fbpx
Wikipedia

Orange County, North Carolina

Orange County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 148,696.[1] Its county seat is Hillsborough.[2]

Orange County
Orange County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°03′45″N 79°07′12″W / 36.062526°N 79.120034°W / 36.062526; -79.120034
Country United States
State North Carolina
Founded1752
Named forWilliam V of Orange
SeatHillsborough
Largest communityChapel Hill
Area
 • Total400.96 sq mi (1,038.5 km2)
 • Land397.56 sq mi (1,029.7 km2)
 • Water3.40 sq mi (8.8 km2)  0.85%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total148,696
 • Estimate 
(2022)
150,477
 • Density374.02/sq mi (144.41/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district4th
Websiteorangecountync.gov

Orange County is included in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Combined Statistical Area, which had a population of 2,106,463 in 2020.[3]

It is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the flagship institution of the University of North Carolina System and the oldest state-supported university in the United States.

History edit

The county was formed in 1752 from parts of Bladen, Granville, and Johnston counties. It was named for the infant William V of Orange, whose mother Anne, daughter of King George II of Great Britain, was then regent of the Dutch Republic.

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 English Quakers, who settled along the Haw and Eno rivers.[4] Arguably, the earliest settlers in the county were the Andrews family, which would later intermarry with the Lloyd family.[5]

Colonial period and Revolutionary War edit

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.[6] 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.[6] Tryon sent troops from his militia to the region, and defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance in May 1771.[6] Several trials were held after the war, resulting in the hanging of six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19, 1771.

 
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.[7] 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.

William Hooper, a signer of the 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 country in the colonial and antebellum periods, including Green Hill, Ayr Mount, Moorefields, The Elms, Sans Souci, Riverland, Alexander Hogan Plantation, and the Patterson Plantation.

University of North Carolina edit

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.[8] 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.[9][10]

 
The Old Well, UNC's most recognized landmark

19th century edit

The Reverend Robert and Margaret Anna Burwell[11] 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 Governor David Lowry Swain persuaded Confederate President Jefferson Davis to exempt some UNC students from the draft, so the university was among the few in the Confederacy that managed to stay open.[12] 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.[13]

In March 1865, Confederate General Joseph 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.[7]

20th century edit

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.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19]

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 edit

 
Interactive map of Orange County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 400.96 square miles (1,038.5 km2), of which 397.56 square miles (1,029.7 km2) is land and 3.40 square miles (8.8 km2) (0.85%) is water.[20]

The county is drained, in part, by the Eno River.

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.

State and local protected areas/sites edit

Major water bodies edit

Adjacent counties edit

Major highways edit

Demographics edit

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
179012,216
180016,36233.9%
181020,13523.1%
182023,49216.7%
183023,9081.8%
184024,3561.9%
185017,055−30.0%
186016,947−0.6%
187017,5073.3%
188023,69835.4%
189014,948−36.9%
190014,690−1.7%
191015,0642.5%
192017,89518.8%
193021,17118.3%
194023,0729.0%
195034,43549.3%
196042,97024.8%
197057,70734.3%
198077,05533.5%
199093,85121.8%
2000118,22726.0%
2010133,80113.2%
2020148,69611.1%
2022 (est.)150,477[22]1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[23]
1790–1960[24] 1900–1990[25]
1990–2000[26] 2010[27] 2020[22]

2020 census edit

Orange County racial composition[28]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 96,537 64.92%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 15,571 10.47%
Native American 334 0.22%
Asian 12,615 8.48%
Pacific Islander 43 0.03%
Other/Mixed 7,784 5.23%
Hispanic or Latino 15,812 10.63%

As of the 2020 census, there were 148,696 people, 55,259 households, and 32,657 families residing in the county.

2010 census edit

At the 2010 census,, there were 133,801 people living in the county. 74.4% were White, 11.9% Black or African American, 6.7% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 4.0% of some other race and 2.5% of two or more races. 8.2% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census edit

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 people per square mile (114 people/km2). There were 49,289 housing units at an average density of 123 units per 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.

