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Theme

Eno & Environment

The river and the land around it, from mill sites to state parks.

In briefThe Eno powered local mills and later became a focus of conservation efforts: the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley formed in 1966, the state park followed in 1973, and the fights over University Lake, Cane Creek, the Rogers Road landfill and the 1976 drought shaped how the county uses land and water. Hurricane Fran in 1996 belongs here too.

686 indexed works are connected with this theme. 25 held at OCPL →

Search these works Research sources View indexed works ↓
The Eno River from Occoneechee Mountain, by DiscoA340.

Events and storylines

Named events and episodes the index follows in detail. Each has its own page.

Saving the EnoThe 1966 association that stopped the reservoir plans and won the state park Cane Creek Reservoir and Bingham TownshipOWASA’s reservoir, the watershed land purchases and the farm families displaced Rogers Road environmental justiceA historic Black community, the county landfill beside it, and the long campaign for sewer service and the Greene Tract Water for the towns: University Lake, the 1976–77 drought, and OWASAChapel Hill’s reservoir of 1932, the water crisis of 1976–77, the creation of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority in 1977, and the reservoir fight that followed at Cane Creek Hurricane Fran, September 1996The storm that came through the county overnight on 5–6 September 1996, felling trees by the thousand and cutting power for days

Indexed works

Related works found in catalogs and archives across North Carolina, the most widely held first, novels aside. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it.

Narrow these works. Each link opens the search already limited to this theme. Counts are indexed works, not copies on a shelf; a work can carry more than one period or place.

Material

Periodicals 83Maps 73Histories 65Photographs & portraits 55Directories 16other types 89

Period

Colonial era (to 1775) 217th century 218th century 9Revolution (1775–1783) 319th century 22Civil War (1861–1865) 420th century 43World War II era 3

Place

North Carolina (statewide) 349Orange County 347Chapel Hill 214Eno River 99Durham County (neighboring) 70City of Durham (neighboring) 61

Widely held

Chapel Hill and Elisha Mitchell the Botanist

McVaugh, Rogers; McVaugh, Michael R.; Ayers, Mary · 1996

Elisha Mitchell, the University of North Carolina professor for whom Mount Mitchell is named, as botanist and as observer of early Chapel Hill, in a study by Rogers McVaugh, Michael R. McVaugh and Mary Ayers. It covers Mitchell's botanical knowledge, the plants of Chapel Hill and the town's historical geography. Published by the Botanical Garden Foundation in Chapel Hill in 1996, 122 pages with illustrations and maps.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Botany.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 580.92 MCV NC Cardinal UNC Duke NC State Durham Davidson CH Historical Society Library of Congress

Carrboro, N.C

Brown, Claudia Roberts · 1983

Architectural and historical inventory of Carrboro by Claudia Roberts Brown, published in 1983 by the Carrboro Appearance Commission and the town. The 48-page survey, with illustrations and maps, documents the town's historic buildings and their conservation.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Architecture -- Conservation and restoration.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 720.975 BRO NC Cardinal UNC Duke NC State Durham Chapel Hill PL CH Historical Society

Ribbons of Color Along the Eno River

2021

Collected first-hand and second-hand stories from the Eno River valley as told from the standpoint of African Americans and Native people who have lived along the river in Orange and Durham counties, from prehistory to the present day. Issued by the Eno River Association in Durham as volume 10, number 2 of the Eno Journal, 2021, 106 pages with illustrations.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Eno River (N.C.).

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 975.656 RIBBONS NC Cardinal UNC Duke Durham Chapel Hill PL CH Historical Society

Rogers Road

Pearce, Emily Eidenier · 2009

Emily Eidenier Pearce's history of Rogers Road, the historically African American neighborhood on the edge of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and of what happened to it after Orange County opened its landfill next door in 1972. Drawing on interviews with residents, the book records the neighborhood's origins, family life, churches and customs, and then the environmental and social burdens of decades beside the landfill. Privately issued in 2009, 298 pages with illustrations, maps and portraits.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Sanitary landfills -- Environmental aspects.

✓ Held at OCPL · 975.656 EID NC Cardinal UNC Durham Chapel Hill PL CH Historical Society

Dark Tales of the Eno River

Cook, David · 2025 · The History Press

David Cook collects the grim side of the Eno River's past in Orange and Durham counties: ghost stories, crimes, train wrecks and accidents, including the hanging of rebels near the river in 1771, a sawmill accident said to have started a run of hauntings, and a dance one Valentine's Day that ended badly. Published by The History Press in 2025, 141 pages with illustrations.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the OCPL record: Ghosts -- Eno River (N.C.).

✓ Held at OCPL · 133.109 COOK NC Cardinal UNC NC State Durham

Johnston and Robson Mill History, New Hope Creek (Orange Co., N.C.)

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2010

Stewart E. Dunaway's history of the two mills George Johnston built on New Hope Creek in Orange County, the first in 1793 and the second in 1820, the earlier of which he sold to the Englishman William Robson. Self-published in 2010, 256 pages with illustrations, maps and facsimiles. Topics include gristmills in Orange County and the Blackwood, Johnston, Robinson and Robson families, so the volume serves both mill history and genealogy.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the UNC record: New Hope Creek (Orange County-Chatham County, N.C.) -- History.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 664.72 DUNAWAY UNC Duke Durham NC Cardinal
Show 2 more

An Historical Address Delivered in Saint Matthew's Church, Hillsboro, N.C., on Sunday, August 24, 1924

Cheshire, Joseph Blount · 1925

Address by Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire at St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough on 24 August 1924, marking the parish's hundredth anniversary. Printed in Durham in 1925 at the vestry's order, with a foreword by the rector. Cheshire discusses George Micklejohn, William Mercer Green and Moses Ashley Curtis.

Why this is here: The record names this subject alongside a heading for the county or its towns.

UNC Duke Durham DPLA

History of Patterson Mill, New Hope Creek, Orange County, NC

Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2010

Stewart E. Dunaway's 2010 study of Patterson Mill, a gristmill site on New Hope Creek where Orange County meets Chatham County. The book pairs a short genealogy of the Patterson family with a close survey of what remains of the mill on land now inside Duke Forest, supported by maps, facsimile documents and illustrations across 176 pages. Self-published in a second issue dated October 10, 2010.

Why this is here: Catalog heading in the NC Cardinal record: New Hope Creek (N.C.) -- History.

✓ Held at OCPL · NC 664.72 DUNAWAY NC Cardinal UNC

Recently indexed: [Annual report] (1963) · Campus beautiful (1919) · Chapel Hill Christmas bird census (1959) · Chapel Hill Spring bird census (1961) · A commentary on the natural history of Dr. Hawks' History of North Carolina (1860) · Conservation plan for the Coker Arboretum of the North Carolina Botanical Garden (1990)

Search all 686 indexed works →

Start at OCPL

Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection whose titles, catalog subjects, or descriptions match this theme. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled. Books marked Wider context cover the broader subject rather than this theme itself.

  • Foundational · NC 975.656 RIBBONS Ribbons of Color Along the Eno River: The History of African Americans and People of Color Living on the Eno 2021

    Collected first-hand and second-hand stories from the Eno River valley as told from the standpoint of African Americans and Native people who have lived along the river in Orange and Durham counties, from prehistory to the present day. Issued by the Eno River Association in Durham as volume 10, number 2 of the Eno Journal, 2021, 106 pages with illustrations.

  • Foundational · NC 289.6 ENG Early Quakers in the Eno River Valley: Ca. 1750-1847 Engstrom, Mary Claire · 1989

    Mary Claire Engstrom's history of the Quaker settlers of the Eno River valley from about 1750 to 1847, in the country that is now Orange and Durham counties. Published by the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley in Durham in 1989, 73 pages with illustrations, maps and portraits.

