Editing Orange County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
Orange County was formed in 1752 from parts of [[Bladen County, North Carolina|Bladen]], [[Granville County, North Carolina|Granville]], and [[Johnston County, North Carolina|Johnston]] counties. While no surviving records exist regarding the namesake of the county, it may have been named for the infant [[William V of Orange]], whose mother [[Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange|Anne]], daughter of King [[George II of Great Britain]], was then regent of the [[Dutch Republic]]; or [[William III of England|William of Orange]], who became William III of England after the overthrow of [[James II of England|James II]] in the [[Glorious Revolution]].<ref name="CountyNamesake">{{Cite web |title=Orange County |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/geography/orange |access-date=March 17, 2024 |website=NCpedia}}</ref>

In 1771, Orange County was greatly reduced in area. The western part of it was combined with the eastern part of [[Rowan County, North Carolina|Rowan County]] to form [[Guilford County, North Carolina|Guilford County]]. Another part was combined with parts of [[Cumberland County, North Carolina|Cumberland County]] and Johnston County to form [[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake County]]. The southern part of what remained became [[Chatham County, North Carolina|Chatham County]].

In 1777, the northern half of what was left of Orange County became [[Caswell County, North Carolina|Caswell County]]. In 1849, the western county became [[Alamance County, North Carolina|Alamance County]]. Finally, in 1881, the eastern half of the county's remaining territory was combined with part of Wake County to form [[Durham County, North Carolina|Durham County]].

Some of the first settlers of the county were [[England|English]] [[Quaker]]s, who settled along the [[Haw River|Haw]] and [[Eno River|Eno]] rivers.<ref name="nc architecture">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NccTgQkmPIEC|publisher=[[UNC Press]]
|year=2005|page=38|title=North Carolina Architecture |first=Catherine |last=Bishir |isbn=978-0-8078-5624-6}}</ref> Arguably, the earliest settlers in the county were the Andrews family, which would later intermarry with the [[Thomas F. Lloyd|Lloyd]] family.<ref name="carrboro free press">{{cite news|work=Carrboro Free Press|date=October 22, 2008|page=16|title=Carrboro's Founders: People You Should Know |first=Rebekah |last=Cowell}}</ref>

===Colonial period and Revolutionary War===
The Orange County [[county seat|seat]] of Hillsborough was founded in 1754 on land where the [[Trading Path|Great Indian Trading Path]] crossed the Eno River. This area was first owned, surveyed, and mapped by [[William Churton]] (a [[Surveyor (surveying)|surveyor]] for [[John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville|Earl Granville]]). Originally to be named Orange, it was named Corbin Town (for Francis Corbin, a member of the governor's council and one of Granville's land agents), and renamed Childsburgh (in honor of Thomas Child, the attorney general for North Carolina from 1751 to 1760 and another one of Granville's land agents) in 1759. In 1766, it was named Hillsborough, after [[Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire|Wills Hill]], then the [[Earl of Hillsborough]], the [[British Empire|British]] secretary of state for the colonies, and a relative of royal Governor [[William Tryon]].

Located in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region, Hillsborough was the site of a colonial court, and the scene of some pre-[[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] tensions. In the late 1760s, conflicts between Piedmont farmers and county officers welled up in the [[Regulators of North Carolina|Regulator movement]], or as it was also known, the [[War of the Regulation]], which had its epicenter in Hillsborough.<ref name="nc architecture2">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NccTgQkmPIEC|publisher=[[UNC Press]]|year=2005|pages=55–56|title=North Carolina Architecture |first=Catherine |last=Bishir |isbn=978-0-8078-5624-6}}</ref> Several thousand people from North Carolina, mainly from Orange, [[Anson County, North Carolina|Anson]], and [[Granville County, North Carolina|Granville]] counties in the western region, were extremely dissatisfied with the wealthy colonial officials whom they considered cruel, arbitrary, tyrannical, and corrupt.

With specie scarce, many inland farmers were cash poor and unable to pay their [[taxes]]; they resented the consequent seizure of their property. In addition, local sheriffs sometimes kept taxes for their own gain and sometimes charged twice for the same tax. At times, sheriffs would intentionally remove records of their tax collection to further tax citizens. [[Rowan County, North Carolina|Rowan]], Anson, Orange, Granville, and [[Cumberland County, North Carolina|Cumberland]] counties were said to be most affected by such corruption. It was a struggle of yeomen farmers and other mostly lower-class citizens, who made up the majority of the population of North Carolina, and the wealthy ruling class, who composed about 5% of the population, yet maintained almost total control of the government. Of the 8,000 people living in Orange County at the time, an estimated 6000 - 7000 of them supported the Regulators.

