Skip to content

Public buildings and services

University Station

University Station was the stop on the North Carolina Railroad south of Hillsborough where the ten-mile University Railroad branched off toward Chapel Hill. State convicts graded the branch, which opened to passengers on February 6, 1882 with its depot at West End, later Carrboro; passenger service ended between 1936 and 1940.

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.

Show 5 more

Sites linked through the same people

Indexed works

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

About the site

University Station Railroad: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

University Station, the rail junction on the line serving Chapel Hill, in two undated prints: five men beside the engine and a car, and the station building with a crowd gathered in front.

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

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about University Station 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.

History and Architecture of Orange County, North Carolina

Mattson, Richard L. · 1996 · Unpublished manuscript

Richard L. Mattson's manuscript survey of the history and architecture of Orange County, completed in September 1996. Its 78 pages cover the county's historic buildings and structures and end 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.

Orange County multiple property documentation form: "Historic resources of Orange County."

1993

National Register multiple property documentation form on the historic resources of Orange County, completed in 1993. Kelly Lally and M. Ruth Little led the first phase of the survey, and Jody Carter and Todd Peck the second. It runs 123 pages 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.

[Architectural field surveys for Orange County : collected for the Historic and architectural resources of the Tar-Neuse River basin report]

1974 · Survey and Planning Branch, Historic Preservation Section, Division of Archives and History

Historic building survey forms for Orange County gathered in 1974 by the state's Historic Preservation Section for a report on the Tar-Neuse River basin. About 400 pages of forms covering buildings in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and the countryside; a form can carry a description, historical notes, location, a photograph and a floor plan.

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

[Map of Orange County].

1849

Large manuscript map of Orange County on linen, tracing ownership and chains of title for notable tracts with the dates each passed to new owners. Hachures show relief, and it marks principal towns, roads, railroads, mines, creeks, rivers and lakes. The date is uncertain; both 1849 and 1913 have been given for it.

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

Map of Orange County, N.C.

Tate, George W. · 1891 · George W. Tate

Facsimile, dated 1940, of George W. Tate's 1891 map of Orange County. It shows towns, roads, railroads such as the North Carolina Rail Road and the Chapel Hill line, residences, schools, churches, mills and mines, with portraits and pictures of buildings in the margins.

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

A map of Orange County, N.C.

Noble, M. C. S. (Marcus Cicero Stephens), 1855-1942 · 1915

Marcus Cicero Stephens Noble drew this 1915 map to show how Orange County's original territory was divided, tracing the formation of Caswell, Person, Alamance, Durham, Chatham, Randolph, Guilford and Rockingham counties out of it. Topics include county boundaries and the history of political divisions in the Piedmont. Surviving as a photocopy on a sheet 31 by 23 centimeters.

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

UNC
Show 2 more surveys and maps

Soil map, North Carolina, Orange County sheet

United States · 1918 · United States Government Printing Office

Color soil map of Orange County issued in 1918 by the U.S. Government Printing Office at one inch to the mile, 68 by 46 cm. Besides soil types it marks roads and railroads, the Southern Railway among them, churches, schools, mills, stores, cotton gins, iron mines, cemeteries and the county home, and it names the townships of Bingham, Cedar Grove, Chapel Hill, Cheeks, Eno, Hillsborough and Little River.

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

Map of Orange County, N.C. : 1939

Stanaland, E. A. · 1939 · E.A. Stanaland

Hand colored map of Orange County drawn by E. A. Stanaland and published at Parrott, Georgia, in 1939. It shows towns and townships, roads and railroads, and marks the schools and churches standing in the county. One sheet, 58 by 36 centimeters.

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 Station, 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

    • Foundational · NC 975.656 ORA Orange County--1752-1952 1953

      Hugh Talmage Lefler and Paul W. Wager's history of Orange County across its first two centuries, 1752 to 1952, prepared for the county's bicentennial. It covers government and politics, biography and the county's families, and doubles as a genealogical reference. Published in Chapel Hill by the Orange Printshop in 1953, 389 pages with illustrations and an index; this copy is a later reprint.

