Chapel Hill Historical Society
Preserving the history of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and neighboring
communities in Orange County...for future generations.

Remembering Bill Burlingame

We are sad to report the passing of our cherished colleague and board member, William Burlingame.  Bill was an active member of the Chapel Hill Historical Society and served on our board for the last six years. 
 
Bill’s love for historical research was infectious and he took great delight in sharing his research and expertise with others. In recent years, Bill championed efforts to restore the McCauley family cemetery, located on UNC land near University Lake. Bill chronicled his research about the McCauleys and his efforts in a blog that is available on the Chapel Hill Historical Society’s website.The Davie Popular Chapter awarded Bill its prestigious National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) Historic Preservation Medal at a March 2020 ceremony in recognition of his many contributions to historical research and preservation.
We will miss Bill’s friendship and humor and are grateful for his many contributions to the Historical Society.
Bill’s obituary is available on-line at the Cremation Society of North Carolina website.
 

Temporary Closure of the CH Historical Society

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AS A RESULT OF THE CLOSURE OF THE CHAPEL HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, THE OFFICES AND READING ROOM OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARE ALSO CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC FOR AN INDEFINITE PERIOD. HOWEVER WE WILL CONTINUE TO ANSWER QUERIES ADDRESSED TO US AT CHHISTORICALSOCIETY@GMAIL.COM, OR VIA OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

 

The Chapel Hill Historical Society was founded in 1966 to research and document the history of Chapel Hill and the surrounding communities, to encourage and assist in the study of local history, and to provide public programs and publications related to the heritage and traditions of the area. Recent programs have included presentations on the University Woman's Club, Martin Luther King in Chapel Hill, and the restoration of the McCauley Cemetery.

Each year since 2008, the Society has identified Town Treasures - individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the community. These outstanding citizens are presented and honored at an awards ceremony with an exhibition of distinctive portraits and descriptive narratives of their service.

The Society has headquarters on the ground level of the Chapel Hill Public Library at 100 Library Drive. The public is invited to visit, explore maps and documents, and enjoy personal or historical research in bound volumes of The Chapel Hill News and the Chapel Hill Weekly from 1923 through 2010. There are a number of publications about local history for sale in our office and on our online bookstore, including Profiles of Chapel Hill Since 1900: People, Places, Events, by John Douglas Eyre, and The Campus at Chapel Hill, written in 1986 by John V. Allcott and re-issued in 2019 with an addendum by JJ Bauer.

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On this day in Chapel Hill History
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Upcoming Events
September 20
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Kings Mill-Morgan Creek: The Story of a Neighborhood
Beginning as part of Mark Morgan's farmland in the 1700s, the Kings Mill-Morgan Creek neighborhood continues to play an important role in the Chapel Hill ...
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October 18
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Ringing the School Bell: Schools of the Carrboro Area From Jim Crow to Integration
Richard Ellington will discuss the history and differences between the two school systems, white and “colored”, that existed side-by-side in Orange County at the ...
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Watercolors by Eleanor Wiles
Watercolors by Eleanor Wiles