Governor [[William Tryon]]'s conspicuous consumption in the construction of [[Tryon Palace|a new governor's mansion]] at [[New Bern]] fueled resentment of the movement's members. As the western districts were under-represented in the colonial legislature, the farmers could not obtain redress by [[legislature|legislative]] means. Ultimately, the frustrated farmers took to arms and closed the court in Hillsborough, dragging those they saw as corrupt officials through the streets and cracking the church bell.<ref name="nc architecture2" /> Tryon sent troops from his [[militia]] to the region, and defeated the Regulators at the [[Battle of Alamance]] in May 1771.<ref name="nc architecture2"/> Several trials were held after the war, resulting in the hanging of six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19, 1771.
[[Image:PLAN of the Town of HILLSBOROUGH in Orange County NORTH CAROLINA.jpg|right|thumb|An early map of Hillsborough produced in 1768 by [[Claude J. Sauthier]]]]

Hillsborough was used as the home of the North Carolina state legislature during the [[American Revolution]].<ref name="chahillnews">{{cite news |title=Minding the museum |url=http://www.chapelhillnews.com/weekend/story/8656.html|work=Chapel Hill News |date=July 25, 2007 |access-date=July 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929040755/http://www.chapelhillnews.com/weekend/story/8656.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=September 29, 2007}}</ref> Hillsborough served as a military base by British [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|General Charles Cornwallis]] in late February 1781. The [[United States Constitution]], drafted in 1787, was controversial in North Carolina. Delegate meetings at Hillsboro in July 1788 initially voted to reject it for [[antifederalist]] reasons. They were persuaded to change their minds partly by the strenuous efforts of [[James Iredell]] and [[William Richardson Davie|William Davie]] and partly by the prospect of adding a [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]]. The Constitution was later ratified by North Carolina at a convention in [[Fayetteville, North Carolina|Fayetteville]].

[[William Hooper]], a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], was buried in the [[Presbyterian]] Church cemetery in October 1790. His remains were later reinterred at [[Guilford Courthouse]] Military Battlefield. His original gravestone remains in the town cemetery.

Several large plantations were located in this county in the colonial and antebellum periods, including [[Green Hill (Hillsborough, North Carolina)|Green Hill]], [[Ayr Mount]], [[Moorefields]], [[David Faucette House|The Elms]], [[Sans Souci (Hillsborough, North Carolina)|Sans Souci]], [[Cabe-Pratt-Harris House|Riverland]], [[Alexander Hogan Plantation]], and the [[Patterson Plantation]].

====University of North Carolina====
{{Main|History of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill}}
[[Charter]]ed by the [[North Carolina General Assembly]] on December 11, 1789, the University of North Carolina's cornerstone was laid on October 12, 1793, near the ruins of a chapel, chosen for its central location within the state.<ref>{{cite book |last=Snider |first=William D.|title=Light on the Hill: A History of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aKRPWDroJSwC|publisher=UNC Press|location=Chapel Hill, NC|year=1992|pages=13, 16, 20|isbn=0-8078-2023-7}}</ref> Beginning instruction of undergraduates in 1795, UNC is the oldest public university in the United States and the only one to award degrees in the 18th century.<ref>Snider, William D. (1992), pp. 29, 35.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=C. Dixon Spangler Jr. named Overseers president for 2003–04|url=http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/05.29/01-spangler.html|work=Harvard University Gazette|location=Cambridge, MA|date=May 29, 2003|access-date=April 5, 2008}}</ref>

[[Image:Old Well 2008.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Old Well]], UNC's most recognized landmark]]

===19th century===
The Reverend Robert and Margaret Anna Burwell<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.burwellschool.org/overview|title=The Burwell School|website=www.burwellschool.org|language=en|access-date=March 17, 2018}}</ref> founded and ran a school for girls called the [[Burwell School]] from 1837 to 1857 in their home on Churton Street in Hillsborough. Families of planters paid to have their daughters educated here.

When the Civil War began, Hillsborough was reluctant to support secession. However, many citizens went off to fight for the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]. During the war, [[Governor of North Carolina|North Carolina Governor]] [[David Lowry Swain]] persuaded [[President of the Confederate States of America|Confederate President]] [[Jefferson Davis]] to exempt some UNC students from the draft, so the university was among the few in the Confederacy that managed to stay open.<ref>Snider, William D. (1992), p. 67.</ref> But, Chapel Hill lost more population during the war than any other village in the South. When student numbers did not recover rapidly enough, the university closed for a period during [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]], from December 1, 1870, to September 6, 1875.<ref>{{cite book|last=Battle|first=Kemp P.|title=History of the University of North Carolina: From 1868–1912|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AdshAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Edwards & Broughton Printing Company|location=Raleigh, NC|year=1912|pages=39, 41, 88}}</ref>

In March 1865, [[Confederate States Army|Confederate General]] [[Joseph E. Johnston]] wintered just outside Hillsborough at the Dickson home. This house now serves as the Hillsborough Welcome Center in downtown (the house was moved from its original site in the early 1980s due to commercial development). The main portion of the Confederate Army of Tennessee was encamped between Hillsborough and [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]].

