Chapel Hill | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: Southern Part of Heaven | |
| Motto(s): "Learning, Serving & Working Together To Build A Community Where People Thrive." | |
  Chapel Hill  Chapel Hill | |
| Coordinates:35°55′38″N79°02′21″W / 35.92722°N 79.03917°W /35.92722; -79.03917 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  North Carolina |
| Counties | Durham (small portion),[1]Orange (mostly) |
| Founded | 1793 |
| Chartered | 1851 |
| Named after | New Hope Chapel |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager |
| • Mayor | Jessica Anderson (D) |
| Area | |
• Total | 21.75 sq mi (56.32 km2) |
| • Land | 21.59 sq mi (55.93 km2) |
| • Water | 0.15 sq mi (0.39 km2) 0.69% |
| Elevation | 262 ft (80 m) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 63,764 |
• Estimate (2024) | 62,043 |
| • Density | 2,869.1/sq mi (1,107.75/km2) |
| Demonym | Chapel Hillian |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes | 27514-27517 |
| Area codes | 919,984 |
| FIPS code | 37-11800 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2406255[3] |
| Primary Airport | RDU |
| Website | townofchapelhill |
Chapel Hill is a town in the counties ofOrange andDurham,North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the17th-most populous municipality in the state.[4] Chapel Hill andDurham make up the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. When it is combined withRaleigh, the state capital, they make up the corners of theResearch Triangle (officially the Raleigh-Durham-Cary, NCCombined Statistical Area), which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.[5]
The town was founded in 1793 and is centered onFranklin Street, covering 21.3 square miles (55 km2). It contains several districts and buildings listed on theNational Register of Historic Places. TheUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill andUNC Health Care are a major part of the economy and town influence. Local artists have createdmany murals in the town.
TheOccaneechi Indians lived in the area of what is nowHillsborough, north of Chapel Hill, prior to European settlement.[6]
The area was the home place of early settler William Barbee ofMiddlesex County, Virginia, whose 1753 grant of 585 acres on the north and south side of "Lick Branch"[7] fromJohn Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville was the first of two land grants in what is now the Chapel Hill-Durham area. Though William Barbee died shortly after settling there in 1758,[8] one of his eight children, Christopher Barbee, became an important contributor to his father's adopted community and to the fledglingUniversity of North Carolina.[9] In 1792, he offered the trustees of UNC 221 acres on which the university is now built, making him the university's largest donor.[7]
Chapel Hill has developed along a hill; the crest was the original site of a small Anglican "chapel of ease", built in 1752, known asNew Hope Chapel.The Carolina Inn now occupies this site. In 1819, the town was founded by theNC General Assembly[10] to serve the University of North Carolina and developed around it. The town was chartered in 1851,[11] and its main street, Franklin Street, was named in memory ofBenjamin Franklin.[12][13]
Of Chapel Hill during slavery, Kemp Plummer Battle wrote,[14]
The government of the village of Chapel Hill was primitive. All white males between 21 and 50 years of age were distributed into classes and in turn patrolled the streets at night. Slaves were liable to a whipping of ten lashes, or a fine of one dollar, for being absent from home without a written permit from the owner. Nor could a slave hire his own time.
Four in ten Chapel Hillians were enslaved at the start of theCivil War, and about half of the town was Black.[15] In April 1865, as the war ended, the9th Michigan Cavalry rode into Chapel Hill and occupied the university and the town for more than two weeks.[16]
In 1869, in the lead-up to theKirk-Holden War, GovernorWilliam Holden sent a detective into Chapel Hill to investigate the presence of theKu Klux Klan, whose members had been riding through Chapel Hill and nearby towns committing crimes and terrorizing the populace.[17] Once in Chapel Hill, the detective was tied to the town pump by a group of men and given sixty lashes.
