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Houses, farms, parks and cemeteries

West Chapel Hill Historic District

The West Chapel Hill Historic District is a residential district of nineteenth- and twentieth-century buildings in Chapel Hill, listed in the National Register on December 31, 1998, and enlarged by a boundary increase on May 9, 2019.

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.

Indexed works

Books, articles, records, and images about West Chapel Hill Historic District. Each has been reviewed for relevance; materials held at OCPL appear first.

About the site

Significance report : the Cameron-McCauley Neighborhood, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Reeb, Mary L. · 1989 · Town of Chapel Hill

Mary L. Reeb's April 1989 report for the Town of Chapel Hill on the Cameron-McCauley neighborhood. It concerns studies of buildings, dwellings and real estate development in Chapel Hill, and the title states its purpose: an assessment of the neighborhood's significance. Thirty-nine leaves with maps and a bibliography on leaves 28 and 29.

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

UNC

Historic District: Cameron-McCauley (Chapel Hill Historical Society vertical file)

Cameron-McCauley historic district in Chapel Hill: newspaper clippings, reports, notes and copies of correspondence. Undated folder in the History series of the Chapel Hill Historical Society's vertical files.

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

CH Historical Society

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about West Chapel Hill Historic District 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.

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.

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 West Chapel Hill Historic District, 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.

    In the chronology

    1. The Carolina Inn joins the Study List The committee approved the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill for the Study List on July 9, 1998, among twenty public requests from the central and southeastern regions. The same meeting recommended the West Chapel Hill Historic District for nomination, and the inn's own nomination followed on April 8, 1999. NC State Historic Preservation Office: National Register Advisory Committee agendas, minutes and approved lists, p. 782
    2. The West Chapel Hill Historic District is listed in the National Register On December 31, 1998 the National Park Service listed the West Chapel Hill Historic District in Chapel Hill in the National Register of Historic Places. NC State Historic Preservation Office: North Carolina Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, Orange County · Also: NC State Historic Preservation Office: National Register file OR1439
    3. An enlargement of the West Chapel Hill district joins the Study List The National Register Advisory Committee placed an enlargement of the West Chapel Hill Historic District on North Carolina's Study List, its list of properties likely to qualify for the National Register. NC State Historic Preservation Office: National Register Advisory Committee agendas, minutes and approved lists, p. 1371
    4. The West Chapel Hill Historic District is enlarged in the National Register On May 9, 2019 the National Park Service listed a boundary increase for the West Chapel Hill Historic District, enlarging the district in the National Register of Historic Places. NC State Historic Preservation Office: North Carolina Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, Orange County · Also: NC State Historic Preservation Office: National Register file OR2769

    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: Research a house or property.

    Background

    National Register files

    Historic sites, markers, and maps

    Records of the time

    Collections and databases

    Local help 6

    Nearby

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