  • Foundational · NC 917.56 ENO Eno River State Park Master Plan 1979

    The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation's master plan for Eno River State Park, dated June 1979, for the park that follows the river through Orange and Durham counties. Plans and maps, some in color, lay out the proposed development. Published by the Division in Raleigh, 64 pages in an oblong format.

Show 6 more
  • Start here · NC 975.656 BROWNING Valley Of The Eno : Some Of Its Lands - Some Of Its People - Some Of Its Mills Browning, Hugh Conway · 1973

    Hugh Conway Browning's 1973 history of the Eno River valley, subtitled some of its lands, some of its people, some of its mills, treating the tracts, families and water mills along the river in Orange and Durham counties. Among the people it covers is William Andrew Browning, 1835 to 1916.

  • Foundational · NC 289.6 HAINES Forged in the Spirit: Quaker Pioneers on the Eno Haines, Nancy Learned · 2026

    Nancy Learned Haines tells the story of the Quaker families who left Pennsylvania around 1750 for the Eno River valley near Hillsborough, where they farmed, traded and built a school, and asks how a community committed to peace fared through the unrest of the colonial years. Published by Pleasant Green Books in 2026, 122 pages with bibliography and index. Subjects include Quakers in North Carolina and the history of Hillsborough, Orange County and the Eno River valley.

  • Foundational · 975.656 TWENTY 27 Views of Hillsborough: A Southern Town in Prose & Poetry 2010

    Hillsborough seen by twenty-seven writers in essays, fiction and poems collected by Eno Publishers in 2010. Allan Gurganus writes on renovating old houses, David Payne and Beverly A. Scarlett on the Eno, Brooks Graebner on the courthouse and the churches, Nancy Goodwin keeps a gardener's journal, and Lee Smith offers scenes from 'On Agate Hill'; Randall Kenan, Michael Malone, Hal Crowther, Jill McCorkle, Craig Nova and Jaki Shelton Green also appear. 210 pages.

  • Foundational · NC 333.95 SAT Inventory of the Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitats for Orange County, North Carolina Sather, Dawson · 2004

    An inventory of the natural areas and wildlife habitats of Orange County, prepared by Dawson Sather for Triangle Land Conservancy in 2004. A reference for land planners and conservation groups identifying the county's significant tracts and habitats.

  • Wider context · NC 598.097 POTTER Birds of the Carolinas Potter, Eloise F. · 2006

    The guide to the birds of North and South Carolina by Eloise F. Potter, James F. Parnell and Robert P. Teulings, first published in 1980 and revised for this second edition of 2006 from the University of North Carolina Press. It has 399 pages with color illustrations, a map, a bibliography and an index.

  • Wider context · NC 598.297 TEKIELA Birds of the Carolinas: Field Guide Tekiela, Stan · 2001

    A pocket field guide by Stan Tekiela to the birds of North and South Carolina, 342 pages with color illustrations, a bibliography and an index. Published by Adventure Publications of Cambridge, Minnesota, in 2001; a second edition followed in 2004.

