Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Sunset view of downtown Chapel Hill

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Image of the Old Well at UNC Chapel Hill

Colleges 

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a prominent public research university best known for its academic prestige. This public university was founded in 1795 and is credited as the first public university in the nation.1 

Durham Technical Community College – Orange County Campus

The Orange County Campus of Durham Technical Community College is in Hillsboro, NC, and offers students educational programs such as Associate of Arts, Basic Law Enforcement Training, Emergency Medical Services, Adult Basic Education, and English as a Second Language. While not located in Chapel Hill, this community college services Orange County where Chapel Hill is located.2 

  1. “The Well”, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, accessed February 2024, https://www.unc.edu/thewell/ ↩

  2. “Orange County Campus”, Durham Technical Community College, accessed February 2024, https://www.durhamtech.edu/orange-county-campus ↩

Libraries & Archives

Chapel Hill Public Library

The Chapel Hill Public Library coins itself as “the community’s living room” and aims to inspire learning and create connections within the community. The library has an extensive collection of books for all ages, as well as a large catalog of digital resources.3 

Davis Library (University Library)

The Davis Library is located on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus and serves as the central library for UNC Chapel Hill. The library opened in February 1984 and is considered to be one of the largest academic libraries in the United States.4 

Wilson Library (University Library)

The Wilson Library is located on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus and served as the central library from 1929 to the opening of Davis Library in 1984. Today, this library is home to the University’s special collections.5 

Robert B. House Undergraduate Library (University Library)

The Robert B. House Undergraduate Library is located on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus and is primarily marketed to serve the needs of undergraduate students. Opened in 1968, this library often collaborates with the public community to create opportunities for students, faculty, and the greater Chapel Hill Community.6 

Stone Center Library for Black Culture & History (University Library)

The Stone Center Library is located on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus and is home to a collection of works to document the African American experience. This library has an emphasis on social sciences and humanities and provides an extensive collection of eBooks, journals, and databases.7 

Reclaiming the University of the People

Reclaiming the University of the People is a digital archive that aims to document racial justice movements at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Starting as a dissertation, this project has expanded to include a set of essays as well as an archive of documents and photographs.8 

  1. “About CHPL”, Chapel Hill Public Library, accessed February 2024, https://chapelhillpubliclibrary.org/about-chpl/↩

  2. “Davis Library”, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, accessed February 2024, https://library.unc.edu/davis/↩

  3. “Wilson Library”, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, accessed February 2024, https://library.unc.edu/wilson/↩

  4. “House”, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, accessed February 2024, https://library.unc.edu/house/
    ↩

  5. “Stone Center”, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, accessed February 2024, https://library.unc.edu/stone/↩

  6. “Author Statement”, Reclaiming the University of the People, accessed February 2024, https://uncofthepeople.com/about/author-statement/↩

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Image of the Ackland Art Museum

Museums

Ackland Art Museum

The Ackland Art Museum opened in 1958 and houses over 20,000 pieces in its permanent collection. This museum features North Carolina’s collection of Asian art, European art, twentieth-century and contemporary art, and North Carolina pottery.9 

Kidzu Children’s Museum

The Kidzu Children’s Museum opened in 2006 and aims to provide an immersive experience for children. The museum is primarily STEM-based, but also focuses on arts, health and wellness, literacy and language, and environmental sustainability.10 

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center opened in 1949 and has served as a community staple to increase scientific understanding for all. Partnering with organizations such as NASA, the Science Center provides educational programs for all age ranges.11 

Carolina Basketball Museum

The Carolina Basketball Museum opened in 2008 and is free to the public. The museum aims to provide visitors with a history of Carolina Basketball and its traditions within the Chapel Hill community.12 

Horace Williams House

The Horace Williams House Museum is the only historic house in Chapel Hill that is open to the public to tour. Built in 1840, this house aims to offer visitors a glimpse of life in Chapel Hill during the mid-1800s.13 

  1. “About”, Ackland Art Museum, accessed February 2024, https://ackland.org/about/↩

  2. “Our Mission”, The Kidzu Children’s Museum, accessed February 2024, https://www.kidzuchildrensmuseum.org/our-mission/↩

  3. “Mission”, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, accessed February 2024, https://moreheadplanetarium.org/learn-more/mission/↩

  4. “Carolina Basketball Museum”, Go Heels, accessed February 2024, https://goheels.com/sports/2021/12/10/carolina-basketball-museum↩

  5. “Horace Williams House”, Visit Chapel Hill, accessed February 2024, https://www.visitchapelhill.org/listing/horace-williams-house/317/↩

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Image of the Horace Williams House

Historical Societies

Chapel Hill Historical Society

Founded in 1966, the Chapel Hill Historical Society is a nonprofit 501 (c) organization that aims to research and document the history of Chapel Hill and surrounding communities. This society provides public educational programs to teach about the history of the area, as well as the heritage and local traditions.14 

