Downtown Chapel Hill
A brief history

The Town of Chapel Hill was created in the late 18th century as a result of the formation of the University of North Carolina, the nation's oldest state university, in 1793. Its name is derived from the New Hope Chapel, which stood near what is now the Carolina Inn property. The town was built out of a need to service the University, and the two entities have been intertwined ever since.

The 18th century village is a far cry from the Downtown that we know today. Franklin Street, named for Benjamin Franklin, was for many years a wide, unpaved thoroughfare. Any significant rainfall would quickly turn it into an impassable mud slick. A handful of mills, stores and homes in wood frame structures dotted the young Franklin Street.

The University
The Town and the University grew hand-in-hand from the arrival of the first student, Hinton James, in 1795, and the addition of 424 other students up until the beginning of the Civil War. The University managed to remain open during the War, although almost all of the students and younger faculty members left to join the Confederate armed forces. In fact, only 30 seniors remained to graduate in 1861. In 1865, the Union army took over Chapel Hill. While they did not destroy the town at the plea of UNC President David Swain, they did scavenge most of the livestock and what little food remained, and some of the university's buildings were used by the armed forces as horse stables. A bleak graduation that year honored only four students. The University finally closed in 1871 for lack of funding and little interest from potential students. Four years later, though the University reopened its doors after much campaigning from Cornelia Phillips Spenser, the daughter of the UNC math professor James Phillips.


Transportation
The first automobile brought to Chapel Hill was bought in 1903 by E. Vernon Howell, dean of the School of Pharmacy, and it caused a great deal of excitement among townspeople. So much excitement that Bruce Strowd attempted to create his own car using parts from a sewing machine, wheelbarrow and marine motor. The "car" was eventually banned through a town ordinance as a noisy and unsightly vehicle. Strowd eventually became a Ford salesman and opened his own business on Franklin Street. Today you can see the Ford emblem in the sidewalk along Columbia Street near the Franklin Street intersection. This was the second location of the Strowd Ford business.




Fun
In the late 1800's and early 1900's, team sports (primarily football and baseball) became increasingly popular for UNC students and those who attended the games. Basketball was added to the school's athletic sports in the late 1800's and has grown into a passion for Tarheel fans! As today, fans in this earlier era enjoyed much celebration as impromptu parties began along Franklin Street after a victory.

Fun wasn't merely reserved for sports alone as crazy UNC students in the 1970's searched for ways to relieve stress from school work or perhaps the racial tensions and Vietnam War protests of the time. Streaking began as a daring fad among many college students, but the phenomenon is rumored to have originated in Chapel Hill. A group of UNC students organized the American Streaker Society and led over 1,000 students to shed their wares and race through campus in the buff. In one instance, a group of 900 streakers, accompanied by the UNC Pep Band, strolled single file through a crowd of 6,000 on-lookers!


Civil Rights
The 1960's and 70's were tumultuous years throughout the country, including Chapel Hill. Tense race relations and federally mandated desegregation of public buildings led to militant protests and sit-ins, with support for desegregation from both white and black individuals. In 1969, though, Howard Lee became Chapel Hill's first black mayor. Since then many other black leaders have shaped the growth of Chapel Hill.

The town of Chapel Hill has grown from the initial founding families and one student to a diverse town of approximately 50,000. Downtown has evolved as well with brick businesses replacing wooden homes and restaurants and specialty shops replacing the old general store. Downtown now hosts nationally acclaimed restaurants, live entertainment every night of the week, designer shopping, quality business services and unique urban living options.

Much of the above information was taken from the following sources:
Orange County Trio by Elizabeth Shreve Ryan
The Chapel Hill Historical Society Tour Guide