    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 ORANGE An Inventory Of Sites Of Cultural, Historic, Recreational, Biological, And Geological Significance In The Unincorporated Portions Of Orange County Orange County (N.C.) · 1986

      County planning department survey of significant sites in the unincorporated parts of Orange County, published in 1988, 95 pages with maps. The survey covers cemeteries, church buildings and archaeological sites on the cultural side, and plants, animals, endangered species, wildlife refuges, geology and recreation areas on the natural side. Useful for local historians, genealogists tracing burial grounds and land planners alike.

    • Foundational · NC 363.69 HIS Historic Preservation Element: Orange County Comprehensive Plan ; Orange County, North Carolina Orange County (N.C.) · 1996

      The historic preservation element of Orange County's comprehensive plan, prepared for the county Historic Preservation Commission and Planning Department by the Jaeger Company of Gainesville, Georgia, and adopted on 1 April 1996. Partly financed by National Park Service funds through the state Division of Archives and History, it sets county policy on historic buildings and sites and their conservation. 59 pages plus 50 unnumbered, with illustrations and maps, some folded and in color.

    In the chronology

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

    1. A permanent depot at University Station brings a plan for a town there By May 10 the North Carolina Railroad had made University Station, on Stone's Creek, a permanent depot through which the trade of Chapel Hill and that part of Orange would pass. The court of equity ordered twenty half-acre lots there sold on June 7 for Calvin G. Strayhorn and others, and the sale notice said a town would be laid off. Hillsborough Recorder, May 14, 1856, p. 3
    2. A post office opens at University Station with A. C. Hunter as postmaster A new post office opened at University Station, the railroad stop five miles from Hillsborough, with A. C. Hunter appointed postmaster. Hillsborough Recorder, November 19, 1856, p. 2
    3. Henrietta Heartt is appointed Hillsborough's postmaster Henrietta Heartt becomes the first woman on the list of Hillsborough postmasters, succeeding Dennis Heartt. The Hillsborough Recorder reported on May 25, 1870 that Governor Holden had offered the office to the Heartt family and that it had been declined, and on June 1 that Arch. C. Hunter of University Station had been appointed postmaster. Harriet H. Strayhorn in 1873 and Mary E. Berry in 1882 followed her. People: Dennis Heartt, Mary E. Strayhorn Berry Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 370 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, May 25, 1870, p. 3; Hillsborough Recorder, June 1, 1870, p. 2
    4. The railroad agrees to build a depot at University Station to ship iron ore Col. Buford of the railroad's lessees agreed, at General Hoke's request, to build a depot at University Station if neighbors supplied the ground and lumber. Its main business was to be shipping ore from Hoke's iron mine near Chapel Hill, which had sent 32 tons to Lincolnton for smelting and had 200 more tons ready. People: Robert F. Hoke Hillsborough Recorder, May 5, 1875, p. 2
    5. Diphtheria spreads through the Flat River country Diphtheria in an aggravated form spread through the Flat River country and neighboring Knap of Reeds in Granville County in August, and on Friday, August 24, five children between three and seven years old were buried. Families throughout the section were reported in alarm. By mid-September it had spread around University Station, where six or eight children were reported to have died in a short time. Hillsborough Recorder, September 5, 1877, p. 3
    6. Robert F. Hoke serves as unpaid superintendent of the State University Railroad As the branch from University Station toward Chapel Hill got under way, university president Kemp P. Battle became president of the railroad company and General Robert F. Hoke its superintendent, both without salary, by Battle's account. John Holt managed the convict work force and Captain Fry was the civil engineer. The Chapel Hill Ledger reported that on January 8, 1880, the new directors, Hoke among them, elected Battle president and Andrew Mickle paid secretary and treasurer, and named Hoke to the committee to secure the convicts. People: Kemp Plummer Battle Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 246 · Also: The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 10, 1880, p. 2; The Chapel Hill Ledger, March 27, 1880, p. 3