In the chronology

Dated events connected with this theme, earliest first. See these 127 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Indigenous communities occupy the Eno River Valley Excavations at the Hogue and Wall sites on the Eno near Hillsborough show farming communities growing corn, beans and squash, first in small scattered settlements (Haw River phase, about 1000–1400) and then in compact palisaded villages (Hillsboro phase, about 1400–1600). The Wall site village held perhaps 100 to 150 people in the mid-1400s.Search the index · UNC Research Laboratories of Archaeology, Ancient North Carolinians: Central Piedmont
  2. The Occaneechi settle on the Eno near Hillsborough After leaving the Roanoke River valley in 1676, the Occaneechi built a town on the Eno River near present-day Hillsborough and lived there from about 1680 to 1710. It was a small stockaded village of ten or twelve houses and probably fewer than 75 people, and it was the town John Lawson visited in 1701. Archaeologists dug the whole village between 1983 and 1986 at a place they named the Fredricks site, and they call this period of Occaneechi life on the Eno the Fredricks phase. People: John LawsonAncient North Carolinians — Historic period
  3. Occaneechi Town on the Eno is largely abandoned By 1713, when the Occaneechi signed a peace treaty with Virginia at Williamsburg, their town on the Eno near present-day Hillsborough was almost empty. They moved north to Fort Christanna in Virginia, and some Saponi families later resettled in North Carolina.Excavating Occaneechi Town (UNC Press web edition): Pre-Revolutionary War
  4. Thomas Hart buys Joseph Maddock's mill on the Eno Joseph Maddock, a Quaker who had run the grist mill on the Eno west of Hillsborough since 1755, sold it to Thomas Hart, a friend of Governor William Tryon, who built it up with a sawmill, oil mill, fulling mill, distillery, tannery and other works. This is the mill, known as Hart's Mill, that a British guard held in February 1781. People: Thomas Hart, William TryonNC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources: Hart's Mill (G-122)
  5. Lee's Legion joins Pickens's militia camp after the Hart's Mill raid Later the same day as the Hart's Mill raid, Henry Lee's Legion, returning from beyond the Dan River with Greene's army, reached General Andrew Pickens's militia at a farm up Stony Creek, where the camp at first took the horsemen for Tarleton's cavalry. The combined force then went after Tarleton west of the Haw, the movement that led to Pyle's defeat. People: Andrew Pickens, Joseph Graham (1759-1836)Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements: Pension application of Joseph Graham S6937
  6. Patriots and Loyalists clash at Hart’s Mill At daybreak about 45 North Carolina cavalry under Captain Joseph Graham and mounted riflemen under Captain Richard Simmons, sent out by General Andrew Pickens, surprised the British guard of about 26 regulars and two Loyalists that was keeping Thomas Hart's mill on the Eno grinding for Cornwallis's army. Graham's accounts report the whole guard killed, wounded or captured with no Patriot dead, and the party reached Pickens's camp with its prisoners ahead of pursuing British cavalry. People: Andrew Pickens, Joseph Graham (1759-1836)Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements: Pension application of Joseph Graham S6937
  7. An equinoctial storm unroofs buildings and fells trees at Hillsborough After a long dry spell, a storm set in at Hillsborough on September 24 and peaked early on Saturday, September 28, when about two hours of violent east-southeast wind and rain unroofed one or two buildings, blew down chimney tops and left the streets filled with fallen trees. Orchards and woods around the town were flattened.Search the index · Hillsborough Recorder, October 2, 1822, p. 3
  8. Heavy rains break three mill dams near Chapel Hill After a week of almost constant rain, a storm on the night of Thursday, July 17, 1834, broke three mill dams in the Chapel Hill neighborhood, Meritt's, McCauley's and King's, washed away a large quantity of wheat and four or five hundred panels of fence, and damaged corn on the low grounds. The flood also carried off the water wheels of Samuel S. Clayter's wool-carding machine near the village, which he expected to replace within a few days.Search the index · The Harbinger (Chapel Hill), July 19, 1834, p. 3
  9. A great freshet sweeps away bridges and mill dams on New Hope and Morgan's creeks A tremendous rain south of Hillsborough carried away all the bridges on New Hope and Morgan's creeks, most of the mill dams and some of the mills, and badly damaged soil and fences. The Recorder called it the greatest freshet known in forty years.Search the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 7, 1840, p. 3
  10. Moses Ashley Curtis becomes rector of St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough Curtis, an Episcopal priest who had taught at the church school in Raleigh, accepted a call to St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough in June 1841. He did his botanical and fungus research from the town while serving the parish.Search the index · NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Curtis, Moses Ashley
  11. A storm and flood east of Chapel Hill wash away William Barbee's saw-mill A storm of wind, rain and hail struck the part of the county east of Chapel Hill along the New Hope waters, tearing up orchards and sweeping away fences and topsoil. William Barbee's saw-mill, called one of the largest in the county, was washed away and the dam of Mrs. Patterson's mill was carried off, with the streams four feet above the great April freshet of some years before. People: William BarbeeSearch the index · North Carolina Democrat (Hillsborough), May 16, 1849, p. 2
  12. A snowstorm leaves about a foot of snow at Hillsborough The first regular snowstorm of the winter left about a foot of snow at Hillsborough, which the editor judged the deepest in some thirty years.Search the index · Hillsborough Recorder, January 8, 1851, p. 3
Show all 127 dated events
  1. An Eno River flood sweeps away two bridges and breaks mill dams A heavy night rain raised the Eno River high enough to sweep away the bridge above Brown's mill and a temporary bridge lower down that Gen. Trolinger had built. The flood broke the dam at Mr. Faucett's mill, and the dam at George Ray's mill on Forrest's Creek was also washed away.Search the index · Hillsborough Recorder, July 11, 1855, p. 2
  2. A sixteen-inch snow and record cold kill three enslaved people in Orange Snow began on the night of Saturday, January 17, fell all day Sunday and lay sixteen inches deep by Monday morning; on Friday morning, January 23, the thermometer at Hillsborough stood at 13 degrees below zero, the worst cold Dennis Heartt had known in thirty-seven years there. Three enslaved people froze to death in the county: one held by Gray Barlee near Chapel Hill, one held by Samuel Thompson of Alamance near Mount Willing, and one held by Mrs. Parish near Hillsborough, who lost his way in an old field on Sunday evening while walking to his wife's house. People: Dennis HearttSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, January 21, 1857, p. 2
  3. A flood on the Eno sweeps away the Hillsborough bridge A heavy rainstorm that began on Wednesday, August 14, broke into a downpour between one and two o'clock the next afternoon and raised the Eno at Hillsborough eighteen inches to two feet above any level in years. The flood carried off the bridge at the town, and the editor heard that every bridge on the river had gone, with mill dams and bottomland crops ruined.Search the index · Hillsborough Recorder, August 21, 1867, p. 2
  4. Great freshet sweeps away bridges and mill dams across Orange A flood on the Eno, Little River and Flat River carried away bridges and mill dams, among them Thompson's, Berry's, Lyon's and Compton's dams on the Eno and all but one dam on Flat River, and ruined crops on the creek bottoms.Search the index · Hillsborough Recorder, June 1, 1870, p. 2
  5. A flood carries away the road bridge over the Eno at Hillsborough After a storm of thunder, lightning, rain and high wind on the night of Monday, March 1, 1875, the Eno rose higher than it had in many years and by Tuesday morning had swept away the town bridge at Hillsborough, and the river rose to within a few feet of the railroad bridge. The same flood took bridges across Caswell County. The new bridge over the Eno at McCown's mill, finished the year before and thought to be above the reach of any water, was also carried off, and in May the county commissioners ordered both rebuilt.Search the index · DigitalNC: The Daily Journal (Wilmington), March 5, 1875, p. 1 · Also: DigitalNC newspaper, March 9, 1875, p. 3; Hillsborough Recorder, March 3, 1875, p. 3; Hillsborough Recorder, March 10, 1875, p. 3; Hillsborough Recorder, May 5, 1875, p. 3
  6. A Hillsborough doctor has the picnic grounds and paths on Occoneechee Mountain put in order A Dr. Wilson raised money to fix up the picnic grounds near the mountain spring and the paths to Sofa Rock and the Panther's Den, so the town could reach them easily. The Orange County Observer thanked him for the people of Hillsboro.Search the index · DigitalNC: Orange County Observer, June 14, 1884, p. 3 · Also: The News and Observer (Raleigh), April 6, 1884, p. 2
  7. Heavy rains send the Eno to a record height at Hillsborough After heavy rain on August 10 and that night, the Eno at Hillsborough rose on the morning of August 11 to about eight inches above any level John Cheek, whose workshop stood near the bridge, had ever seen, and much damage to the corn crop was feared.Search the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), August 14, 1886, p. 3
  8. The Eno rises over the bridge at Hillsborough after eight days of rain After about eight days of nearly constant rain and sleet, the Eno at Hillsborough rose higher than it had in many years and by sundown on Monday was running over the bridge. It was back in its channel by the next morning, though the paper feared for crops still in the field.Search the index · Hillsboro Recorder, November 3, 1887, p. 3
  9. A night storm washes out a Cane Creek mill dam and sends the Eno to a six-year high A heavy thunder and rain storm on the night of May 11 did great damage in the Cane Creek country and other parts of the county, washing away the dam of the Company mill on Cane Creek and injuring lands and crops. At Hillsborough the Eno River rose several feet, its highest in six years.Search the index · Hillsboro Recorder, May 17, 1888, p. 3
  10. Forest fire destroys Eno Presbyterian Church Wind-driven woods fires on Saturday, April 1, 1893 burned the Eno Presbyterian church and its session house at the old site near the river. The loss preceded the congregation's move to Cedar Grove, where it built again in 1897 to 1899.Search the index · DigitalNC: Orange County Observer, April 8, 1893, p. 2 (A Fire Scourged Township, Cedar Grove letter of April 3) · Also: Kaye Graybeal, Cedar Grove district National Register nomination, 1997
  11. Hillsborough has its town pump water analyzed and the well cleaned Chemist H. B. Battle tested the water of Hillsborough's town pump on Churton Street and found too much mineral matter. The well was then cleaned out and the trough, the likely cause of excess chlorine, taken away.Search the index · DigitalNC: Orange County Observer, September 3, 1896, p. 3
  12. Eno Cotton Mill begins production Yarn production started late in the year.Eno River Mill — The Mill’s History
  13. The legislature funds university waterworks on Bowlin's Creek The General Assembly of 1899 gave $7,500 for university waterworks, with steam pumps on Bowlin's Creek about a mile and a half from the campus filling a tall tank that fed the buildings by gravity. The supply still fell short.Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 571