Law and government edit

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 edit

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]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 20,176 23.74% 63,594 74.82% 1,227 1.44%
2016 18,557 22.54% 59,923 72.78% 3,860 4.69%
2012 21,539 28.06% 53,901 70.22% 1,317 1.72%
2008 20,266 27.05% 53,806 71.83% 838 1.12%
2004 20,771 32.38% 42,910 66.89% 472 0.74%
2000 17,930 36.34% 30,921 62.66% 493 1.00%
1996 15,053 32.19% 28,674 61.32% 3,038 6.50%
1992 13,009 27.50% 28,595 60.45% 5,696 12.04%
1988 14,503 39.13% 22,326 60.23% 238 0.64%
1984 15,585 42.96% 20,564 56.69% 128 0.35%
1980 9,261 32.39% 15,226 53.26% 4,102 14.35%
1976 9,302 36.87% 15,755 62.46% 169 0.67%
1972 11,632 47.66% 12,634 51.76% 142 0.58%
1968 6,097 33.30% 8,366 45.70% 3,845 21.00%
1964 5,785 38.59% 9,206 61.41% 0 0.00%
1960 5,231 42.15% 7,180 57.85% 0 0.00%
1956 4,396 48.10% 4,743 51.90% 0 0.00%
1952 3,813 42.51% 5,156 57.49% 0 0.00%
1948 1,813 31.03% 3,523 60.29% 507 8.68%
1944 1,467 30.94% 3,274 69.06% 0 0.00%
1940 1,100 23.05% 3,673 76.95% 0 0.00%
1936 1,446 27.25% 3,860 72.75% 0 0.00%
1932 1,114 26.50% 2,924 69.57% 165 3.93%
1928 2,564 58.77% 1,799 41.23% 0 0.00%
1924 1,065 35.38% 1,879 62.43% 66 2.19%
1920 1,737 46.57% 1,993 53.43% 0 0.00%
1916 1,158 48.49% 1,230 51.51% 0 0.00%
1912 172 8.63% 997 50.00% 825 41.37%
1908 1,073 51.29% 1,017 48.61% 2 0.10%
1904 558 37.63% 900 60.69% 25 1.69%
1900 1,280 49.90% 1,275 49.71% 10 0.39%
1896 1,264 42.44% 1,700 57.09% 14 0.47%
1892 936 33.07% 1,117 39.47% 777 27.46%
1888 1,299 44.08% 1,613 54.73% 35 1.19%
1884 1,064 38.83% 1,668 60.88% 8 0.29%
1880 1,902 42.85% 2,537 57.15% 0 0.00%

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]

Education edit

The county is served by 2 school districts:[32]

Media edit

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 edit

 
Map of Orange County with municipal and township labels

Cities edit

  • Durham (mostly in Durham County)
  • Mebane (mostly in Alamance County)

Towns edit

Census-designated places edit

Townships edit

  • Bingham
  • Cedar Grove
  • Chapel Hill
  • Cheeks
  • Eno
  • Hillsborough
  • Little River

Unincorporated communities edit

Notable people edit

 
UNC's wooded campus buffers the town center of Chapel Hill

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Orange County, North Carolina". www.census.gov. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  2. ^ . National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2010-2020". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  4. ^ Bishir, Catherine (2005). North Carolina Architecture. UNC Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8078-5624-6.
  5. ^ Cowell, Rebekah (October 22, 2008). "Carrboro's Founders: People You Should Know". Carrboro Free Press. p. 16.
  6. ^ a b c Bishir, Catherine (2005). North Carolina Architecture. UNC Press. pp. 55–56. ISBN 978-0-8078-5624-6.
  7. ^ a b . Chapel Hill News. July 25, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  8. ^ Snider, William D. (1992). Light on the Hill: A History of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press. pp. 13, 16, 20. ISBN 0-8078-2023-7.
  9. ^ Snider, William D. (1992), pp. 29, 35.
  10. ^ "C. Dixon Spangler Jr. named Overseers president for 2003–04". Harvard University Gazette. Cambridge, MA. May 29, 2003. Retrieved April 5, 2008.
  11. ^ "The Burwell School". www.burwellschool.org. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  12. ^ Snider, William D. (1992), p. 67.
  13. ^ Battle, Kemp P. (1912). History of the University of North Carolina: From 1868–1912. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Printing Company. pp. 39, 41, 88.
  14. ^ (PDF). Historic Hillsborough. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2007. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
  15. ^ Snider, William D. (1992), p. 269.
  16. ^ Snider, William D. (1992), p. 270.
  17. ^ Snider, William D. (1992), pp. 272–273.
  18. ^ Snider, William D. (1992), pp. 274–275.
  19. ^ Snider, William D. (1992), pp. 267–268.
  20. ^ "2020 County Gazetteer Files – North Carolina". United States Census Bureau. August 23, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  21. ^ a b "NCWRC Game Lands". www.ncpaws.org. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "QuickFacts: Orange County, North Carolina". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  23. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  24. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  25. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  26. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  27. ^ . United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  28. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  29. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  30. ^ Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  31. ^ The Political Graveyard; Orange County, North Carolina Votes for President
  32. ^ a b Yeoman, Barry (August 7, 2023). "Schoolyard Brawl". The Assembly. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  33. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  34. ^ "Géographie électorale" [Electoral geography]. geoelections.free.fr (in French). Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  35. ^ OFFICIAL RESULTS
  36. ^ "Alice Adams, 72, writer of deft novels". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  37. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.