Preservation Chapel Hill

The Preservation Chapel Hill group was formed in 1973 after two-long time members of the Chapel Hill community became concerned with the loss of several historical buildings in Chapel Hill. Based in the Horace Williams House, this group has worked to preserve Chapel Hill’s historic landscapes and educate homeowners about caring for their historic homes.15 

  1. “About Us”, Chapel Hill Historical Society, accessed February 2024, https://chapelhillhistoricalsociety.org/about-us/↩

  2. “About”, Preservation Chapel Hill, accessed February 2024, https://www.preservationchapelhill.org/about↩

Professional Organizations

The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro

The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill- Carrboro has served the greater Chapel Hill area for over seventy-five years. This network invests in local businesses in the Greater Chapell Hill Region.16 

Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation

The Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that has helped fund the Chapel Hill Public Library to support its mission since 1997. The foundation aims to support the needs of the community through the public library, both now and in the future.17 

  1. “About the Chamber”, The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, accessed February 2024, https://www.carolinachamber.org/about-the-chamber/↩

  2. “About” Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation, accessed February 2024, https://chplfoundation.org/↩

Newspapers

The Daily Tar Heel

The Daily Tar Heel is a Newspaper local to Chapel Hill, NC that has been in production since 1893. The newspaper has 10,000 physical newspapers distributed free of charge weekly but also utilizes a digital format and social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.18 

INDY Week

INDY Week is a progressive news outlet that aims to provide progressive news, culture, and commentary for Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill. The publication has specific pages for Durham County, Wake County, and Orange County, as well as a general North Carolina publication.19 

The Herald-Sun

The Herald-Sun is a daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Media Network which aims to provide news for Durham County and Orange County.20 

  1. “History”, The Daily Tar Heel, accessed February 2024, https://www.dailytarheel.com/page/history↩

  2. “Orange”, INDY Week, accessed February 2024, https://indyweek.com/news/orange/↩

  3. “Chapel Hill News”, The Herald Sun, accessed February 2024, https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/community/chapel-hill-news/↩

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Books

The Town and Gown: Architecture of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1795-1975

This work was written by M. Ruth Little in 2006 in partnership with the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill. Little provided a comprehensive examination of architecture in Chapel Hill between the years 1795 and 1975.21 

Remembering Chapel Hill: The Twentieth Century As We Lived It

This work was written by Valerie Schwartz in 2009. Schwartz, a newspaper columnist, sought to compile a work that included the stories of notable residents of Chapel Hill as a tribute to those who helped create the community as it is known today.22 

Image of America: Chapel Hill

This work was written by James Vickers in 1996. The work aimed to detail the history of Chapel Hill by examining old photographs.23 

Chapel Hill Murder & Mayhem

This work was written by local historian Rick Jackson in February 2023. Jackson aimed to explore unsolved mysteries surrounding the town of Chapel Hill.24 

Hidden History of Chapel Hill

This work was written by Brian Burns and published in May 2023. Burns aimed to detail the lesser-known origins of Chapel Hill, before the eighteenth century, and how the Strowd Plantation transitioned into the community that is now Chapel Hill.25 

  1. “The Town & Gown”, UNC Press, Accessed February 2024, https://uncpress.org/book/9780807830727/the-town-and-gown-architecture-of-chapel-hill-north-carolina-1795-1975/↩

  2. “Remembering Chapel Hill”, Amazon, Accessed February 2024, https://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Chapel-Hill-Twentieth-Chronicles/dp/1596297042↩

  3. “Image of America”, Amazon, Accessed February 2024, https://www.amazon.com/Chapel-Images-America-James-Vickers/dp/0738568252↩

  4. “Chapel Hill Murder & Mayhem”, MIT Press Bookstore, accessed February 2024, https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9781467153355↩

  5. “Hidden History of Chapel Hill”, Arcadia Publishing, Accessed February 2024, https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/9781467153553↩

Documentaries

Chapel Hill Works

The Chapel Hill Works project is a public project led by the Chapel Hill Public Library. Beginning in 2015, the project aims to document Chapel Hill town employees in their work environment, which highlights their efforts to make Chapel Hill a thriving community.26 

The Hunting Ground

This documentary details the events of sexual assault on university campuses but elaborates on the stories of two Chapel Hill students. This documentary led to the creation of a sexual assault task force for the UNC campus, but also the Chapel Hill community.27 

36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime

This documentary details the events surrounding the murder of three Muslim Chapel Hill University students in 2015. Director Tarek Albaba aimed to examine the events, the aftermath, and what the Chapel Hill community can learn from the event.28 

  1. “Chapel Hill Works”, Youtube, Accessed February 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVIXn-xlwuk↩

  2. “The Hunting Ground”, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Accessed February 2024, https://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/exhibits/show/womenatunc/barriers/huntingground↩

  3. “36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime”, Tarek Albaba, Accessed February 2024, https://filmmakerscollab.org/films/36-seconds-a-portrait-of-a-hate-crime/

Assembled by Brianne Snyder

Local History
Chapel Hill, NC