In 1870, a group of Chapel Hill Conservatives attempted to overthrow the Chapel Hill Board of Commissioners. On February 28, they held a fraudulent election and installed a new Board, which seized the town records and began holding regular meetings. They appointed members of their group as Magistrate of Police, Town Constable, and Town Clerk. In early April, the Conservative Board began to face scrutiny, and on April 7, it fell apart, as their own attorney informed them that their February 28 election was not valid.[18]
In 1937, Chapel Hill was the site of arace riot resulting from racial tensions, economic hardship, and neglect of Chapel Hill's black community. Geeta N. Kapur and John K. Chapman described the incident as a revolt by Black workers.[19][20]
As a result of the riot, the White and Black upper class of Chapel Hill collaborated to raise money for a black community center. According to Chapman, this was with the intention of pacifying black men to prevent further unrest. In 1939, land was purchased for theHargraves Community Center. Construction completed in 1945.[21][20]
In 1960, a group of Black students fromLincoln High School, called theChapel Hill Nine, participated asit-in atColonial Drugstore to protest the store's refusal to serve dine-in black customers.[22]
In 1969, a year after the town fully integrated its schools, Chapel Hill electedHoward Lee as mayor. It was the first majority-white municipality in the South to elect an African-American mayor.[23] Serving from 1969 to 1975, Lee helped establishChapel Hill Transit, the town's bus system, and theMountains-to-Sea trail.[24]
Some 30 years later, in 2002, the state passed legislation to provide free service to all riders on local buses. The bus operations are funded through Chapel Hill and Carrboro town taxes, federal grants, and UNC student tuition. The change has resulted in a large increase in ridership, taking many cars off the roads. Several hybrid and articulated buses have been added recently. All buses carry GPS transmitters to report their location in real-time to a tracking web site. Buses can transport bicycles and have wheelchair lifts.
In 1993, the town celebrated its bicentennial and founded theChapel Hill Museum. This cultural community resource "exhibiting the character and characters of Chapel Hill, North Carolina" included among its permanent exhibitsAlexander Julian,History of the Chapel Hill Fire Department,Chapel Hill's 1914 Fire Truck,TheJames Taylor Story,Farmer/James Pottery, andThePaul Green Legacy.[25]
In addition to the Carolina Inn, theBeta Theta Pi Fraternity House,Chapel Hill Historic District,Chapel Hill Town Hall,Chapel of the Cross,Gimghoul Neighborhood Historic District,Alexander Hogan Plantation,Old Chapel Hill Cemetery,Old East, University of North Carolina,Playmakers Theatre,Rocky Ridge Farm Historic District, andWest Chapel Hill Historic District are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[26]
Chapel Hill is located in the southeast corner ofOrange County, with a small part extending east intoDurham County. It is bounded on the west by the town ofCarrboro and on the northeast by the city of Durham. However, most of Chapel Hill's borders are adjacent to unincorporated portions of Orange and Durham Counties rather than shared with another municipality. According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 21.75 square miles (56.3 km2), of which 21.60 square miles (55.9 km2) is land and 0.15 square miles (0.39 km2) (0.69%) is water.[2]
| Climate data for Chapel Hill, NC (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1891–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 85 (29) | 85 (29) | 92 (33) | 98 (37) | 98 (37) | 104 (40) | 107 (42) | 106 (41) | 104 (40) | 99 (37) | 88 (31) | 84 (29) | 107 (42) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 50.7 (10.4) | 54.3 (12.4) | 61.8 (16.6) | 71.5 (21.9) | 78.6 (25.9) | 85.7 (29.8) | 89.5 (31.9) | 87.5 (30.8) | 81.8 (27.7) | 72.1 (22.3) | 62.0 (16.7) | 53.7 (12.1) | 70.8 (21.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 40.0 (4.4) | 42.8 (6.0) | 49.9 (9.9) | 59.2 (15.1) | 67.5 (19.7) | 75.4 (24.1) | 79.4 (26.3) | 77.6 (25.3) | 71.7 (22.1) | 60.3 (15.7) | 49.9 (9.9) | 43.1 (6.2) | 59.7 (15.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 29.4 (−1.4) | 31.3 (−0.4) | 38.0 (3.3) | 46.8 (8.2) | 56.3 (13.5) | 65.0 (18.3) | 69.3 (20.7) | 67.7 (19.8) | 61.5 (16.4) | 48.5 (9.2) | 37.8 (3.2) | 32.4 (0.2) | 48.7 (9.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −8 (−22) | −6 (−21) | 9 (−13) | 20 (−7) | 29 (−2) | 40 (4) | 48 (9) | 42 (6) | 35 (2) | 20 (−7) | 12 (−11) | 0 (−18) | −8 (−22) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.95 (100) | 3.27 (83) | 4.39 (112) | 3.71 (94) | 3.78 (96) | 4.08 (104) | 4.82 (122) | 4.30 (109) | 5.42 (138) | 3.77 (96) | 3.50 (89) | 3.87 (98) | 48.86 (1,241) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 1.5 (3.8) | 0.9 (2.3) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.2 (0.51) | 2.8 (7.1) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 11.3 | 10.4 | 11.5 | 9.9 | 10.3 | 10.7 | 10.9 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.5 | 9.2 | 11.3 | 123.8 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.9 |
| Source:NOAA[27][28] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 831 | — | |