  14. William C. Coker begins turning a boggy pasture into the campus arboretum UNC's first professor of botany began developing a five-acre boggy pasture on the campus into an outdoor classroom for the study of trees, shrubs and vines native to North Carolina. From the 1920s through the 1940s he added many East Asian trees and shrubs.Search the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: Coker Arboretum
  15. Fire destroys the Chapel Hill waterworks station The pumping station that supplied water to the university and the town of Chapel Hill burned early on November 20, cause unknown, with a loss of $700 to $1,000 and no insurance. The water supply was cut off until a temporary pump was put in.Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 24, 1904, p. 3
  16. The state supreme court orders the Eno Cotton Mills to purify its waste or stop dumping it in the Eno On May 29 the North Carolina Supreme Court decided Durham's suit against the Eno Cotton Mills: the mill had to put in a crematory or other purifying plant at its own cost or be enjoined from emptying the sewage and dye refuse of the mill and its workers' houses into the Eno. The court ruled so although the mill stood about seventeen miles above Durham's intake and had been running before the city took water from the river, and mill owners across the state took note.Search the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 7, 1906, p. 3
  17. UNC sets up a separate botany department with Coker as its chair By 1908 William C. Coker, who had come to the university as an associate professor in 1902, was a full professor and chair of the newly established Botany Department, housed in Davie Hall.Search the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: William Chambers Coker
  18. Heavy rains flood Orange County, wrecking bridges and damaging the Eno Cotton Mills A week of heavy rains raised the county's rivers and creeks higher than in many years, ruined bottomland crops and tobacco, and carried away county bridges over New Hope Creek, the Eno above Dimock's mill and Little River, at a loss to the county of at least $2,000. In Hillsborough nearly every town bridge washed out and the county bridge was shifted on its base, while at the Eno Cotton Mills the railroad trestle was lost and floodwater did about $2,000 in damage.Search the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), September 3, 1908, p. 3
  19. Drought shrinks the University's water supply and delays the fall opening After four hot, dry months Strowd's Creek, the main water source, had dwindled, and plants in the arboretum died. On local health officials' advice Chase asked students not to arrive before October 4, when a temporary six-inch line to Morgan's Creek was due to be ready. People: Harry Woodburn ChaseHoward E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 243
  20. University Lake begins supplying Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina dammed Morgan Creek west of Carrboro to form University Lake, which began supplying water to the university and to Chapel Hill. The lake and about 500 acres of surrounding land remain in university ownership, with OWASA entitled to use the lake under contract.Orange Water and Sewer Authority: Capital Improvements Program Book FY24-28
  21. UNC trustees set aside Mason Farm land for a botanical garden The university's Board of Trustees allocated about 72 acres of its Mason Farm property for the North Carolina Botanical Garden, officially establishing it. Botanist H. R. Totten's efforts helped procure the site.Search the index · UNC Libraries: North Carolina Botanical Garden of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records, 1952-1997
  22. University Lake's spillway is partly filled to raise the lake a foot To add storage for the growing demands of the University, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the main spillway of University Lake was partly filled to raise the water a foot. A 1955 account noted that silt had cut the Morgan Creek inlet from six or seven feet deep to two or three since about 1948.The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 29, 1955, p. 8
  23. Daniel Okun heads UNC's Department of Sanitary Engineering Okun, who joined the UNC public health faculty in 1952, headed the Department of Sanitary Engineering from 1955 to 1973; it was renamed Environmental Sciences and Engineering in 1962, and it grew from three to 25 faculty members.Search the index · UNC Libraries: Daniel Alexander Okun Papers, 1933-2007
  24. Hillsborough's board votes to seek a $50,000 water bond election for an Eno River dam After a severe water shortage the summer before, Hillsborough's town commissioners voted unanimously to have the town attorneys arrange a bond election as soon as the law allowed, seeking $50,000 to dam the Eno River. In January engineer Thomas D. Rose had recommended a concrete dam of about $39,000 at the old Dimmock's Mill site above the water plant, which he said would store a hundred days' supply.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 10, 1955, p. 1
  25. Hillsborough sets its $50,000 water bond vote for the May town election Hillsborough's commissioners unanimously approved a bond ordinance putting $50,000 in water bonds, chiefly for a dam on the Eno River, to the voters at the regular town election on May 3. The town had published notice on March 3 of its application to the Local Government Commission.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 10, 1955, p. 1
  26. A windstorm blows down trees and damages roofs around Hillsboro High winds on a Tuesday afternoon blew down a large tree in a Hillsboro yard and damaged the roofs of several houses in Hillsboro and Efland, along with at least one television aerial.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 24, 1955, p. 1
  27. Forest fires burn across Orange County, some of them deliberately set Dry weather brought the worst outbreak of forest fires since the county forest office opened, and the first fires the county forester could call deliberately set. About 95 acres burned in four blazes on the 900-acre Strickland tract in the St. Mary's community, all traced to slab piles, and a fire on Bruce Strowd's land on Collins Creek below White Cross burned about 40 acres of timber. Burning permits were cancelled until light rain came on April 6.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 7, 1955, p. 1
  28. Hillsboro voters approve $50,000 in water bonds to build a dam for more water storage Hillsboro voters approved, 293 to 13, a $50,000 water bond issue that the town commissioners had passed as an ordinance on March 8. The money was to buy land and build a dam for added water supply and storage and to lay new mains, after the 1954 drought had driven water levels to record lows and forced strict restrictions on the town.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 5, 1955, p. 1
  29. Hillsboro buys 41 acres on the Eno River for its new water supply dam Town officials completed the purchase of 41 acres on the Eno River from the heirs of J. W. Koon for $4,500, the site for a dam to store water for Hillsboro. The land lay near the old Dimock's mill west of the Eno Mill village. The town advertised for bids on a concrete dam, to be opened June 7; engineer Thomas Rose estimated a long, narrow lake reaching about a mile and a quarter up the Eno and up Seven Mile Creek that would hold enough water for about 100 days without rain.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 19, 1955, p. 1
  30. Hillsboro awards the contract for its Eno River water supply dam Meeting Tuesday night, the Hillsboro town board accepted the low bid of William Muirhead Construction, just under $50,000, to build a dam on the Eno River at the J. W. Koon estate, paid for by the $50,000 in water bonds voters had recently approved. The dam was to hold about 20 million gallons, some 100 days' supply at the town's rate of use, and Muirhead promised to finish in 140 days.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 16, 1955, p. 1
  31. Hillsboro pours the last section of its new Eno River dam Crews began pouring concrete for the final section of the new dam the Town of Hillsboro was building on the Eno River for water storage. Two sections already reached the south bank, and the river was to be rerouted before the last pour was finished.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 22, 1955, p. 1
  32. Hillsboro finishes its new dam on the Eno River west of town The last section of Hillsboro's new dam on the Eno River, just west of the town water plant, was poured in the first week of October 1955. With only smoothing and cleanup left, the town planned to close the flood gates within a day or two and let the new lake fill until water ran over the broad spillway.Search the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 13, 1955, p. 1
  33. UNC considers the Jordan Reservoir for its water and Okun argues for Cane Creek While Okun was on sabbatical in 1961 the university began considering the Jordan Reservoir as a water source; on his return he persuaded the board that Cane Creek, which his students had studied in the 1950s, was the better site.Search the index · The Carolina Story: Cane Creek Reservoir (Water at UNC-Chapel Hill)
  34. William Lanier Hunt gives 103 acres of the Morgan Creek gorge to UNC Hunt gave UNC and the state about 103 acres of creek gorge and Catawba rhododendron bluffs along Morgan Creek, which became the William Lanier Hunt Arboretum, part of the North Carolina Botanical Garden lands.Search the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: A Conservation Garden: The North Carolina Botanical Garden at 50 (1966-2016), Vol. I
  35. UNC completes Coker Hall and names it for William C. Coker The university completed a new building in 1963 and named it Coker Hall for William Chambers Coker, Kenan professor of botany and long-time head of the buildings and grounds committee.Search the index · Carolina Story: Virtual Museum of University History: William Coker (1872-1953) and Coker Hall
  36. The Botanical Garden Foundation is incorporated, with William Lanier Hunt as its founder Hunt, a member of the garden's advisory board, led the effort to form a private foundation to raise money, hold land and speak for the North Carolina Botanical Garden. At its first annual meeting in 1967 he was elected its first president, and 291 people and 18 organizations joined as charter members.Search the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: NCBGF Foundation History
  37. The Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley forms Residents who had begun organizing in 1965 against plans to dam the Eno for a water-supply reservoir formed the Association for the Preservation of the Eno River Valley on October 14, 1966. Led by Margaret and Holger Nygard, it began the campaign that preserved the river corridor in Durham and Orange counties. People: Margaret Nygard, Holger NygardEno River Association: ERA Through the Eras, Beginnings of the Eno River Association
  38. The Army Corps of Engineers is buying land for the New Hope Reservoir southeast of Chapel Hill Planners presenting options for the area south of Morgan Creek in October 1967 noted that the Corps was acquiring land for the New Hope Reservoir. The reservoir lands were to take in the Morgan Creek valley farther east, and the flood pool would reach University land around Finley Golf Course, so the planners treated the reservoir as the outer limit for any loop road south of town.Search the index · Research Triangle Regional Planning Commission, Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Development Alternatives (1969), scan p. 66
