In 1771, Orange County was greatly reduced in area. The western part of it was combined with the eastern part of Rowan County to form Guilford County. Another part was combined with parts of Cumberland County and Johnston County to form Wake County. The southern part of what remained became Chatham County.
In 1777, the northern half of what was left of Orange County became Caswell County. In 1849, the western county became 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.
Some of the first settlers of the county were EnglishQuakers, who settled along the Haw and Eno rivers.[5] Arguably, the earliest settlers in the county were the Andrews family, which would later intermarry with the Lloyd family.[6]
Colonial period and Revolutionary War
The Orange County seat of Hillsborough was founded in 1754 on land where the Great Indian Trading Path crossed the Eno River. This area was first owned, surveyed, and mapped by William Churton (a surveyor for 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, then the Earl of Hillsborough, the British secretary of state for the colonies, and a relative of royal Governor William Tryon.
Located in the Piedmont region, Hillsborough was the site of a colonial court, and the scene of some pre-Revolutionary War tensions. In the late 1760s, conflicts between Piedmont farmers and county officers welled up in the Regulator movement, or as it was also known, the War of the Regulation, which had its epicenter in Hillsborough.[7] Several thousand people from North Carolina, mainly from Orange, Anson, and 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, Anson, Orange, Granville, and 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 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 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.[7] Tryon sent troops from his militia to the region, and defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance in May 1771.[7] Several trials were held after the war, resulting in the hanging of six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19, 1771.
Hillsborough was used as the home of the North Carolina state legislature during the American Revolution.[8] Hillsborough served as a military base by British 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 Davie and partly by the prospect of adding a Bill of Rights. The Constitution was later ratified by North Carolina at a convention in Fayetteville.
Chartered 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.[9] 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.[10][11]
The Reverend Robert and Margaret Anna Burwell[12] 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 Confederacy. During the war, North Carolina GovernorDavid Lowry Swain persuaded Confederate PresidentJefferson Davis to exempt some UNC students from the draft, so the university was among the few in the Confederacy that managed to stay open.[13] 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, from December 1, 1870, to September 6, 1875.[14]
In March 1865, Confederate GeneralJoseph 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.
While camped in Raleigh after his March to the Sea, 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.[8]
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 and the early founders of NASCAR bought land to build a one-mile oval track at Hillsborough, but opposition from local religious leaders prevented the track from being built in the town and NASCAR officials built the large speedway Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.[15]
Chapel Hill, along with Durham and 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 planetariums in the nation. It continues as an important town landmark and destination for Chapel Hill. During the United States' Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, astronauts were trained there.
The intersection of 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 restaurants; activists increased in influence and led mass demonstrations and civil disturbance.[16]
Always suspicious of communist influence in the civil rights movement, the legislature passed the 1963 Speaker Ban Law, prohibiting speeches by communists on state campuses in North Carolina.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19] A group of UNC students, along with Aptheker and Williamson, filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court based on the right to free speech. On February 20, 1968, the Speaker Ban Law was ruled unconstitutional.[20]
In 1968, a year after its public schools became fully integrated, Chapel Hill elected 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.
Geography
Interactive map of Orange County
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 400.96 square miles (1,038.5km2), of which 397.56 square miles (1,029.7km2) is land and 3.40 square miles (8.8km2) (0.85%) is water.[21]
The city of Chapel Hill, is in the southeastern part of Orange County, as is Carrboro. Hillsborough is in the central part of the county and is the county seat.
