Editing Orange County, North Carolina (section)

===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]]