While camped in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] after his [[Sherman's March to the Sea|March to the Sea]],  [[Union Army|Union]] General [[William T. Sherman]] offered an armistice to Johnston, who agreed to meet to discuss terms of surrender. Johnston, traveling east from Hillsborough, and Sherman, traveling west from Raleigh along the Hillsborough-Raleigh Road, met roughly half-way near present-day Durham (then Durham Station) at the home of James and Nancy Bennett. Their farmhouse is now known as the [[Bennett Place]]. The two generals met on April 17, 18 and 26, 1865, negotiating terms of Johnston's surrender. Johnston surrendered 89,270 Southern troops who were active in North Carolina, [[South Carolina]], Georgia, and [[Florida]]. This was the largest surrender of troops during the war, and effectively ended the Civil War.<ref name="chahillnews"/>

===20th century===
[[Occoneechee Speedway]], just outside Hillsborough, was one of the first two [[NASCAR]] tracks to open, and is the only track remaining from that inaugural 1949 season. [[Bill France Sr.|Bill France]] and the early founders of NASCAR bought land to build a one-mile oval track at Hillsborough, but opposition from local [[religion|religious]] leaders prevented the track from being built in the town and NASCAR officials built the large speedway [[Talladega Superspeedway]] in [[Talladega, Alabama]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historichillsborough.org/images/Speedway-Complete.pdf|title=Racing vs. Religion|access-date=July 16, 2007 |publisher=Historic Hillsborough |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008210038/http://www.historichillsborough.org/images/Speedway-Complete.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=October 8, 2007}}</ref>

Chapel Hill, along with [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]] and [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], makes up one of the three corners of the [[Research Triangle]], so named in 1959 with the creation of [[Research Triangle Park]], a research park between Durham and Raleigh.

The [[Morehead Planetarium]] at UNC opened in 1949, when it was one of only a handful of [[planetarium]]s in the nation. It continues as an important town landmark and destination for Chapel Hill. During the United States' [[Mercury program|Mercury]], [[Gemini program|Gemini]], and [[Apollo program]]s, astronauts were trained there.

[[File:Franklin Street Chapel Hill NC.jpg|300px|left|thumb|The intersection of [[Franklin Street (Chapel Hill)|Franklin Street]] and Columbia Street in Chapel Hill]]
During the 1960s, the UNC campus was the location of significant political protest. Prior to passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], protests about local [[racial segregation]] began quietly in [[Franklin Street (Chapel Hill)|Franklin Street]] restaurants; activists increased in influence and led mass demonstrations and civil disturbance.<ref>Snider, William D. (1992), p. 269.</ref>

Always suspicious of communist influence in the civil rights movement, the legislature passed the 1963 [[North Carolina Speaker Ban|Speaker Ban Law]], prohibiting speeches by [[Communism|communists]] on state campuses in North Carolina.<ref>Snider, William D. (1992), p. 270.</ref>  University Chancellor [[William Brantley Aycock]] and University President [[William Friday]] criticized the law, but it was not reviewed by the North Carolina General Assembly until 1965.<ref>Snider, William D. (1992), pp. 272–273.</ref>  Small amendments to allow "infrequent" visits failed to placate the student body, especially when the university's board of trustees overruled new Chancellor Paul Frederick Sharp's decision to allow speaking invitations to [[Marxist]] speaker [[Herbert Aptheker]] and civil liberties activist [[Frank Wilkinson]]. The two speakers came to Chapel Hill anyway. Wilkinson spoke off campus, and more than 1,500 students watched Aptheker's speech across a low campus wall at the edge of campus, christened "Dan Moore's Wall" by ''[[The Daily Tar Heel]]'', referring to Governor [[Dan K. Moore]].<ref>Snider, William D. (1992), pp. 274–275.</ref> A group of UNC students, along with Aptheker and Williamson, filed a lawsuit in [[United States federal courts|U.S. federal court]] based on the right to free speech. On February 20, 1968, the Speaker Ban Law was ruled unconstitutional.<ref>Snider, William D. (1992), pp. 267–268.</ref>

In 1968, a year after its public schools became fully integrated, Chapel Hill elected [[Howard Nathaniel Lee|Howard Lee]] as mayor. This was the first predominantly white municipality in the country to elect an African-American mayor. Lee served from 1969 until 1975. Among other achievements, he helped establish [[Chapel Hill Transit]], the town's [[bus]] system.
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