  39. Drought drops University Lake to a sixth of its normal level and forces water rationing With the lake nearly empty, the university spent about $100,000 on a pipe connecting Chapel Hill to Durham's water system and bought Durham water. Lawn watering and car washing were banned under penalty of fine, and there was concern that classes would be suspended before levels recovered by the end of 1969. People: J. Carlyle SittersonCarolina Story, Virtual Museum of University History (UNC): Droughts, 1960s-1970s
  40. Engineering study for UNC recommends a reservoir on Cane Creek After the 1968 drought left University Lake dangerously low, a study sponsored by the University of North Carolina and conducted by the engineering firm Hazen and Sawyer recommended damming Cane Creek. The Haw River, the proposed Jordan reservoir, an enlarged University Lake and the Eno were among the alternatives set aside. People: Daniel A. OkunCaselaw Access Project: In re Appeal from Environmental Management Commission, 53 N.C. App. 135 (1981)
  41. Azalea Hill, designed by William Lanier Hunt, is planted at the Botanical Garden The garden's first specific planting project, sponsored by the Men's Garden Club of Chapel Hill and designed by Hunt, neared completion as work-study students under Ken Moore set native azaleas along a new trail.Search the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: A Conservation Garden: The North Carolina Botanical Garden at 50 (1966-2016), Vol. I
  42. The Hill family sells parts of Riverbend Farm for Eno River State Park In the 1970s and 1980s the Hills sold portions of their acreage along the Eno to the new state park, leaving about 27 acres with the house.NC State Historic Preservation Office: Cabe-Pratt-Harris House, National Register nomination (OR0656), p. 12
  43. The governor appoints a commission to study the future of the university's water and sewer systems Governor Robert W. Scott named a Utilities Study Commission to weigh whether the University of North Carolina should keep, sell or otherwise dispose of the water and sewer systems it operated for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. On May 28, 1976 the commission concluded that divesting most of the university's utility holdings was the best course. People: Robert W. ScottOrange Water and Sewer Authority: Learn (History of OWASA)
  44. Rogers Road landfill opens Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County opened a shared, unlined county landfill on Eubanks Road, built in late 1972 beside the historically Black Rogers-Eubanks community, whose residents were told it would close after about ten years. It was expanded repeatedly and ran for 41 years, closing in June 2013. People: Howard N. LeeThe Daily Tar Heel: Orange County landfill to close this weekend (June 26, 2013)
  45. The State Board of Conservation and Development endorses a state park on the Eno Won over by the Eno River Association, the board approved the idea of a state park along the river in Orange and Durham counties. Soon afterward The Nature Conservancy bought the 300-acre Red Hills Farm and passed it to the state as the first park land.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
  46. Eno River State Park is created After years of citizen opposition to damming the Eno for a reservoir, Governor James Holshouser accepted the first tracts for Eno River State Park in June 1973, including 90 acres donated by Dr. and Mrs. Frederick Bernheim. The first 1,000 acres opened to the public in 1975 along the river in Orange and Durham counties. People: Margaret NygardEno River Association: ERA Through the Eras, Creation of the Eno River State Park and West Point on the Eno City Park
  47. Botanists list Occoneechee Mountain as a potential ecological natural landmark A. E. Radford and D. L. Martin included the mountain in their 1975 survey of potential ecological natural landmarks of the Piedmont. UNC botany graduate student R. David Whetstone then studied its north-facing slopes in 1974-1977 to confirm its value.Search the index · R. Marina Riley, A Strategy to Protect the Environmental and Cultural Values of Occoneechee Mountain in Orange County, North Carolina (1994), scan p. 23
  48. Orange County and the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro create the Orange Water and Sewer Authority The Orange County Board of Commissioners and the governing boards of Chapel Hill and Carrboro incorporated OWASA under Chapter 162A of the North Carolina General Statutes. It was created as a public body to acquire, consolidate and operate the three existing water and sewer systems serving the area.Orange Water and Sewer Authority: Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, fiscal year 2024
  49. State planners show three Eno River park plans at a Hillsborough public meeting The Division of Parks and Recreation presented three versions of a river park running about eighteen miles from Guess Road west to near Hillsborough. Landowners along the western river in Orange County objected, above all to the state's use of eminent domain against unwilling sellers.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
  50. Orange County forms an Eno River task force, and state park planning stops The county formally created a task force to weigh the aims of private owners against protection of the river. At the request of county officials the state put its park planning on hold.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
  51. Cane Creek is chosen as the site of a new reservoir and area landowners organize against it A consultant's feasibility study concluded that Cane Creek, west of Carrboro, was the best site for a reservoir to supplement University Lake, and OWASA began assembling land there. Cane Creek residents and farmers formed a conservation group and fought the project in court for years, arguing that it would destroy farms and hasten the decline of agriculture and that expanding University Lake had not been properly considered. People: Daniel A. OkunANCHOR, A North Carolina History Online Resource: Cane Creek Reservoir
  52. Orange County adopts a policy for protecting the Eno River After its task force reported in May 1976, still split over eminent domain, the county adopted a statement calling for permanent protection of the river through both state park ownership and restricted private ownership, backed by conservation zoning and easements. It asked the state to use condemnation only to protect the river, not to enlarge the park.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
  53. An erosion control officer joins the Orange County planning department After the county adopted an erosion control ordinance, an erosion control officer joined the planning department in March 1976, and builders now had to get an erosion control permit before a building permit.Search the index · Orange County Planning Department, A Planning/Management Process for Orange County, North Carolina, with Recommendations for Sound Land Development (1976), scan p. 23
  54. The Totten Center opens at the North Carolina Botanical Garden The garden's administrative and interpretive building, its first permanent building, opened in 1976. A bequest from the estate of Henry Roland and Adelaide Totten made it possible, and it was named for them. People: Addie Williams TottenSearch the index · UNC Libraries: North Carolina Botanical Garden of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records, 1952-1997 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, September 14, 1976, p. 3
  55. The state approves conveying the university's water and wastewater systems to OWASA The Governor and Council of State approved the conveyance of the University of North Carolina's water and wastewater utilities to OWASA under Agreements of Sale and Purchase among the university, the two towns and the authority. The university's Board of Trustees had approved the conveyance on June 11, 1976.Orange Water and Sewer Authority: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, fiscal year 2007
  56. Seven landowners near Hillsborough sue to stop the Eno River State Park plan Just as master planning resumed, seven landowners near Hillsborough sued the state, arguing that adopting a park master plan would be an unlawful taking of their property. A restraining order and injunction halted the planning for more than two years.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
  57. Severe drought creates a local water crisis A drought from August 1976 to January 1977 forced Chapel Hill and UNC to buy more water from Durham, ban unnecessary water use and cut campus services. By August 1977 University Lake was lower still, and the new Orange Water and Sewer Authority kept conservation rules and used federal drought aid to buy Durham water.Daily Tar Heel, August 25, 1977, p. 63: Droughts not new to Chapel Hill
  58. UNC trustees approve a Cane Creek pipeline on OWASA's recommendation With University Lake 64 inches below capacity, the UNC Board of Trustees approved an $824,450 pipeline and small temporary dam to draw water from Cane Creek, described as a step toward the planned reservoir. OWASA, due to take over the University water system in January 1977, recommended the Cane Creek project over alternatives that included pumping raw water from the Haw River to a treatment plant.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Board of Trustees approve $824,000 pipeline from Cane Creek, October 11, 1976
  59. Orange Grove residents form the Cane Creek Conservation Authority Farm families around Cane Creek organized the Cane Creek Conservation Authority to stop the dam and elected 23-year-old dairy farmer Bobby Kirk president; the group had about 100 active members and said 12 dairy farms would be affected. It argued that the reservoir would end farming in the area, that owners had not been consulted, and that Jordan Lake and other sources were alternatives. People: Bobby KirkDaily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Area groups opposed to planned Cane Creek reservoir, December 6, 1976
  60. OWASA commenced operations, taking over the water and sewer systems of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and the university The three separately owned systems serving the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Carrboro were transferred to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority, which began serving the whole Carrboro and Chapel Hill community as a single public utility that day.Orange Water and Sewer Authority: Learn (History of OWASA)
  61. Court of Appeals lets OWASA survey Cane Creek land over owners' objections Landowners including the estate of Nancy Armstrong had refused OWASA's surveyors access to the dam site. After a trial court ordered access on April 28, 1977, the N.C. Court of Appeals held that the authority could enter and survey before starting eminent domain proceedings.Caselaw Access Project: Orange Water & Sewer Authority v. Estate of Armstrong, 34 N.C. App. 162 (1977)
  62. OWASA asks the state for power to condemn Cane Creek land OWASA petitioned the N.C. Environmental Management Commission for a certificate authorizing eminent domain for the Cane Creek reservoir, which would need about 700 acres of mostly woodland and prime farmland. The commission held a seven-day hearing between April and June 1978.Caselaw Access Project: In re Appeal from Environmental Management Commission, 53 N.C. App. 135 (1981)
  63. Hillsborough's new wastewater treatment plant goes into service The town's tertiary treatment plant on the south side of the Eno east of town, rated at 1.5 million gallons a day, began operating, ending the overloads behind earlier violations of the river's water standards.Search the index · N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 23