External links edit

  •   Geographic data related to Orange County, North Carolina at OpenStreetMap
  • Official website
  • Orange County historic information cache
  • , genealogy resources for the county

orange, county, north, carolina, orange, county, county, located, piedmont, region, state, north, carolina, 2020, census, population, county, seat, hillsborough, orange, countycountyorange, county, courthouseflagseallogolocation, within, state, north, carolina. Orange County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the U S state of North Carolina As of the 2020 census the population was 148 696 1 Its county seat is Hillsborough 2 Orange CountyCountyOrange County CourthouseFlagSealLogoLocation within the U S state of North CarolinaNorth Carolina s location within the U S Coordinates 36 03 45 N 79 07 12 W 36 062526 N 79 120034 W 36 062526 79 120034Country United StatesState North CarolinaFounded1752Named forWilliam V of OrangeSeatHillsboroughLargest communityChapel HillArea Total400 96 sq mi 1 038 5 km2 Land397 56 sq mi 1 029 7 km2 Water3 40 sq mi 8 8 km2 0 85 Population 2020 Total148 696 Estimate 2022 150 477 Density374 02 sq mi 144 41 km2 Time zoneUTC 5 Eastern Summer DST UTC 4 EDT Congressional district4thWebsiteorangecountync wbr govOrange County is included in the Durham Chapel Hill NC Metropolitan Statistical Area which is also included in the Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill NC Combined Statistical Area which had a population of 2 106 463 in 2020 3 It is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the flagship institution of the University of North Carolina System and the oldest state supported university in the United States Contents 1 History 1 1 Colonial period and Revolutionary War 1 1 1 University of North Carolina 1 2 19th century 1 3 20th century 2 Geography 2 1 State and local protected areas sites 2 2 Major water bodies 2 3 Adjacent counties 2 4 Major highways 3 Demographics 3 1 2020 census 3 2 2010 census 3 3 2000 census 4 Law and government 4 1 Politics 5 Education 6 Media 7 Communities 7 1 Cities 7 2 Towns 7 3 Census designated places 7 4 Townships 7 5 Unincorporated communities 8 Notable people 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksHistory editThe county was formed in 1752 from parts of Bladen Granville and Johnston counties It was named for the infant William V of Orange whose mother Anne daughter of King George II of Great Britain was then regent of the Dutch Republic 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 English Quakers who settled along the Haw and Eno rivers 4 Arguably the earliest settlers in the county were the Andrews family which would later intermarry with the Lloyd family 5 Colonial period and Revolutionary War edit 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 6 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 6 Tryon sent troops from his militia to the region and defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance in May 1771 6 Several trials were held after the war resulting in the hanging of six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19 1771 nbsp An early map of Hillsborough produced in 1768 by Claude J SauthierHillsborough was used as the home of the North Carolina state legislature during the American Revolution 7 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 William Hooper a signer of the 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 country in the colonial and antebellum periods including Green Hill Ayr Mount Moorefields The Elms Sans Souci Riverland Alexander Hogan Plantation and the Patterson Plantation University of North Carolina edit Main article History of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 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 8 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 9 10 nbsp The Old Well UNC s most recognized landmark19th century edit The Reverend Robert and Margaret Anna Burwell 11 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 Governor David Lowry Swain persuaded Confederate President Jefferson Davis to exempt some UNC students from the draft so the university was among the few in the Confederacy that managed to stay open 12 