# Pottersfield

Pottersfield (also spelled "Potter’s Field") was a large historically Black neighborhood located in downtown Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was originally built over a hundred years ago to be a home for those working at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These workers included the stonemasons that constructed the famous stone walls encircling the University’s campus and those that carried water from the Old Well to students in dorms. By the mid 1950s, Pottersfield and its adjacent neighborhood, Sunset, had together come to be known as the Northside neighborhood.

## History
### Early 20th century and connection to Chapel Hill

Pottersfield began as a labor settlement for the enslaved persons that worked on loan as stonemasons and in other service and maintenance roles for the then-new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It consisted of small homes and farms within walking distance of the University, maintained by their descendants on the emerging west end of the city and distinguished by a tight community consisting of homes, schools, churches, and businesses. Transitioning into the 20th century and the time of Jim Crow laws, the University became the largest employer of African Americans in the area, offering them a salary to build and maintain various structures across campus which is a stark change from the University's previous method of borrowing enslaved Black people to complete such work. This change allowed for some Black landowners to retain their land and others to build homes in the community with the wages they received from the University. In the 1930s, Pottersfield residents became labor leaders, and civil rights leaders in the 1960s. They established a "Janitorial Association" in 1939, and a mechanic shop for the University in the 1940s.

### Late 20th century and Civil Rights era

Teenagers from the Chapel Hill community, many of whom lived in Pottersfield and the adjacent neighborhoods, joined the struggle for civil rights and participated in sit-ins and other protests. In 1969, after years of advocacy, civil rights activists helped Howard Nathaniel Lee become elected mayor in the majority-white city. In doing so, he became the first African-American since the Reconstruction era to be elected to a notable political position. Additionally in the 1960s, urban renewal planners attempted to buy the land in Pottersfield, but residents came together to seek federal funding to improve old homes and build new homes. Chapel Hill’s first sit-in was led by students from Lincoln High, the local high school for black students during segregation.
Later in the 1970s, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development attempted urban renewal once again, but residents fought back to keep many of the homes that were meant to be demolished and negotiate improvement and construction for others in the neighborhood.

## Recent History and Current Condition

In 1980, Pottersfield, which started to be known as Northside, was flooded with college students. As there was a large shift to rental properties, many longtime residents of Pottersfield could not afford to live in their homes. In 2004, after creating a neighborhood watch system, community members worked with the town to classify Pottersfield as a Neighborhood Conservation District, however, by 2010, more than 450 Black residents had left Pottersfield. This was a 40% decrease since 1980.
On May 9, 2015, the Northside Neighborhood Initiative was launched to further strengthen ties between the community and organizations such as the Marian Cheek Jackson Center and Self Help, as well as the larger towns of Carborro and Chapel Hill. The launch of these notable community partnerships aim to properly honor the history of the area. Most recently in 2017, the Freedom Fighters Gateway monument was established jointly by the Marian Cheek Jackson Center, St. Joseph's C.M.E. Church, and the Town of Chapel Hill to commemorate the civil rights protests that happened in Pottersfield. Additionally, to promote further development of the neighborhood, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has offered aid in the form of an interest-free three million dollar loan to create the Northside Land Bank, delivered alongside community participation by student and non-profit organizations who have built homes and acquired properties for current and retired University employees.
Since 2020, the Northside Neighborhood Initiative (NNI) has been successful in various endeavors, such as promoting market equilibrium, educating student tenants, retaining multi-generational families, and attracting new homeowners who wish to live in close-knit, connected communities with pride. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of Black residents, the creation of 40 affordable housing units, the return of displaced neighbors, and the revitalization of important traditions that are vital to preserving the future of these communities. Additionally, efforts have been made to promote environmentally conscious transportation in the community, such as walking, biking, and public transit, with the aim of reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality, and promoting healthier lifestyles.

## Geography

Pottersfield was located north of West Rosemary Street and west of Columbia Street. Nearby neighborhoods included Sunset, Tin Top, Pine Knolls, and Windy Hill, all of which were historically Black neighborhoods. East of Columbia Street was the all-white neighborhood, Pritchard’s Field.

## Education

Up until 1966 when Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools finally desegregated, Pottersfield residents attended a revolving door of educational institutions. Starting in 1913, the Hackney School served Pottersfield's Black students of all ages until it was eventually sold and combined with a local Quaker school to form the Orange County Training School in 1916. After a destructive fire in 1924, the school was rebuilt as a Rosenwald school and renamed “Lincoln High School.” Later on in 1962, Lincoln High School was dissolved as younger Pottersfield children began to attend Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, while older students were integrated into Chapel Hill High School. These were the primary institutions that Pottersfield school-aged children attended until the complete desegregation of schools in 1966, greater educational options for Black students becoming available including Glenwood Elementary School, Estes Hills Elementary School, and Carrboro Elementary School.

## Culture

Originally, Pottersfield started out as a tight-knit community of workers where most residents were related. Some of the families in the neighborhood have lived there for several generations. Due to its connection and proximity to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, its culture has shifted to include more University students and other outside residents. This shift also brought a change in demographics, as the originally all-Black neighborhood gained a growing population of young, white student residents. Neighbors work to preserve the traditions and culture of the original neighborhood alongside residing students and faculty of the University.
There have been debates regarding the use of both the original name used for the neighborhood, “Potter’s Field,” as well as the name that is currently used, "Northside." The current name of "Northside" is believed to encompass a greater area including other neighborhoods around West Franklin Street and Carrboro. Many residents consider the new name a reclamation of power and a symbol of community, while others view it as a replacement of the area’s history due to a loss of valuable distinction between sub-neighborhoods.
In an effort to reclaim their history, Northside residents have created a series of monuments to commemorate key members of their community and highlight their culture of activism. A historic marker dedicated to the Chapel Hill Nine, a group of Lincoln high students whose sit-in sparked ten years of civil rights demonstrations in Chapel Hill, has been erected at what was once the site of the Colonial Drug Company to memorialize their protest. The monument names activists Harold Foster, William Cureton, John Farrington, Earl Geer, David Mason Jr., Clarence Merritt Jr., James Merritt, Douglas Perry, and Albert Williams who staged the sit-in on February 28, 1960. Additionally, The Marian Cheek Jackson Center was established in Northside to commemorate Marian Cheek Jackson, a Pottersfield resident who had a passion for preserving local history and building community. Mrs. Jackson was an integral part of the community who worked at North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in Durham, N.C. Memorial Hospital's Blood Bank, Bynum Weaver Funeral Home, Granville Towers Dining Services, Knott's Funeral Home, and served as the historian at St. Joseph's C.M.E. The community's culture of activism has also helped to produce leaders like Representative Valerie P. Foushee, who served in both the North Carolina House of Representatives and the North Carolina Senate and now represents North Carolina's Fourth District in the United States House of Representatives.