  64. The state Supreme Court refuses the Eno park landowners' appeal By denying discretionary review of a Court of Appeals ruling for the state, the North Carolina Supreme Court ended the injunction against Eno River State Park planning. Work on the master plan resumed the next month.N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, Eno River State Park Master Plan (1979), scan p. 10
  65. State commission overrules its hearing panel and backs condemnation A three-member Environmental Management Commission panel recommended in March 1979 that OWASA be denied the certificate, but the full commission adopted the minority report and granted it. The Daily Tar Heel reported this was the first time the full commission had gone against a panel's recommendation.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Dam delayed in planning stages, August 2, 1979
  66. The first Festival for the Eno is held The Eno River Association held the first Festival for the Eno on July 4, 1980, at West Point on the Eno, a Durham city park on the river. The yearly festival of traditional music, crafts and trades raises money for land protection in the Eno River basin.Eno River Association: ERA Through the Eras, Creation of the Eno River State Park and West Point on the Eno City Park
  67. Army Corps of Engineers issues the federal permit for the Cane Creek dam The Corps' district engineer issued OWASA a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit to place fill for the dam on the same day the Court of Appeals voided the state certificate. The permit was set to expire on August 31, 1982 unless construction had begun.Caselaw Access Project: Cane Creek Conservation Authority v. Orange Water and Sewer Authority, 590 F. Supp. 1123 (M.D.N.C. 1984)
  68. Court of Appeals throws out the state's approval of the Cane Creek project On appeal by the Cane Creek Conservation Authority, several landowners and Teer Farms, the N.C. Court of Appeals vacated the commission's certificate, which Wake County Superior Court had upheld on March 5, 1980. It held that the decision needed an environmental impact statement under the state Environmental Policy Act and a review of the whole record, and sent the case back to the commission.Caselaw Access Project: In re Appeal from Environmental Management Commission, 53 N.C. App. 135 (1981)
  69. Opponents sue in federal court, arguing the dam permit has lapsed The Cane Creek Conservation Authority filed suit in U.S. District Court claiming OWASA's Corps permit expired on August 31, 1982 because no fill had actually been placed at the site. OWASA said its preliminary work before the deadline kept the permit valid. People: Sam CrawfordDaily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Fights on to stop OWASA dam, October 20, 1982
  70. OWASA agrees to buy the Stanford dairy farm at the dam site The same day the commission ruled, OWASA agreed to buy 267 acres of the dam site from dairy farmers William and Joyce Stanford for about $1.28 million, bringing it to 60 percent of the 728 acres it needed. Between 20 and 25 of the 48 affected landowners had sold by then.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): OWASA buys 60 percent of land needed for Cane Creek reservoir, October 18, 1983
  71. State commission grants OWASA condemnation power for the third time After a second hearing in late 1982, the Environmental Management Commission reissued OWASA's certificate in March 1983, a Wake County Superior Court judge sent it back, and on October 13 the commission reinstated OWASA's power of eminent domain. Mike Teer, by then president of the Cane Creek Conservation Authority, said the group would appeal.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): OWASA wins Cane Creek right, October 14, 1983
  72. OWASA buys out most of the Cane Creek landowners By April 1986 OWASA owned 48 of the 50 parcels needed for the reservoir, almost all bought through negotiated sales. Sam Crawford recalled an opening offer of $500 an acre that rose to about $3,500 to $3,600, and that his family lost 50 acres, including their biggest field. People: Sam CrawfordDaily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): N.C. Court of Appeals upholds (Valerie Stegall), April 4, 1986
  73. Federal court dismisses the opponents' permit suits for lack of standing The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina dismissed the two suits brought by the Cane Creek Conservation Authority and Teer Farms, finding they alleged only a general fear of environmental loss rather than a direct injury. The court noted that OWASA had so far acquired all its land through voluntary purchases.Caselaw Access Project: Cane Creek Conservation Authority v. Orange Water and Sewer Authority, 590 F. Supp. 1123 (M.D.N.C. 1984)
  74. Cane Creek Conservation Authority members go to the General Assembly to oppose an OWASA bill Fifteen members of the Cane Creek Conservation Authority traveled to the legislature to oppose a bill OWASA sought to settle its outstanding court cases and widen its authority.Search the index · Documenting the American South: Oral history interview with Sam Crawford, October 26, 1985 (K-0006)
  75. OWASA builds a temporary impoundment on Cane Creek During a water shortage OWASA built a temporary impoundment at the Cane Creek site as an emergency water source, while the permanent dam was still being designed.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Amy Weisner on the Cane Creek Reservoir, April 13, 1988
  76. Court of Appeals upholds OWASA's right to condemn the Teer land The N.C. Court of Appeals affirmed the commission's 1983 certificate against an appeal by the Cane Creek Conservation Authority and Teer Farms, ruling among other points that water quality was a proper factor. The Daily Tar Heel reported that the case turned on two parcels owned by dairy farmer Thomas Teer, the last two of the 50 parcels OWASA needed.Caselaw Access Project: In re Appeal from Environmental Management Commission, 80 N.C. App. 1 (1986)
  77. Orange County Rural Buffer is established Orange County adopted the Orange County-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan and map on August 19, 1986, designating a low-density Rural Buffer. The three governments signed the Joint Planning Agreement on November 2, 1987, and the county dates the buffer to 1988.Search the index · Town of Chapel Hill: Joint Planning Agreement (Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro), November 2, 1987, as amended
  78. OWASA breaks ground for the Cane Creek dam OWASA held a groundbreaking for the Cane Creek Reservoir, designed by Hazen and Sawyer: a 72-foot-high, 1,350-foot earthen dam on a 760-acre site, with a 480-acre lake holding 3 billion gallons. Completion was scheduled for June 1989.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Scott Greig on the Cane Creek groundbreaking, January 26, 1987
  79. A countywide inventory of natural areas singles out Occoneechee Mountain Dawson Sather and Stephen Hall's inventory of Orange County's natural areas and wildlife habitats, sponsored by the Triangle Land Conservancy and the state Natural Heritage Program, identified 64 sites, among them Occoneechee Mountain and four other places on the Eno outside the state park.Search the index · R. Marina Riley, A Strategy to Protect the Environmental and Cultural Values of Occoneechee Mountain in Orange County, North Carolina (1994), scan p. 15
  80. Cane Creek Reservoir is filled OWASA completed and filled the reservoir on Cane Creek west of Carrboro, adding roughly three billion gallons of storage drawn from a 32 square mile drainage area. Before it came online OWASA's estimated dependable yield was about two million gallons a day, and the 1980s had brought repeated mandatory restrictions and purchases of water from neighboring utilities.Orange Water and Sewer Authority: Asset Management Plan, FY2020
  81. Randee Haven-O'Donnell is named Soil and Water Conservation Teacher of the Year Haven-O'Donnell, who taught in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, was named Orange County and North Carolina Soil and Water Conservation Teacher of the Year.Search the index · Town of Carrboro: Council Member Randee Haven-O'Donnell (Internet Archive capture)
  82. The Eno River Association buys timber rights on Occoneechee Mountain To stop logging on about 96 acres along the summit, where the mountain's rarest plant communities grow, the association bought the timber rights the owners had sold to a timber company, holding them for 18 months while it negotiated to buy the land.R. Marina Riley, A Strategy to Protect the Environmental and Cultural Values of Occoneechee Mountain in Orange County, North Carolina (1994), scan p. 27
  83. Piedmont Minerals grants easements for an Occoneechee Mountain parking lot and trail The mining company, which owned about 40 acres on the mountain's north side, gave easements for a one-acre parking lot on the floodplain by SR 1148 and a narrow trail linking it to the Town of Hillsborough's 28-acre Occoneechee Park.R. Marina Riley, A Strategy to Protect the Environmental and Cultural Values of Occoneechee Mountain in Orange County, North Carolina (1994), scan p. 25
  84. Gold family donates future park land The donation supplied land later developed as Gold Park.Search the index · Eno River Mill — The Mill’s History
  85. Hurricane Fran strikes Orange County Hurricane Fran came ashore on the night of September 5, 1996 and crossed to the Triangle overnight. In Chapel Hill winds topped 70 mph, falling trees caused about 29,000 power outages and UNC cancelled classes, and the Eno at Hillsborough hit a record flow. No one in Orange County was killed.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): front page, September 9, 1996
  86. Hurricane Fran causes about 29,000 power outages in Chapel Hill Trees on power lines caused about 29,000 outages in Chapel Hill; more than 12,000 residents were still without electricity on Sunday evening, September 8, and about 10,000 on Monday afternoon. Duke Power had 1,800 workers plus 1,000 on loan from other utilities in the area and expected to restore Chapel Hill by the middle or end of that week.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Thousands still in dark after outages, September 9, 1996
  87. Hurricane Fran fells old trees on UNC's north campus Fran brought down several roughly 200-year-old trees around New West Hall and left North Campus and Cameron Avenue covered in fallen trees, while the Davie Poplar survived. University power came back within hours, and Sitterson Hall opened as a place for people to recharge batteries, get ice and water and shower.UNC Computer Science: Alumni Newsletter Issue 18 (Fall 1996)
  88. Mayor Rosemary Waldorf declares a state of emergency in Chapel Hill after Hurricane Fran Waldorf declared a town state of emergency on Friday, September 6, because of storm damage and power outages, and residents were urged to stay home; UNC cancelled Friday classes at 3 a.m. She partially lifted the emergency at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 10, keeping it in force where utility crews were still working.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Mayor: Chapel Hill no longer in state of emergency, September 11, 1996
  89. OWASA issues a boil-water advisory after Hurricane Fran knocks out its pumping The Orange Water and Sewer Authority told Chapel Hill and Carrboro customers to boil water from Friday evening, September 6, after its University Lake pump station lost power and the system lost pressure, and the wastewater plant flooded. The advisory was lifted at 1:50 p.m. Monday, September 9, after lab tests found no contamination; the area drew emergency water from Durham, and a conservation order was lifted soon after.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): OWASA boil-water advisory lifted, September 10, 1996