    7. State convicts build the University Railroad Governor Thomas J. Jarvis supplied state convicts at low hire to grade the line from University Station to Chapel Hill, while the Richmond and Danville company laid the rails. A white convict was shot dead while fleeing, and a Black convict named Fries died of gangrene after a whipping by the road's managers, which the solicitor found no ground to prosecute. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, Alexander Boyd Andrews, Robert F. Hoke, Thomas Jordan Jarvis, Frederick N. Strudwick Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 246
    8. University Railroad stockholders organize and run the line to University Station Stockholders of the University Railroad Company met at President Battle's office with $10,160 of stock taken. After Julian S. Carr and Paul C. Cameron argued for Durham, they adopted Battle's resolution to locate the road from Chapel Hill to University Station, elected Cameron, Hoke, McCauley, Carr and Battle directors, and called in a quarter of the stock. People: Paul C. Cameron, Kemp Plummer Battle, Robert F. Hoke, Julian S. Carr, David McCauley The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 10, 1880, p. 2
    9. Julian S. Carr gives up on a Durham route for the University Railroad Writing from Durham, Julian S. Carr told the Ledger that the friends of a Durham connection had abandoned it, because Robert F. Hoke and the iron mine company declined to supply iron for the longer line, and that he had little hope for the road to University Station. People: Julian S. Carr, Robert F. Hoke The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 24, 1880, p. 3
    10. Engineers begin surveying the University Railroad from University Station Engineers spent the last week of January surveying the line from University Station, running a first line a little over four miles from the station, while the penitentiary board arranged to supply convicts, 25 to start. The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 31, 1880, p. 3
    11. Construction of the State University Railroad begins at University Station Work on the State University Railroad began in earnest at University Station under Col. Thomas M. Holt, with tools, barrows and axes delivered and the first stretch staked for clearing; the Ledger hoped to hear the engine whistle by January 1881. The Chapel Hill Ledger, February 14, 1880, p. 3
    12. Kemp P. Battle defends the University Station route for the railroad Answering a correspondent who predicted the road would fail, Kemp P. Battle wrote that he had canvassed Chapel Hill and Durham for a line to Durham, but only about $5,000 could be expected there, so the shorter line from University Station was taken. Chapel Hill had subscribed $4,500, and the Iron Mine Company was helping to build the road. People: Kemp Plummer Battle The Chapel Hill Ledger, February 21, 1880, p. 2
    Show all 50 dated events
    1. A guard shoots a convict fleeing the University Railroad works A white convict grading the State University Railroad near University Station ran during a planned break and was shot through the body by a guard; he died despite Dr. Harris's care. Colonel Holt made the six men who had agreed to run with him build his coffin and bury him. The Chapel Hill Ledger, March 27, 1880, p. 3
    2. Joseph Blount Cheshire begins preaching to the University Railroad convicts Joseph Blount Cheshire of the Chapel Hill Episcopal church preached to the convicts grading the State University Railroad, while students of the university's Christian association handed out religious tracts. By late April he was holding a service at the camp every Sunday evening, and Professor A. W. Mangum had also preached there. People: Adolphus Williamson Mangum The Chapel Hill Ledger, April 3, 1880, p. 3
    3. Grading on the University Railroad reaches about two miles About two miles of roadbed had been graded from University Station on the North Carolina Railroad, and the convict force had grown to about eighty men, the assistant engineer, Captain Williamson, reported. He expected the work to go on at about a mile a month in good weather. The Chapel Hill Ledger, April 24, 1880, p. 3
    4. Grading of the University Railroad reaches within a mile of Chapel Hill By late August the grading of the State University Railroad from University Station was done to within a mile of Chapel Hill, and the Ledger expected the rails to go down soon. In mid-June the grade had covered only about half the distance. The Chapel Hill Ledger, August 28, 1880, p. 2
    5. Cross ties go down along the University Railroad All but 5,000 of the cross ties for the State University Railroad had been delivered and placed on the track by mid-December 1880. The rest were under contract for January delivery, and the iron was to be laid as soon as they arrived. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), December 18, 1880, p. 2
    6. The county commissioners open election precincts at Patterson's Mill and University Station The Orange County commissioners established new election precincts at Robert Patterson's mill in Chapel Hill Township and at University Station in Hillsborough Township, and named registrars and inspectors for the August prohibition election. People: Jones Watson Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 18, 1881, p. 3
