and Burlington. The lodge left the rooms it had used for 30 years in S. J. Brockwell's building at Columbia and Franklin streets. People: Samuel Jackson Brockwell, Peter L. Burch The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 6, 1931, p. 1
  12. Masons lay the cornerstone of North Carolina Memorial Hospital University Lodge No. 408 shared in the Masonic ceremony that laid the cornerstone of the new Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill. Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 320
Show all 15 dated events
  1. University Lodge sells its West Franklin Street Masonic property to Belk-Leggett-Horton Title to the Masonic Lodge's 135-foot-square property on West Franklin Street passed to the Belk-Leggett-Horton department store for $80,500, with the store to take possession at the end of 1960. On June 21 the Board of Adjustment gave University Lodge No. 406 a permit for a new two-story lodge hall on Strowd Hill on East Franklin Street. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 26, 1960, p. 27
  2. The Grand Lodge lays the cornerstone of University Lodge No. 408's new Chapel Hill home The Grand Lodge of North Carolina laid the cornerstone of a new brick home for University Lodge No. 408 of Masons in Chapel Hill, two weeks after ground was broken. The lodge had to leave its uptown quarters in the old Chapel Hill Baptist Church, which had been sold to the Belk-Leggett-Horton store, by January 1. People: Don Stewart The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 25, 1960, p. 1
  3. The Masonic Hall on West Franklin Street is torn down for a department store parking lot University Lodge No. 408 of Masons sold its hall on West Franklin Street at Church Street, built before the Civil War as Chapel Hill's first Baptist church, to Belk-Leggett-Horton for $80,500 in 1960, and agreed to leave by January 1, 1961 for a new lodge on East Franklin Street. In January 1961 the store offered the old building to any group that would move and keep it. It was razed later that month and its ground paved as a parking lot for the Belk-Leggett store next door. The bricks went to a local builder and the interior beams to the American Legion. Bernard Lee Bryant Jr., Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (1998; Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999), scan p. 313 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 26, 1960, p. 27; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 4, 1960, p. 11; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 12, 1961, p. 11; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 19, 1961, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 16, 1961, p. 1

Open these in the chronology →

Indexed works

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

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about University Lodge 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.

When Chapel Hill was a village

Love, Cornelia Spencer, 1892-1981 · 1976 · Chapel Hill Historical Society

Cornelia Spencer Love's recollections of Chapel Hill as a village, published by the Chapel Hill Historical Society in 1976 with drawings by John V. Allcott. Love lived from 1892 to 1981, and the book covers Chapel Hill biography, the town's social life and customs, and the faculty of the university before 1962. viii and 87 pages with illustrations.

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

UNC Library of Congress CH Historical Society NC Cardinal
Show 8 more surveys and maps

Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 5-Year Intervals, 1793-1998

Bryant, Bernard Lee · 1999 · Chapel Hill Historical Society

Bernard Lee Bryant's compilation of who occupied each structure on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill at five-year intervals from 1793 to 1998, issued by the Chapel Hill Historical Society in 1999 as a photocopy of his original computer printout on cotton paper. 191 leaves.

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

UNC

Plan of the village at the University with the adjoining lands belonging to the institution.

1804

Early hand-drawn plan of the University village at Chapel Hill and the lands around it, which Archibald Henderson dated to between 1797 and 1812. It shows town lots with owners' names, Main Building (South Building), the steward's and president's houses, the chapel, Franklin Street and a Grand Avenue, plus a partial list of buyers at the 1793 lot sale.

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

UNC DPLA

Plan of the village of Chapel Hill on a scale of 200 yards to an inch.

1812

An early manuscript plan of Chapel Hill drawn at 200 yards to the inch, dated 1812, with a note on the verso reading September 4, 1817. It copies an earlier pen and ink plot in the possession of William Pannill, taken in turn from one by John Craig, and it marks boundary lines, town lots with some owners named, the University buildings, the president's lot, the chapel and the preparatory school.

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

UNC

Map of Chapel Hill as it was in 1875 to 1885

Carter, H. D. (Henry Dennis), -1941 · 1934

Henry Dennis Carter's reconstruction, drawn as a blueprint in 1934, of Chapel Hill as it stood between 1875 and 1885, showing the buildings of the village. A note on the map says the information came from old residents who gave it to Mary L. Thornton.

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

UNC

[Map of Chapel Hill and vicinity].

Harris, Hunter Lee, 1866-1893 · 1888 · Hunter Lee Harris?

Dating from 1888 and attributed to Hunter Lee Harris, a map of Chapel Hill and its vicinity, reproduced as a photocopy measuring 22 by 37 centimeters. Harris died in 1893, which brackets the drawing to the late nineteenth century. An early depiction of the streets of the village and the land around it.

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

UNC

[Map of Chapel Hill].

1895

Pen-and-ink manuscript map of Chapel Hill dated 1852, with a table of measurements, showing the University campus, the village around it, street widths and layout, and the town limits. Later notes attributed to Kemp P. Battle give the longitude and latitude of landmarks as measured from atop New East Hall in 1880.

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

UNC DPLA

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

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 University Lodge, 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.

    Historic sites, markers, and maps

    Records of the time 11

    Show all 11

    Collections and databases 5

    Local help 6

    Nearby

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