The town of Chapel Hill has been shaped by its proximity to the University of North Carolina. The original town lots were part of the lands
donated for the site of the university. The university trustees laid out thirty lots, twenty-four of two acres each and six of four acres each.
They sold them to the public on 12 October 1793, the very day they laid the cornerstone of the university's first building. Thus began a symbiotic
and colorful relationship between Chapel Hill and the university.
In the period covered by "The First Century of the First State University," Chapel Hill was just a village. A re-created 1795 map presented here
shows the initial size and layout of the village. Two early nineteenth-century maps and a mid-century map illustrate the modest growth of Chapel
Hill in the antebellum period. These maps will orient readers and help them understand why difficulties arose in the relations between local
residents and university students and faculty. Many students boarded in homes or boarding houses in the village. Student letters reveal that
accommodations ranged from homey and comfortable to miserable. Trustee minutes show repeated efforts to regulate boarding by declaring certain
houses off limits and by setting a ceiling on the rates that could be charged. The trustees also attempted to prevent the students from accumulating
debts with local merchants. Disorder and vice—especially alcohol—attracted the interest of some students. The trustees battled this on many
fronts—by limiting the hours students could be off campus, requiring students to deposit their funds with the bursar, lobbying the General
Assembly to prohibit the sale of liquor in and near Chapel Hill, and asking parents to encourage their sons to obey regulations designed to
preserve them from temptation. These efforts met with limited success.
Faculty joined with the villagers in hoping for more successful regulation of the students. Faculty shopped in the village,
owned homes, and attended the same churches as the villagers. Some of their children married the children of local merchants and
landowners, creating familial ties between townspeople and university staff. A community of interests was formed among those who
made their livings in the shadow of the university. The letter from Joseph Caldwell to prospective faculty member William Neill
shows how early this melding of town and gown interests developed. For many, "Chapel Hill" meant both the university and the town.
The documents in this section are arranged chronologically within the subtopics.
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Daybook of the Accounts of the Board of Trustees, Kept by William Duffy, January 1795
1 page, 1 page image
- Harris, Charles Wilson, 1771-1804
A Plan of the Situation of ye University, ye Ornamental Ground, ye Adjacent Village, the Lands Belonging to ye Trustees Together With ye Springs, June 1, 1795
1 page, 1 page image
- Pettigrew, John, 1779-1799, and Pettigrew, Ebenezer, 1783-1848
Letter from John and Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, October 3, 1795
3 pages, 4 page images
- No Author
Plan of the Village at the University With the Adjoining Lands Belonging to the Institution, [Between 1797 and 1812]
1 page, 1 page image
- Caldwell, Joseph, 1773-1835
Letter from Joseph Caldwell to William Neill, January 5, 1815
6 pages, 7 page images
- No Author
Plan of the Village of Chapel Hill on a Scale of 200 yards to an Inch, September 4, 1817
1 page, 1 page image
- Mitchell, Elisha, 1793-1857
Letter from Elisha Mitchell to Maria North, February 11, 1818
3 pages, 4 page images
- Hughes, Leander, fl. 1823-1824
Letter from Leander Hughes to John Hughes, August 23, 1823
2 pages, 2 page images
- Lenoir, Thomas Isaac, 1817-1882
Letter from Thomas I. Lenoir to Thomas Lenoir, May 30, 1839
4 pages, 4 page images
- Moseley, William D.
Letter from William D. Moseley to Elisha Mitchell, August 15, 1853
6 pages, 6 page images
- Sessoms, Preston Harrell, b. 1843
Letter from Preston H. Sessoms to Penelope E. White, September 27, 1861
4 pages, 4 page images
- Mitchell, James Billingslea, 1844-1891
Letter from J.B. Mitchell to Ruffin H. Thomson, December 20, 1866
4 pages, 4 page images
- Pettigrew, John, 1779-1799, and Pettigrew, Ebenezer, 1783-1848
Letter from John and Ebenezer Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, May 4, 1795
4 pages, 4 page images
- Pettigrew, John, 1779-1799
Letter from John Pettigrew to Charles Pettigrew, June 27, 1797
3 pages, 4 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Rules on Student Board, Board of Trustees Minutes, March 24, 1810
2 pages, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Student Bursar Accounts, Board of Trustees Minutes, June 27, 1827
6 pages, 6 page images
- Pettigrew, Charles Lockhart, 1816-1873
Letter from Charles L. Pettigrew to Ebenezer Pettigrew, August 6, 1832
3 pages, 4 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Price of Boarding Houses, Board of Trustees Minutes, December 26, 1845
1 page, 1 page image
- McNeill, Hector J., d. 1860
Letter from Hector J. McNeill to Daniel C. and Ann M. McNeill, August 18, 1852
3 pages, 4 page images
- Neal, Nathan P.
Letter from Nathan P. Neal to Aaron and Elizabeth Neal, September 2, 1857
4 pages, 4 page images
- Sessoms, Preston Harrell, b. 1843
Letter from Preston H. Sessoms to Penelope E. White, September 27, 1861
4 pages, 4 page images
- Sessoms, Preston Harrell, b. 1843
Letter from Preston H. Sessoms to Penelope E. White, August 28, 1862
2 pages, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Student Boarding Houses, Board of Trustees Minutes, January 31, 1868
1 page, 1 page image
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Student Board, Excerpts from Board of Trustees Minutes, August 31, 1875
2 pages, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Rule Banning Students from Taverns, Board of Trustees Minutes, July 13, 1796
2 pages, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Ordinance Banning Students from Taverns, Board of Trustees Minutes, December 17, 1801
1 page, 1 page image
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Motion to Prohibit the Sale of Liquor in Chapel Hill, Board of Trustees Minutes, December 29, 1827
1 page, 1 page image
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Bill to Prohibit Vice and Immorality, Board of Trustees Minutes, December 31, 1827
1 page, 1 page image
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Board of Trustees
Executive Committee Prohibits Sales of Liquor or Wine to Students, September 8, 1838
2 pages, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). President, and Swain, David L. (David Lowry), 1801-1868
Letter from David L. Swain to Parent, September 27, 1853
2 pages, 2 page images
- University of North Carolina (1793-1962). President, and Swain, David L. (David Lowry), 1801-1868
Letter from David L. Swain to Parent, April 3, 1856
2 pages, 2 page images