  90. The Eno River at Hillsborough reaches its highest recorded flow during Hurricane Fran The USGS gauge on the Eno River at Hillsborough recorded a peak of 10,800 cubic feet per second at a gauge height of 21.13 feet, the largest peak in its record until Tropical Storm Chantal in July 2025.USGS: Peak streamflow, Eno River at Hillsborough (02085000)
  91. UNC suspends afternoon classes for a campuswide Hurricane Fran cleanup Chancellor Michael Hooker suspended classes from noon on Wednesday so students, faculty and staff could clear storm debris. Nearly 1,000 students reported to the Old Well within the first hour, working with University forester Kirk Pelland's crews, and Coker Arboretum staff expected their cleanup to run into the winter. People: Michael HookerDaily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): University community unites to tidy up Fran's mess, September 12, 1996
  92. A 70-foot oak weakened by Hurricane Fran falls on Venable Hall A 70-foot white oak fell against Venable Hall at about 2:10 p.m., damaging handrails on the building's steps; no one was hurt. University forester Kirk Pelland said Fran's winds and Wednesday's heavy rain had left many old campus trees at risk, and Executive Vice Chancellor Elson Floyd asked people to report damaged trees to the Grounds Division. People: Elson S. FloydDaily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): front page, September 13, 1996
  93. Carrboro aldermen take up a tree-cutter registration plan after Hurricane Fran scams The Board of Aldermen discussed asking tree removal workers to identify themselves at town hall before starting work, after Mayor Mike Nelson cited a resident who paid $800 in advance to remove Fran-felled trees and the workers did not return. Staff were to bring a formal proposal to the next meeting. People: Mike Nelson, Hilliard CaldwellDaily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Aldermen look to protect residents from tree scams, September 19, 1996
  94. Chapel Hill building inspectors count homes destroyed and damaged by Hurricane Fran The town's Building Inspection Department reported four homes near Airport Road, Homestead Road and Culbreth Road destroyed, 391 homes with major damage and 222 with minor damage.Daily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Mayor: Chapel Hill no longer in state of emergency, September 11, 1996
  95. Duke Forest closes and salvages timber after Hurricane Fran Fran brought down more than 1,400 trees across 35 miles of Duke Forest roads, damaged the Bobby Ross Jr. Memorial Picnic Shelter and a research tower in the Blackwood Division, and kept parts of the forest closed for three to six months. A helicopter crew salvaged about 800,000 board feet from 163 acres within two weeks, and salvage through summer 1998 recovered 2 million board feet from 540 acres, worth about $260,000.Duke Forest: Hurricane Fran: Looking Back after 25 Years
  96. Orange Regional Landfill takes Hurricane Fran yard waste free as Chapel Hill faces tens of thousands of tons of debris The Orange Regional Landfill on Eubanks Road accepted yard waste at no charge until further notice. Town Manager Cal Horton estimated Chapel Hill had 25,000 to 40,000 tons of fallen limbs and trees and said the town would eventually remove curbside debris, while urging residents to haul debris to the landfill themselves. People: Cal HortonDaily Tar Heel (DigitalNC): Officials: cleanup process efficient, September 11, 1996
  97. The Botanical Garden gives William Lanier Hunt its Flora Caroliniana Award The North Carolina Botanical Garden presented Hunt with its Flora Caroliniana Award as founder of the Botanical Garden Foundation, land donor and supporter of the garden, the day before he died.Search the index · North Carolina Botanical Garden: A Conservation Garden: The North Carolina Botanical Garden at 50 (1966-2016), Vol. I
  98. Occoneechee Mountain becomes a State Natural Area At the urging of the Eno River Association and The Nature Conservancy, the state began buying land on Occoneechee Mountain just south of Hillsborough, with the Conservancy purchasing 96 acres for the state. The 124-acre Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area was dedicated on July 20, 1999, with a blessing from an Occaneechi tribal member.Search the index · Eno River Association: Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area
  99. Reviewers deny the OWASA Jones Ferry Road water plant a place on the Study List The Orange Water and Sewer Authority's Jones Ferry Road Water Treatment Plant was among five central region requests on July 10, 1997. Staff recommended denial because of modern alterations, and the committee accepted the staff recommendations without separate discussion of the plant.NC State Historic Preservation Office: National Register Advisory Committee agendas, minutes and approved lists, p. 737
  100. Orange County purchases Blackwood Farm Orange County purchased the 152-acre farm from Nannie and Mary Blackwood.Search the index · PBS North Carolina
  101. Occaneechi Homeland Preservation Project begins In 2002, the year North Carolina recognized the tribe, the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation began buying back ancestral land through the Occaneechi Homeland Preservation Project. Its first purchase, a 25-acre parcel in Alamance County, followed in 2004, and a later phase funded by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund planned heritage farms linked to the tribe's reconstructed 1680 village.UNC Libraries: John Hayles Blackfeather Jeffries Collection on Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, 1950-2017
  102. Occoneechee Speedway is listed in the National Register The 44-acre Occoneechee Speedway site near Hillsborough, acquired by preservationists from the France and Staley families in 1997, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 2002. It is the only surviving dirt track from NASCAR's inaugural 1949 season.National Park Service NPGallery: Occoneechee Speedway, NRIS 02000435
  103. Historic Occoneechee Speedway trail opens to the public A public walking trail opened in 2003 on the Occoneechee Speedway site near Hillsborough, crossing the surviving clay oval of the old NASCAR track. The landowner, the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust (later the Jenrette Foundation), built it with the volunteer Historic Speedway Group.NC State Parks: Historic Occoneechee Speedway Added to Eno River State Park (January 28, 2025)
  104. Randee Haven-O'Donnell is elected to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen After serving on the Carrboro Planning Board and other town advisory boards, Haven-O'Donnell won a seat on the Board of Aldermen in 2005, the first of five consecutive terms. She had moved to Carrboro in 1978 and taught in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.Search the index · Town of Carrboro: Council Member Randee Haven-O'Donnell (Internet Archive capture)
  105. OWASA gives Daniel Okun a lifetime achievement award The Orange Water and Sewer Authority gave Okun a lifetime achievement award in 2006; the school credits him with leading the campaign to build the Cane Creek Dam and Reservoir in the 1980s.Search the index · UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health: Okun remembered for pioneering work in water engineering
  106. Rogers–Eubanks Coalition to End Environmental Racism organizes Residents of the Rogers Road and Eubanks Road neighborhood formed the Rogers-Eubanks Coalition to End Environmental Racism in 2007. At the September 20, 2007 Assembly of Governments meeting, member Neloa Jones asked officials to drop the neighborhood as a transfer station site, end solid-waste operations there by November 2009, and provide water and sewer service. People: Robert CampbellThe Carrboro Citizen: County delays waste transfer station plan (September 27, 2007)
  107. Daniel Okun dies in Chapel Hill Okun, Kenan Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, died in Chapel Hill of complications of leukemia at age 90.Search the index · The Carrboro Citizen: Daniel Okun (topic page)
  108. Rogers Road landfill closes The landfill closed at noon on Saturday, June 29, 2013 after 41 years, with a ceremony at which Rogers Road residents symbolically locked the service entrance. The closure plan called for a synthetic cap covered with soil and vegetation, vented so that the county's methane recovery system, which feeds power to UNC buildings, could keep running. People: Robert CampbellThe Daily Tar Heel: Orange County landfill to close this weekend
  109. Carrboro accepts a community climate action plan The Board of Aldermen accepted a plan setting out steps residents could take to cut greenhouse gas emissions, extending the Energy and Climate Protection Plan the town had adopted in 2014 for its own operations. The two plans aimed at an 80 percent cut from 2010 emission levels by 2030. Sammy Slade was the board's leading advocate for the town's climate policy.Search the index · Town of Carrboro: Community Climate Action Plan
  110. Horace Williams Airport closes UNC closed Horace Williams Airport on May 15, 2018, under a November 2017 trustees resolution, citing money lost running the field and at least $1 million in needed runway repairs. The airfield dated to 1928 and had trained Navy pre-flight cadets during World War II; the Carolina North campus once planned for the site had stalled.In the index: Horace Williams Airport (Chapel Hill, N.C.) · UNC Auxiliary Services: UNC-Chapel Hill's Horace Williams Airport Closes (May 10, 2018)
  111. Reconstructed Occaneechi Village is rededicated The Occaneechi replica village in River Park was rededicated after about five years of work by tribal members, volunteers, town and county staff and the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough. It includes a palisade, four huts, a work arbor, fire pit, lean-to and cooking table.Triangle on the Cheap: Rededication of Occaneechi Replica Village in Hillsborough April 23
  112. Sammy Slade announces he will not seek reelection to the Carrboro Town Council As candidate filing opened, Slade said he would step back after fourteen years, writing that he had believed local action was where representation could happen most authentically but that local government, operating within the same system, was no longer where he could help mitigate climate change.Search the index · Chapelboro: Sammy Slade Set to Leave Carrboro Town Council After 14 Years
  113. Occoneechee Speedway joins Eno River State Park North Carolina finalized the addition of more than 200 acres near Hillsborough, including the Historic Occoneechee Speedway trail and the James M. Johnston Nature Preserve, to Eno River State Park. The Eno River Association had arranged the sale from the Jenrette Foundation, formerly the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust.NC State Parks: Historic Occoneechee Speedway Added to Eno River State Park (January 28, 2025)
  114. Tropical Storm Chantal floods Orange County Chantal dropped up to 10 inches of rain on Orange County on the night of July 6, 2025. Chapel Hill crews made more than 50 water rescues around Camelot Village and Eastgate Crossing, Carrboro's Weatherhill Pointe flooded, and the Eno at Hillsborough set a record crest on July 7. The county declared an emergency that day.Search the index · Orange County, NC Emergency Operations Center: Tropical Storm Chantal Executive Summary #8 (September 4, 2025)
  115. Randee Haven-O'Donnell announces she will not seek reelection to the Carrboro Town Council Ending twenty years on the town's governing board, Haven-O'Donnell said she was encouraging new voices and would turn to organizing and advocacy on reproductive rights, tenants' rights, stormwater, water quality and PFAS pollution. Chapelboro noted that during her service the council approved the South Green development, a community safety task force and greenway projects.Search the index · Chapelboro: Carrboro Town Councilor Randee Haven-O'Donnell Won't Seek Reelection