    7. Railroad service reaches West End The first passenger train on the University Railroad left Chapel Hill on Monday, February 6, 1882, and ran through University Station to Raleigh. The line ended about a mile west of the village at West End, where a boxcar served as the depot, and the settlement that became Carrboro grew up around it. The News and Observer (Raleigh), February 8, 1882, p. 2: The University Railroad Completed (DigitalNC)
    8. Someone tries to wreck a North Carolina Railroad train near University Station Rails, iron and other obstructions were placed in a cattle guard on the North Carolina Railroad about a mile from University Station, and a material train was nearly wrecked at night. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), December 6, 1884, p. 2
    9. A runaway freight train runs into the eastbound passenger train at University Station A special freight that had got out of control on the down grade ran into the rear of the eastbound passenger train while it stood at University Station about ten at night, badly damaging the rear coach. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), January 31, 1885, p. 3
    10. W. M. Stroud & Co. of University Station dissolves The partnership of W. M. Stroud of University Station and H. W. Harris, trading as W. M. Stroud & Co., was dissolved by mutual consent, with Stroud taking over its accounts. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), March 12, 1887, p. 3
    11. Fred Smith begins about fifty years as conductor on the Chapel Hill branch train Captain Fred Smith became conductor on the University Station branch on October 16, 1888, after about 18 months as brakeman, fireman, flagman and baggage master on the Goldsboro to Greensboro line, and kept the job for about half a century, until passenger service ended. Louis Graves later wrote that he served from 1889, but the Weekly gave the 1888 date in 1925 and again in 1931. People: Fred Smith Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 282 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, February 13, 1931, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, April 23, 1925, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 16, 1936, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, April 14, 1939, p. 4
    12. Conductor George N. Waitt is moved to the University Railroad George N. Waitt, for many years a conductor between Greensboro and Goldsboro, was transferred to the University Railroad branch to Chapel Hill, with Peyton Brown taking his old run. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), January 11, 1890, p. 3
    13. A new station house is finished at University Station A new station house was finished at University Station on the North Carolina Railroad, ending the use of a box car for travelers to Chapel Hill. The Durham Sun, quoted by the Observer, called it small but as neat as any on the line. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), September 12, 1891, p. 3
    14. A freight car loaded with cotton burns at University Station A car of cotton attached to a freight train burned at University Station on Friday, March 4. The cars behind it were uncoupled before the fire spread to them. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), March 12, 1892, p. 3
    15. Weldon M. Strowd replaces J. F. Shumaker as postmaster at University Station Weldon M. Strowd was appointed postmaster at University Station in place of J. F. Shumaker, who had been removed from the office after his arrest in August. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 26, 1893, p. 3
    16. Heavy rains wash out parts of the University Railroad Heavy September rains did damage around Hillsborough, and washouts badly damaged the University Railroad, the branch line between University Station and Chapel Hill. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), September 16, 1893, p. 3
    17. Surveyor N. A. Ramsey enters unclaimed land near University Station as state land Surveying land near University Station for B. N. Duke, Capt. N. A. Ramsey found ten to fifteen acres within half a mile of the station that no deed covered and no owner could be traced for, and he entered the tract at Hillsborough as state land. People: Benjamin N. (Benjamin Newton) Duke Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 30, 1894, p. 3
    18. Superior court disposes of the charge of setting fire to the University Station depot At the fall term of Orange Superior Court, a man named Shumaker, charged with setting fire to the depot at University Station, submitted, and judgment was suspended on payment of the costs. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 2, 1895, p. 3