| 1890 | 1,017 | 22.4% | |
| 1900 | 1,099 | 8.1% | |
| 1910 | 1,149 | 4.5% | |
| 1920 | 1,483 | 29.1% | |
| 1930 | 2,699 | 82.0% | |
| 1940 | 3,654 | 35.4% | |
| 1950 | 9,177 | 151.1% | |
| 1960 | 12,573 | 37.0% | |
| 1970 | 26,199 | 108.4% | |
| 1980 | 32,421 | 23.7% | |
| 1990 | 38,719 | 19.4% | |
| 2000 | 48,715 | 25.8% | |
| 2010 | 57,233 | 17.5% | |
| 2020 | 61,960 | 8.3% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 62,043 | [4] | 0.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[29] 2020[4] | |||
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 38,678 | 62.42% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 5,848 | 9.44% |
| Native American | 151 | 0.24% |
| Asian | 9,275 | 14.97% |
| Pacific Islander | 19 | 0.03% |
| Other/Mixed | 3,255 | 5.25% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 4,734 | 7.64% |
As of the2020 census, there were 61,960 people, 20,369 households, and 10,552 families residing in the town.
At the2010 census, there were 57,233 people in 20,564 households residing in the town. The population density was 2,687 people per square mile (1,037 people/km2). Theracial composition of the town was 72.8% White, 9.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 11.9% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.7% some other race, and 2.7% of two or more races. About 6.4% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.[31]
Of the 20,564 households, 51.1% were families, 26.2% of all households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were headed by married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.9% were not families. About 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.98.[31]
In the town, the population was distributed as 17.4% under the age of 18, 31.5% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.[31]
According to estimates released by theU.S. Census Bureau, over the three-year period of 2005 through 2007, themedian income for a household in the town was $51,690, and for a family was $91,049.[32] Males had a median income of $50,258 versus $32,917 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $35,796. About 8.6% of families and 19.8% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
Chapel Hill is North Carolina's best-educated municipality, proportionately, with 77% of adult residents (25 and older) holding anassociate degree or higher, and 73% of adults possessing abaccalaureate degree or higher.[33]
Chapel Hill uses acouncil–manager form of government. The community elects a mayor and eight council members. Mayors serve two-year terms, and council members serve staggered four-year terms, all elected by the town at large; town elections are held in November of odd-numbered years. MayorJessica Anderson, a former council member, succeeded four-term mayorPam Hemminger in 2023.[34] In 2015, Hemminger defeated incumbentMark Kleinschmidt, who had been elected in 2009 as the first openly gay mayor of Chapel Hill, succeeding outgoing four-term mayorKevin Foy.[35]
The town adopted its flag in 1990. According to flag designer Spring Davis, the blue represents the town and the University of North Carolina (whose colors areCarolina blue and white); the green represents "environmental awareness"; and the "townscape" in the inverted chevron represents "a sense of home, friends, and community."[36]
The town's seal, has, since the 1930s, depicted Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and protector of cities. Having gone through several revisions, the seal, which also serves as the town logo, was most recently updated in 2005 to a visually simpler version.[37][38]
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools covers most of the towns of Chapel Hill andCarrboro, along with portions of unincorporated Orange County, and is recognized for its academic strengths.East Chapel Hill High School,Carrboro High School, andChapel Hill High School have all received national recognition for excellence, withNewsweek in 2008 ranking East Chapel Hill High as the 88th-best high school in the nation, and the highest-ranked standard public high school in North Carolina.[39] The small portion of Chapel Hill located in Durham County is part ofDurham Public Schools.
There are several private K-12 schools in Chapel Hill, includingEmerson Waldorf School.
Founded in 1789, theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university and is the flagship of theUniversity of North Carolina System.
The state's main youth orchestra,Piedmont Youth Orchestra, is based in Chapel Hill.
Also located in the town is the Chapel Hill Public Library, directed by Atlas Logan.[40][41]
Though Chapel Hill is a principal town of a large metropolitan area, it retains a relatively small-town feel. Combined with its close neighbor, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area has roughly 85,000 residents. Manylarge murals can be seen painted on the buildings. Most of these murals were painted by UNCalumnus Michael Brown.[42] Also, for more than 30 years, Chapel Hill has sponsored the annualstreet fair, Festifall, in October.[43] The fair offer booths to artists, craftsmakers, nonprofits, and food vendors. Performance space is also available for musicians,martial artists, and other groups. The fair is attended by tens of thousands each year.