At the 2000 census,[29] there were 118,227 people, 45,863 households, and 26,141 families living in the county. The population density was 296 peopleper square mile (114 people/km2). There were 49,289 housing units at an average density of 123 unitsper square mile (47 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 78.05% White, 13.79% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 4.10% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.96% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 4.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 45,863 households, out of which 28.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.60% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.00% were non-families. 28.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the county, the age distribution was as follows: 20.30% under the age of 18, 21.00% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 20.40% from 45 to 64, and 8.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 90.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,372, and the median income for a family was $59,874. Males had a median income of $39,298 versus $31,328 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,873. About 6.20% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.00% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over. FY 2008-09 Orange County had the second highest property tax rate in NC at 0.998 per $100 of valuation. For FY 2009-10 after the 2009 Orange County revaluation, the rate is now ninth highest in the state at 0.858 per $100 of valuation.
Orange County is governed by a seven-member board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected to four-year terms by district and at-large in partisan elections, which are held in November of even-numbered years. Orange County is a member of the regional Triangle J Council of Governments.
Politics
Orange County has gained a reputation as one of the most liberal counties in North Carolina. The county consistently delivers one of the largest Democratic majorities in the state in presidential, state, and local elections. This trend predates the recent swing toward the Democrats in counties dominated by college towns. The last Republican to win the county at a presidential level was Herbert Hoover in 1928[30] – when opposition to the Catholicism of Democratic nominee Al Smith was a powerful force among voters. It has only supported a Republican two other times since the Civil War–William Howard Taft in 1908 and William McKinley in 1900.[31]
The county seat of Hillsborough, the city of Chapel Hill and the town of Carrboro historically vote for Democratic candidates, while the rural areas of the county favor Republicans.[32]
United States presidential election results for Orange County, North Carolina[33][34]
Chapel Hill and Carrboro have a reputation for being two of the most liberal communities in the Southern United States. Carrboro was the first municipality in North Carolina to elect an openly gay mayor, Mike Nelson (who also served as an Orange County commissioner from 2006 to 2010), and the first municipality in the state to grant domestic-partner benefits to same-sex couples. In October 2002, Carrboro was among the first municipalities in the South to pass resolutions opposing the Iraq War and the USA PATRIOT Act. Orange County voted 78.98% against Amendment 1. This was the highest vote against a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage of any county in the United States, even higher than San Francisco in 2008.[35]
Orange County is located in the Raleigh-Durham media market for both television and radio. The flagship station for PBS North Carolina, WUNC-TV, is licensed to Chapel Hill.
There are several radio stations located in the county. Stations licensed to Chapel Hill WUNC, WXYC, WCHL, and WLLQ. WQOK and WCOM-LP are licensed to Carrboro.
UNC Chapel Hill's student-run newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, offers extensive coverage of news in Orange County.
Communities
Map of Orange County with municipal and township labels
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange and Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-most populous municipality in the state. Chapel Hill and Durham make up the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. When it's combined with Raleigh, the state capital, they make up the corners of the Research Triangle, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.
Person County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 39,097 as of the 2020 census. The county seat is Roxboro.
Durham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 324,833, making it the sixth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Durham, which is the only incorporated municipality predominantly in the county, though very small portions of cities and towns mostly in neighboring counties also extend into Durham County. The central and southern parts of Durham County are highly urban, consisting of the city as well as several unincorporated suburbs. Southeastern Durham County is dominated by the Research Triangle Park, most of which is in Durham County. The northern third of Durham County is rural in nature.
Chatham County is a county located in the Piedmont area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the location of the geographic center of North Carolina, northwest of Sanford. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,285. Its county seat is Pittsboro.
Alamance County is a county in North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,415. Its county seat is Graham. Formed in 1849 from Orange County to the east, Alamance County has been the site of significant historical events, textile manufacturing, and agriculture.
Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census. The town, which is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill combined statistical area, was named after North Carolina industrialist Julian Shakespeare Carr.
The town of Hillsborough is the county seat of Orange County, North Carolina, United States and is located along the Eno River. The population was 6,087 in 2010, but it grew rapidly to 9,660 by 2020.