    19. Flora Shumaker is appointed postmaster at University Station Mrs. Flora Shumaker was appointed postmaster at University Station. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 12, 1897, p. 3
    20. Oscar F. Craig succeeds Flora Shumaker as postmaster at University Station Oscar F. Craig, a son of Milton E. Craig, succeeded Miss Flora Shumaker as postmaster at University Station. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 31, 1899, p. 3
    21. The Southern mail train and the Chapel Hill branch train collide at University Station The regular Southern Railway mail train and a train on the Chapel Hill branch line collided at University Station on the morning of Monday, October 9, 1899. A conductor was slightly hurt. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), October 12, 1899, p. 3
    22. Two freight trains collide at University Station An extra freight coming in from Hillsborough ran into the caboose of the local freight while it stood on the main line unloading at University Station, between 7 and 8 p.m. Four or five cars were wrecked and the roadbed torn up; the engineer stayed at his post and the crew jumped clear, and a Black man stealing a ride was the only one hurt, not seriously. The News (Chapel Hill), August 23, 1906, p. 1
    23. The school at University is burned, and the board offers a reward for the arsonist Fire destroyed the school building in the University community in the fall of 1910, and on November 3 the board asked the state for a $700 loan to rebuild it. In April 1911 the board offered a $100 reward, if the law allowed, for conviction of whoever had set the fire. DigitalNC: Irene Oliver Pender, A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983 (1983), p. 60
    24. Sheriff's officers capture two large stills south of Hillsboro and near University Station Deputy W. P. McDade and William A. Roach seized a 150-gallon copper still a mile southeast of University Station, and the next day Sheriff Bain and McDade took a 100-gallon still three and a half miles south of Hillsboro. The commissioners watched both stills cut up on September 4 and sold the copper. People: Robert D. Bain Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 31, 1911, p. 5
    25. The Corporation Commission approves a new Southern Railway depot at University Station Southern Railway officials submitted plans for a new passenger station at University Station, and the Corporation Commission approved them with work to begin at once. The plans included a waiting room for white passengers 29 feet square, and the railroad said plans for a new Chapel Hill station would follow. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 15, 1912, p. 5
    26. The Community Club puts a library in a store at University Station In 1914-15 the club placed a library of forty-five volumes in Mr. Craig's store at University Station. Its social service department later took up the idea of a shelf of books in every country store in Orange County. Community Club of Chapel Hill, The Community Club of Chapel Hill, 1915-1916 (1915), scan p. 53
    27. Southern Power Company builds a steam plant on the Eno near University Station Duke's Southern Power Company built a coal-fired steam generating plant beside the Eno near University Station, a backup for its hydroelectric stations, with Fiske-Carter Construction Company holding the contract in 1915. By July 1916 the Eno steam plant was sending current as far as Charlotte while flooding shut down the company's river stations. Its power went to Durham's factories, not to Orange County. DigitalNC: Durham Morning Herald, July 25, 1915, p. 12 (the new Southern Power plant being erected near University Station) · Also: NC Historic Preservation Office: Richard L. Mattson, History and Architecture of Orange County; The Charlotte Observer, July 18, 1916, p. 3
    28. Fire destroys Oscar C. Craig's store and post office at University Station Oscar C. Craig, for many years postmaster at University Station, kept a general store in the same building until it was destroyed by fire several months before October 1924. He then became assistant postmaster at Chapel Hill. The News (Chapel Hill), October 9, 1924, p. 5
    29. The University branch railroad passes to the State University Railroad Company Effective January 1, 1924, the Southern Railway Company put its University branch line to Chapel Hill under a separate corporation, the News reported, and the road was thereafter to be operated as the State University Railroad Company. The News (Chapel Hill), January 10, 1924, p. 5
    30. New mail trains and a new Star Route improve Chapel Hill's mail service In the week of July 22, 1929, a new train schedule between Chapel Hill and University Station took effect, and a new Star Route was added to bring mail from Durham at 5 p.m. and carry evening mail back for the night trains. All trains on the branch would carry mail. The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 26, 1929, p. 1