TheMorehead Planetarium and Science Center was the first planetarium built on a U.S. college campus. When it opened in 1949, it was one of sixplanetariums in the nation and has remained an important town landmark.[45] During theMercury,Gemini, andApollo programs, astronauts were trained there.[46] One of the town's hallmark features is the giant sundial, located in the green square in front of the planetarium on Franklin Street.
Influences of the university are seen throughout the town, even in the fire departments. Each fire station in Chapel Hill has afire engine (numbers 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35) that is Carolina blue.[12] These engines are also decorated with different UNC decals, including a firefighterRameses.
Chapel Hill also has somenew urbanist village communities, such asMeadowmont Village andSouthern Village.[47] Meadowmont and Southern Village both have shopping centers, green space where concerts, movies, and other outdoor events have taken place, community pools, and schools. Also, a traditional-style mall with a mix of national and local retailers is located atUniversity Place.
Hailed as one of America's Foodiest Small Towns byBon Appétit,[48] Chapel Hill is rapidly becoming a hot spot for pop American cuisine. Among the restaurants noted nationally areMama Dip's (Food Network's$40 A Day WithRachael Ray),[49] Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen (The Splendid Table), caffè Driade (Food Network's$40 A Day With Rachael Ray),[49] Lantern Restaurant (Food & Wine,Southern Living, etc.), and Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe.[50]
In the realm of popular music,James Taylor,George Hamilton IV,Southern Culture on the Skids,Superchunk,Polvo,Archers of Loaf,Ben Folds Five,The Kingsbury Manx,Spider Bags and more recentlyPorter Robinson, are among the most notable musical artists and acts whose careers began in Chapel Hill. The town has also been a center for the modern revival ofold-time music andbluegrass with composer asElizabeth Cotten and such bands as the Ayr Mountaineers, Hollow Rock String band,Watchhouse (formerly known as Mandolin Orange),Steep Canyon Rangers,Mipso, the Tug Creek Ramblers,Two Dollar Pistols, the Fuzzy Mountain String band, Big Fat Gap and theRed Clay Ramblers.[51]
Chapel Hill was also the founding home of now Durham-basedMerge Records.Bruce Springsteen has made a point to visit the town on four occasions. His most recent appearance was on September 15, 2003, atKenan Memorial Stadium with theE Street Band.U2 also performed at Kenan on the first American date of their 1983War Tour, whereBono climbed up to the top of the stage, during pouring rain and lightning, holding up a white flag for peace. The 2011John Craigie song, "Chapel Hill", is about the singer's first visit there.[52] One song fromDirty, aSonic Youth album, is named after the town.
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The University of North Carolina has been very successful atcollege basketball andwomen's soccer, and a passion for these sports has been a distinctive feature of the town's culture, fueled by theTobacco Road rivalry among North Carolina's fourACC teams: theNorth Carolina Tar Heels, theDuke Blue Devils, theNC State Wolfpack, and theWake Forest Demon Deacons.
The two largest sports venues in the town both house UNC teams. TheDean Smith Center is home to the men's basketball team, whileKenan Memorial Stadium is home to the football team. In addition, Chapel Hill is also home toCarmichael Arena which formerly housed the UNC men's basketball team, and currently is home to the women's team, and to the newDorrance Field, home to men's and women's soccer and lacrosse teams.
Many walking/biking trails are in Chapel Hill. Some of these include Battle Branch Trail, Morgan Creek Trail[53] and Bolin Creek Trail, Chapel Hill's oldest trail and most popular greenway.[54]
Chapel Hill has no-fee intracity bus service viaChapel Hill Transit. Park & Ride lots provide financial support for the service, and fees are collected through UNC Parking. The connecting services are fee-based, but subsidized for UNC students, staff, and faculty.Go Triangle provides connection to the rest of the Triangle (Raleigh,Durham, andHillsborough), of which the Hillsborough service is operated by Chapel Hill Transit, and supplemented mid-day by a county shuttle.
TheDurham–Orange Light Rail line, which would have run between Chapel Hill and Durham, entered planning and engineering phases in August 2017. The project was discontinued in April 2019.[61]
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno,San Cristóbal (Galápagos, Ecuador)[120]
Geographic data related toChapel Hill, North Carolina atOpenStreetMap| International | |
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