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 13 In March 1865 Confederate General Joseph 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 7 20th century edit 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 14 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 nbsp The intersection of Franklin Street and Columbia Street in Chapel HillDuring 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 15 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 16 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 17 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 18 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 19 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 edit nbsp 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 5 km2 of which 397 56 square miles 1 029 7 km2 is land and 3 40 square miles 8 8 km2 0 85 is water 20 The county is drained in part by the Eno River 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 State and local protected areas sites edit Brumley Forest Nature Preserve Buckhorn Game Land 21 Carolina North Forest Confluence Natural Area Eno River State Park part Historic Hillsborough Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trailhead Johnston Mill Nature Preserve Jordan Game Land part 21 Lake Michael Park Little River Regional Park and Natural Area part Mason Farm Biological Reserve part North Carolina Botanical Garden Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area White Cross Recreation CenterMajor water bodies edit Buffalo Creek Cane Creek Cane Creek Reservoir Eastwood Lake Eno River Haw River Jordan Lake Lake Orange Lick Creek Little River Morgan Creek Mountain Creek New Hope Creek North Fork Little River University Lake West Fork Eno RiverAdjacent counties edit Person County northeast Durham County east Chatham County south Alamance County west Caswell County northwestMajor highways edit nbsp I 40 nbsp I 85 nbsp US 15 nbsp US 70 nbsp nbsp US 70 Bus nbsp US 501 nbsp NC 49 nbsp NC 54 nbsp NC 57 nbsp NC 86 nbsp NC 157 nbsp NC 751Demographics editHistorical population CensusPop Note 179012 216 180016 36233 9 181020 13523 1 182023 49216 7 183023 9081 8 184024 3561 9 185017 055 30 0 186016 947 0 6 187017 5073 3 188023 69835 4 189014 948 36 9 190014 690 1 7 191015 0642 5 192017 89518 8 193021 17118 3 194023 0729 0 195034 43549 3 196042 97024 8 197057 70734 3 198077 05533 5 199093 85121 8 2000118 22726 0 2010133 80113 2 2020148 69611 1 2022 est 150 477 22 1 2 U S Decennial Census 23 1790 1960 24 1900 1990 25 1990 2000 26 2010 27 2020 22 2020 census edit Orange County racial composition 28 Race Number PercentageWhite non Hispanic 96 537 64 92 Black or African American non Hispanic 15 571 10 47 Native American 334 0 22 Asian 12 615 8 48 Pacific Islander 43 0 03 Other Mixed 7 784 5 23 Hispanic or Latino 15 812 10 63 As of the 2020 census there were 148 696 people 55 259 households and 32 657 families residing in the county 2010 census edit At the 2010 census there were 133 801 people living in the county 74 4 were White 11 9 Black or African American 6 7 Asian 0 4 Native American 4 0 of some other race and 2 5 of two or more races 8 2 were Hispanic or Latino of any race 2000 census edit 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 people per square mile 114 people km2 There were 49 289 housing units at an average density of 123 units per 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 Law and government editFurther information List of commissioners of Orange County North Carolina 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 edit 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 Year Republican Democratic Third partyNo No No 2020 20 176 23 74 63 594 74 82 1 227 1 44 2016 18 557 22 54 59 923 72 78 3 860 4 69 2012 21 539 28 06 53 901 70 22 1 317 1 72 2008 20 266 27 05 53 806 71 83 838 1 12 2004 20 771 32 38 42 910 66 89 472 0 74 2000 17 930 36 34 30 921 62 66 493 1 00 1996 15 053 32 19 28 674 61 32 3 038 6 50 1992 13 009 27 50 28 595 60 45 5 696 12 04 1988 14 503 39 13 22 326 60 23 238 0 64 1984 15 585 42 96 20 564 56 69 128 0 35 1980 9 261 32 39 15 226 53 26 4 102 14 35 1976 9 302 36 87 15 755 62 46 169 0 67 1972 11 632 47 66 12 634 51 76 142 0 58 1968 6 097 33 30 8 366 45 70 3 845 21 