    31. Federal drought cattle arrive at University Station under George H. Lawrence's care Sixty-nine cows shipped by the government from the drought-stricken Middle West were unloaded at University Station and pastured on part of the old Duke farm, with more bound for pastures near Hillsboro. As county relief administrator, Lawrence had to house and feed Orange County's quota of 669. The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 31, 1934, p. 1 (Govt. Cows Are Welcomed by Geo. Lawrence)
    32. The State University Railroad asks to end passenger service to Carrboro The State University Railroad Company, part of the Southern Railway system, asked the State Utilities Commission for leave to stop passenger service on the ten-mile line between University Station and Carrboro, where two trains a day ran each way, saying automobiles and buses had made it unnecessary. John T. Johnston, a recent candidate for the legislature, said he would protest. The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 10, 1936, p. 1
    33. Passenger trains stop running on the University Railroad Mixed passenger service on the ten-mile line between University Station and Carrboro ended as car ownership spread and roads improved, leaving the line to freight. The State Utilities Commission granted the railroad's request to drop passenger service, and the last passenger train ran on Saturday, October 24, 1936, a trip some Chapel Hill and Carrboro people made into a railway picnic. UNC Press, UNC A to Z: University Railroad · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, October 16, 1936, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 23, 1936, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, November 6, 1936, p. 1
    34. The freight train is taken off the Chapel Hill branch and conductor Fred C. Smith retires The freight train that had run on the ten-mile branch from University Station since passenger service ended on October 24 was taken off, and Captain Fred C. Smith retired after 47 years as the line's conductor, kept on by the Southern Railway as a freight solicitor. The regular Greensboro-Durham train was to make occasional trips to the branch for Chapel Hill and Carrboro freight. The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 8, 1937, p. 1
    35. Captain Fred C. Smith, for nearly 50 years conductor of the University Station train, dies Captain Fred C. Smith, who came to Chapel Hill in 1888 and served nearly 50 years as conductor on the ten-mile railroad between the village and University Station, died at his home two weeks short of his 81st birthday. He had retired in 1937; his funeral was held at the Baptist church, with graveside rites of the Knights of Pythias lodge he had organized. The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 14, 1939, p. 3
    36. Freight train wreck at Glenn (University Station) overturns an engine and six cars An eastbound freight, No. 254, struck three cars left on the main line by a switching engine at Glenn, long known as University Station, overturning its engine and six cars, breaking apart the standing box cars, twisting the rails and bursting a water tank. The engineer was pinned in the wreckage and had to be freed by a welder rushed from Hillsboro; the fireman had minor injuries. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 6, 1949, p. 1
    37. Duke Power dismantles its Eno steam plant Duke Power sold most of the equipment of its standby steam plant in Eno Township to the Sid Rancer Company, a junk dealer, for $30,500 before January 1, 1960, and tore down six of the twelve company houses. The county lost several hundred thousand dollars in tax valuation. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 5, 1960, p. 7 · Also: The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 24, 1954, p. 1; The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), July 21, 1960, p. 3
    38. Developers drop their 1,300-home University Station village plan After months of opposition and threatened lawsuits from neighbors, the Amerivest/Kenan/Cogswell group withdrew its request to change county zoning for a 1,300-home rural village with a golf course and shops between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. Developer Arthur Cogswell said it would instead build about 614 homes under existing zoning on 620 acres north and south of Old N.C. 10 east of New Hope Church Road; Commissioner Don Willhoit called the change a missed opportunity. The Daily Tar Heel, January 15, 1993, p. 3

    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 50

    Show all 50

    Collections and databases

    Local help 6

    Something wrong or missing on this page, a location, a date or a name? Suggest a correction or a source →

    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