Mebane is a city located mostly in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States, and partly in Orange County. The town was named for Alexander Mebane, an American Revolutionary War general and member of the U.S. Congress. It was incorporated as "Mebanesville" in 1881, and in 1883 the name was changed to "Mebane". It was incorporated as a city in 1987. The population as of the 2020 census was 17,768. Mebane is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in North Carolina. Mebane straddles the Research Triangle and Piedmont Triad Regions of North Carolina. The bulk of the city is in Alamance County, which comprises the Burlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, itself a component of the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point Combined Statistical Area. Two slivers in the eastern portion of the city are in Orange County, which is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area, itself a component of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area.
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 census, Durham is the 4th-most populous city in North Carolina, and the 71st-most populous city in the United States. The city is located in the east-central part of the Piedmont region along the Eno River. Durham is the core of the four-county Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. The Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the Research Triangle, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, the region is home to three major research universities: North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, respectively. The "Triangle" name originated in the 1950s with the creation of Research Triangle Park located between the three anchor cities, which is the largest research park in the United States and home to numerous high tech companies.
The Central Pines Regional Council is one of the 17 regional North Carolina Councils of Governments established by the North Carolina General Assembly for the purpose of regional planning and administration. Headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, it serves Moore, Lee, Chatham, Orange, Durham, Wake, and Johnston counties. In 2023, TJCOG underwent a rebranding and name change, and is now known as CPRC.
The Eno River, named for the Eno Native Americans who once lived along its banks, is the initial tributary of the Neuse River in North Carolina, United States. Descendants of European immigrants settled along the Eno River in the latter 1740s and early 1750s, including many Quakers from Pennsylvania. Several years after the 1752 creation of Orange County, the Orange County Court of Common Pleas & Quarter Sessions selected a site along the Eno River near the homes of James Watson and William Reed as the county seat, originally naming it Corbin Town, or Corbinton, after Francis Corbin, agent and attorney to John, Earl Granville. The Court met at James Watson's home along the Eno River from 1754 through 1756, when the courthouse at Corbinton was completed. In 1759, officials changed the county seat's name from Corbinton to Childsburg, after another of Earl Granville's agents, Thomas Child. Finally, in 1766, officials changed the name to Hillsborough.
Woody Lombardi Durham was an American play-by-play radio announcer for the North Carolina Tar Heels football and men's basketball programs from 1971 to 2011.
North Carolina Highway 54 (NC 54) is a 55.0-mile-long (88.5 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The highway serves the Research Triangle area, between Burlington and Raleigh, connecting the cities and towns of Chapel Hill, Durham, Morrisville and Cary. The highway also links the campuses of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.
The State University Railroad is a 10.2 mile railroad spur of the North Carolina Railroad that began offering service from Glenn, North Carolina, near Hillsborough to a point west of Chapel Hill, North Carolina on January 1, 1882.
North Carolina's 4th congressional district is located in the central region of the state. The district includes all of Alamance County, Durham County, Granville County, Orange County, and Person County, as well as a portion of Caswell County. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+16, it is the most Democratic district in North Carolina.
Area codes 919 and 984 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for all or parts of eleven counties in the east-central area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. They service the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill/Carrboro, and the surrounding suburban areas of the Research Triangle metropolitan area, as well as the outlying towns and nearby rural areas of Oxford to the north, Sanford to the south, Goldsboro to the southeast, and Mebane to the west.
Margaret Nygard was a British-American environmentalist and conservationist. Born in British India to a civil servant, she was educated in both India and Britain. During the 1940 and 1941 bombing campaign against Britain, her school was relocated to British Columbia, Canada. Nygard studied English at the University of British Columbia and after her graduation in 1944 briefly became a teacher at the university. She went on to earn a master's degree and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. In 1962, she and her family moved to Durham, North Carolina, and became aware of environmental threats to the Eno River. She founded the Eno River Association in 1965, becoming its first president. She naturalised as a United States citizen in 1993.
↑ "Géographie électorale"[Electoral geography]. geoelections.free.fr (in French). Archived from the original on November 18, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
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