00 1964 5 785 38 59 9 206 61 41 0 0 00 1960 5 231 42 15 7 180 57 85 0 0 00 1956 4 396 48 10 4 743 51 90 0 0 00 1952 3 813 42 51 5 156 57 49 0 0 00 1948 1 813 31 03 3 523 60 29 507 8 68 1944 1 467 30 94 3 274 69 06 0 0 00 1940 1 100 23 05 3 673 76 95 0 0 00 1936 1 446 27 25 3 860 72 75 0 0 00 1932 1 114 26 50 2 924 69 57 165 3 93 1928 2 564 58 77 1 799 41 23 0 0 00 1924 1 065 35 38 1 879 62 43 66 2 19 1920 1 737 46 57 1 993 53 43 0 0 00 1916 1 158 48 49 1 230 51 51 0 0 00 1912 172 8 63 997 50 00 825 41 37 1908 1 073 51 29 1 017 48 61 2 0 10 1904 558 37 63 900 60 69 25 1 69 1900 1 280 49 90 1 275 49 71 10 0 39 1896 1 264 42 44 1 700 57 09 14 0 47 1892 936 33 07 1 117 39 47 777 27 46 1888 1 299 44 08 1 613 54 73 35 1 19 1884 1 064 38 83 1 668 60 88 8 0 29 1880 1 902 42 85 2 537 57 15 0 0 00 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 Education editThe county is served by 2 school districts 32 Orange County Schools Chapel Hill CarrboroMedia editOrange 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 edit nbsp Map of Orange County with municipal and township labelsCities edit Durham mostly in Durham County Mebane mostly in Alamance County Towns edit Carrboro Chapel Hill largest community small portions in Durham and Chatham Counties Hillsborough county seat Census designated places edit EflandTownships edit Bingham Cedar Grove Chapel Hill Cheeks Eno Hillsborough Little RiverUnincorporated communities edit Blackwood Buckhorn also known as Cheeks Crossroads Caldwell Calvander Carr Cedar Grove Dodsons Crossroads Dogwood Acres Eno Eubanks Fairview Hurdle Mills Laws McDade Miles Oaks Orange Grove Piney Grove Schley Teer University formerly known as Glenn White CrossNotable people editSee also List of alumni from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill nbsp UNC s wooded campus buffers the town center of Chapel HillAlice Adams author who grew up in Chapel Hill 36 K A Applegate author Thomas Samuel Ashe United States Congressman from North Carolina 37 Lewis Black comedian David Brinkley newscaster Fred Brooks computer science pioneer Larry Brown basketball coach Cam Cameron football coach William Carter Love U S Representative from North Carolina Spencer Chamberlain musician Elizabeth Cotten blues singer who grew up in Carrboro Floyd Council blues singer the Floyd in Pink Floyd Butch Davis football coach Sarah Dessen author Elizabeth Edwards an attorney and activist for liberal causes Chapel Hill John Edwards former North Carolina Senator 2008 Presidential candidate Chapel Hill Sam Ervin former North Carolina senator chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee Lawrence Ferlinghetti beat poet co founder of City Lights Booksellers Ben Folds musician Paul Green playwright Andy Griffith actor Mia Hamm soccer player Harpe Brothers Micajah and Wiley America s first serial killers Bunny Hearn major league baseball pitcher Jack Hogan actor noted for his role as Private William Kirby on Combat television series 1962 1967 Laurel Holloman actress Herman Husband a leader of the North Carolina Regulator Movement Marion Jones former track and field athlete Michael Jordan basketball player Elizabeth Keckley former slave and servant of Mary Todd Lincoln Charles Kuralt longtime journalist with CBS Jim Lampley sportscaster Howard Lee pioneering politician Doug Marlette cartoonist and writer Alexander Mebane Jr 1744 1795 Revolutionary War militia general and U S Congressman Benjamin Merrill leader in the Regulator movement and at the Battle of Alamance Elisha Mitchell geologist Archibald Murphey North Carolina politician Beverly Perdue 73rd Governor of North Carolina Nick Perumov author Mary Pope Osborne author Frank Porter Graham United States senator and president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill David Price U S congressman Connie Ray actress and playwright David Rees satirist Dexter Romweber rockabilly roots rocker Terry Sanford United States senator and governor of North Carolina Stuart Scott sportscaster Dean Smith former basketball coach Lee Smith author lives in Hillsborough Oliver Smithies 2007 recipient of the Nobel Prize Silda Wall Spitzer wife of former New York governor Eliot Spitzer Chris Stamey musician James Taylor popular