Places in this theme

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 14 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange and OpenStreetMap; town and community pins mark the middle of their mapped buildings.

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Research sources

Resources picked for this theme, each with a note on what it holds.

Background

National Register files

Historic sites, markers, and maps

Records of the time

Collections and databases 7

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Local help 6

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Background reading at OCPL

Held in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection. Selected because their titles or catalog subjects provide wider historical context for this theme; they may not discuss the Orange County theme directly.

  • Background reading · Rebecca Wall Collection Exploring North Carolina's Natural Areas: Parks, Nature Preserves, and Hiking Trails 2000

    Driving tours of the state's natural areas, 38 in all, written by naturalists from across the state and edited by Dirk Frankenberg, a marine sciences professor at UNC Chapel Hill. Grouped by the coast, the coastal plain, the Piedmont and the mountains, each tour follows a route of thirty to seventy miles linking parks, preserves, hiking and nature trails and scenic overlooks. UNC Press, 2000, 412 pages with 42 maps.

    Subjects in the Library of Congress catalog record: Natural areas -- North Carolina -- Guidebooks; Natural history -- North Carolina -- Guidebooks; Ecotourism -- North Carolina OCPL call number: 508.756 EXP
  • Background reading · Rebecca Wall Collection Down Along the Haw: The History of A North Carolina River Cassebaum, Anne Melyn · 2011

    Anne Melyn Cassebaum follows the Haw River from its seeps in Forsyth and Guilford counties past the cotton mills of Alamance and the whitewater and Jordan Lake of Chatham, then down the Cape Fear to the sea. Her history draws on interviews with mill owners and hands, archaeologists, farmers, environmentalists and water-treatment managers, and closes with a list of citizen groups working for the river. McFarland, 2011; 229 pages with maps and portraits.

    Subjects in the Library of Congress catalog record: Haw River Valley (N.C.) -- History; Human ecology -- North Carolina -- Haw River Valley; Stream ecology -- North Carolina -- Haw River (River) OCPL call number: NC 975.658 CASSEBAU

Search the Wall Collection for related books →

Related themes

UNC & Campus Life →Growth, Land & Planning →Roads, Rail & Transportation →Schools & Education →Buildings & Preservation →

Picture: CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Image credits →

More to discover

Keep Reading Local

The Friends connect people with new library materials, local writers and publishers, and resources documenting Orange County.

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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