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Schools and academies

West End Graded School (West Hillsborough School)

West End Graded School was a one-story brick Colonial Revival elementary school in West Hillsborough, built in 1936 with six classrooms and an auditorium on the old Cadwallader Jones homesite, the highest ground in the neighborhood. It closed in 1969, and after the main building was lost only its rear wings remain.

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.

In the chronology

  1. A federal PWA grant pays for ten Orange County school building projects The Public Works Administration approved Orange County's school building program on August 8, 1935, and the jobs were let in late 1935 under PWA Docket 1005. A federal grant of $155,454 to the county school board, about 45 per cent of the cost, with county bonds paying the rest, built new schools at West Hillsboro, the Hillsboro Negro School and Chapel Hill High School, and additions and updated equipment at Murphey, Carrboro, Aycock, St. Mary's, Orange Grove, Chapel Hill Negro School and Hillsboro schools; the work was still under way in May 1936. NC State Historic Preservation Office: Murphey School, National Register nomination (OR0467), p. 22 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, August 9, 1935, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 11, 1935, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, January 3, 1936, p. 3; Chapel Hill Weekly, May 22, 1936, p. 1
  2. West End Graded School is built on the old Cadwallader Jones homesite A larger one-story brick Colonial Revival school for grades one through six, six classrooms and an auditorium, was built in 1936 to replace the two-story frame West End School on Bellevue Avenue, which became a community club building. It stood on the highest ground in West Hillsborough, inside a low stone wall, where the Cadwallader Jones house had stood. NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 15 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, May 22, 1936, p. 1
  3. West Hillsboro organizes a community health campaign At a community meeting in the West Hillsboro school on August 24, with district health department representatives and free health films, residents talked over the mill village's health problems and elected an eighteen-member steering committee, including six pastors, to plan a permanent community health program and a clean-up. Health educator Elizabeth Lovell was named chairman and Mrs. J. W. Richmond secretary. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 30, 1945, p. 1
  4. CIO organizers hold meetings for Eno Cotton Mill workers in West Hillsboro CIO affiliates from Greensboro held a series of union meetings at the West Hillsboro school, beginning with one on February 2 to which all Eno Cotton Mill employees were urged to come. A meeting billed as for the United Textile Workers of America followed on February 16, with a CIO representative speaking. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 14, 1946, p. 1
  5. West Hillsboro elementary school is accredited The State Department of Public Instruction placed the West Hillsboro elementary school on its accredited list for 1949-50, after teachers and parents had worked for two years to meet the standards. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 14, 1950, p. 1
  6. Contracts are let for lunchrooms at White Cross and West Hillsboro schools The county let contracts for new school lunchrooms at White Cross and West Hillsboro. King Hunter of Greensboro was low bidder at $17,716 for West Hillsboro, Paul P. Thompson of Burlington took the White Cross general contract, and Burlington and Paschall Brothers firms got the plumbing and heating. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 8, 1951, p. 1
  7. School board buys an acre behind West Hillsboro School for a playground By mid-January 1953 the Orange County Board of Education had bought about an acre behind the West Hillsboro School for $3,000 for a playground, part of the D. B. Mehaffey property; Roy Crawford bought the house and the rest of the land. The board had first tried to buy lots in front of the school but could not get a deed from all the heirs. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 15, 1953, p. 1
  8. Ground is broken for a new classroom at West Hillsboro School The superintendent reported that ground had been broken for a classroom at West Hillsboro School, and that the Cameron Park school under construction would be ready after the Christmas holidays. People: G. Paul Carr The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 8, 1955, p. 1
  9. West End Graded School closes The West Hillsborough elementary school closed in 1969, perhaps because the new Central Elementary School took its pupils once schools were integrated. The main building later burned, leaving only the rear wings. NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey (2017), p. 15

Open these in the chronology →

Indexed works

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

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about West End Graded 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.

Hillsborough architectural survey

Slane, Heather Wagner · 2017 · hmwPreservation

Survey of Hillsborough's historic buildings by Heather Wagner Slane of hmwPreservation, completed in September 2017. The 40-page report covers the town's architecture and history with color illustrations and maps.

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.

Time in place, place in time : history and sense of place in Hillsborough, North Carolina

Warren, Cheryl Davis · 2005

Cheryl Davis Warren's 2005 study of history and sense of place in Hillsborough, 216 leaves with illustrations, maps and a bibliography. Written as human geography, it treats the town's past alongside its social conditions and the ways residents understand where they live.

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 West End Graded 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

    • Start here · NC 975.656 LLO History of the Town of Hillsborough, 1754-1982 Lloyd, Allen Alexander · 1983

      A 1982 revision of Allen Alexander Lloyd's history of Hillsborough, now written with Pauline O. Lloyd and carried forward from the town's founding in 1754 to 1982. Published in Hillsborough by A. A. Lloyd, 310 pages with illustrations and a bibliography.

    • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 975.656 HOLADAY Hillsborough Holaday, Chris · 2002

      J. Chris Holaday's Images of America volume on Hillsborough (Arcadia, 2002), built mostly from photographs and postcards. Chapters cover homes, churches and schools, business and industry, local people, scenes around town, and sports, entertainment and events.

    • 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.

    Show 1 more
    • 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 720.975 HILLSBOR Hillsborough Historic District Inventory 2006

      An inventory of the buildings in the Hillsborough Historic District, dated 2006. It concerns historic buildings and the buildings and structures of Hillsborough. Useful for anyone checking a particular property in the town's historic district.

    • Start here · NC 720.975 BEL Photocensus: A Photographic Survey of Buildings in the Hillsborough, N.C. Historic District Built Before 1950 Bellinger, Susan McArtor · 1991

      Susan McArtor Bellinger's photographic survey of the buildings in the Hillsborough Historic District put up before 1950, self-published in Hillsborough in 1991. Arranged as a guidebook, it records houses and other structures in photographs. 142 pages with illustrations.

    Show 1 more
    • Rebecca Wall Collection · 917.565 DUL The Pelican Guide to Hillsborough, Historic Orange County, North Carolina Dula, Lucile Noell · 1989

      Lucile Noell Dula's guidebook to Hillsborough and its historic buildings, published by Pelican in 1989. It pairs a tour of the town with notes on its history, in 128 illustrated pages with a bibliography. Part of the Wall Local History Collection.

    Land, family and burial records

    • Foundational · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots: The Complete Reference Guide Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2013

      Stewart E. Dunaway worked through Hillsborough, N.C., lot by lot, giving each town lot a synopsis of its history, a plat showing where it sits and transcripts of the deeds he could locate for it. The second issue runs to 720 pages with illustrations, maps and facsimiles.

    • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots: Addendum 2015 Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2015

      Stewart E. Dunaway's 2015 addendum to his history of Hillsborough's town lots, adding deed records arranged by lot number and further town history, with the expansion of the 1890s covered for the first time. Self-published in North Carolina as version 1.0, 446 pages with illustrations, facsimiles and maps. Topics include deeds, court records, land titles and real property in Hillsborough.

    • Foundational · NC 333.3 IND An Index to the Town Lots of Hillsborough: Orange County, North Carolina 1982

      An index to the town lots of Hillsborough, Orange County, compiled in 1982 as a guide to the deeds and court records that trace each lot's ownership.

    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 8

    Show all 8

    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