musician Lawrence Taylor football player Manly Wade Wellman novelist Daniel Wallace author lives in Carrboro Kent Williams painter illustrator and comics artist Roy Williams basketball coach Thomas Wolfe novelist James Worthy basketball playerSee also editList of counties in North Carolina National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County North Carolina Haw River Valley AVA wine region partially located in the county Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation state recognized tribe that resides in the countyReferences edit U S Census Bureau QuickFacts Orange County North Carolina www census gov Retrieved April 28 2022 Find a County National Association of Counties Archived from the original on May 3 2015 Retrieved June 7 2011 County Population Totals and Components of Change 2010 2020 United States Census Bureau Retrieved May 25 2021 Bishir Catherine 2005 North Carolina Architecture UNC Press p 38 ISBN 978 0 8078 5624 6 Cowell Rebekah October 22 2008 Carrboro s Founders People You Should Know Carrboro Free Press p 16 a b c Bishir Catherine 2005 North Carolina Architecture UNC Press pp 55 56 ISBN 978 0 8078 5624 6 a b Minding the museum Chapel Hill News July 25 2007 Archived from the original on September 29 2007 Retrieved July 30 2007 Snider William D 1992 Light on the Hill A History of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill NC UNC Press pp 13 16 20 ISBN 0 8078 2023 7 Snider William D 1992 pp 29 35 C Dixon Spangler Jr named Overseers president for 2003 04 Harvard University Gazette Cambridge MA May 29 2003 Retrieved April 5 2008 The Burwell School www burwellschool org Retrieved March 17 2018 Snider William D 1992 p 67 Battle Kemp P 1912 History of the University of North Carolina From 1868 1912 Raleigh NC Edwards amp Broughton Printing Company pp 39 41 88 Racing vs Religion PDF Historic Hillsborough Archived from the original PDF on October 8 2007 Retrieved July 16 2007 Snider William D 1992 p 269 Snider William D 1992 p 270 Snider William D 1992 pp 272 273 Snider William D 1992 pp 274 275 Snider William D 1992 pp 267 268 2020 County Gazetteer Files North Carolina United States Census Bureau August 23 2022 Retrieved September 9 2023 a b NCWRC Game Lands www ncpaws org Retrieved March 30 2023 a b QuickFacts Orange County North Carolina United States Census Bureau Retrieved May 31 2022 U S Decennial Census United States Census Bureau Retrieved January 18 2015 Historical Census Browser University of Virginia Library Retrieved January 18 2015 Forstall Richard L ed March 27 1995 Population of Counties by Decennial Census 1900 to 1990 United States Census Bureau Retrieved January 18 2015 Census 2000 PHC T 4 Ranking Tables for Counties 1990 and 2000 PDF United States Census Bureau April 2 2001 Archived PDF from the original on March 27 2010 Retrieved January 18 2015 State amp County QuickFacts United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on June 7 2011 Retrieved October 27 2013 Explore Census Data data census gov Retrieved December 20 2021 U S Census website United States Census Bureau Retrieved January 31 2008 Sullivan Robert David How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century America Magazine in The National Catholic Review June 29 2016 The Political Graveyard Orange County North Carolina Votes for President a b Yeoman Barry August 7 2023 Schoolyard Brawl The Assembly Retrieved August 8 2023 Leip David Dave Leip s Atlas of U S Presidential Elections uselectionatlas org Retrieved March 17 2018 Geographie electorale Electoral geography geoelections free fr in French Retrieved January 13 2021 OFFICIAL RESULTS Alice Adams 72 writer of deft novels The New York Times Retrieved January 11 2013 Who Was Who in America Historical Volume 1607 1896 Chicago Marquis Who s Who 1963 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orange County North Carolina nbsp Geographic data related to Orange County North Carolina at OpenStreetMap Official website Orange County historic information cache NCGenWeb Orange County genealogy resources for the county Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Orange County North Carolina amp oldid 1194208591, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.