The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1886-06-04
THE STATE UNIVERSITY.
cur FACTS OF HISTORY ABOUT
mn CIR N<D INSTIrI TION.
Y.t4hII-hrd ~ hen the State was y Dung.
n uu~ crown with its Growth and
Strengthened with its Strength.
-ElLtnrIal Correspondence

.
.... tr read in a North Carolina news
@ r#,.i sI account of the culy establish
8 m.at of the state ulvcrsltY, or the future
s@ career and work Of some of tie men who
r.. taa,ht ait, halls, or Il list Of the
E 3....5u-. or a general statement Of the
o thr University and Of the ~ocie-
& What could interest Il North Caro-
m more than such 4 sketch compiled
3 accuracy after access 10 All the o!G
Nothin , think
l.ef following facts about the University
& doubtless please the readers of the
& ..pEIo LIZ. 1t Will instruct them is well.
paper, containing the following ac-
3 e.r,tc history Of the University ought to
s8 b. preserved. In such short space 50 com
M t.,-r = history cannot be obtained else
# y.G.r r,. han III this CHRONICLE:
The establishments.
I... University Of North Carolina WAS
A established III obedience to a clause Of
tlJu fl OF the Constitution Of the state,
@ sgl .Jcd ON the 18th Of December, 117G,
# AI useful learning shall be duly
Z encouraged and promaicd.'
THE charter was granted by the General
# Assembly, Oh the 11th December, 1899.
I'LL. cjrporatorS named therein as Trustees
3 Mcrn forty of the most distinguished men
# lu the State, the first named being Cover
2 nor samuel Johnston, who had been chair
>
and was one OF the first Senators of The
United states
supplemental act passed ~ ihc same
"a endowed the Institution with all
ga t.l. .lfrc;tralgrs due to the State from re
& wing ulcers UP to the 1st of january.
80, and with all the property that had
IA heretofore or should thereafter escheat to
# tile State From the former source an IN
81 considerable sum, fro.a the latter, after
many Years, Il considerable amount, was
& realized Unclaimed land warrants grant
"a t. - soldiers of the Revolution were To-
,atcd IN the state of Tennessee, and of
lhc,e the General Assembly of that State,
# allowed the University of North Carroll
# M title to one-third. The proceeds of
this share constituted the chief pagt of
the endowment, about Sla0, 900, which
# was lest III the civil war of 1861 %.
the FIRST meeting of the Trustees was
ncd Il. Fayetteville on the 10Th of De
5M cember 1890. Gen. VIM. Lenoir, then
8N speaker of the Senate, who died IN 1899,
aged 50 years, the last survivor of the
H forty members Of this Board, was unani-
i mouslY elected President, and James Tay
III Iur OF R0ckipgham was appointed Sec
S# letary.
t0this meeting BENJAMIN smith, subse
Z quently Governor of the State, donated
warrants for twenty thousand acres o
land located in Obion county, Tennessee
81 The gift was not, however, of immediate
Z value, as the land was claimed by The
# Chickasaw Indians, which claim was after
wards extinguished II was sold ;,bou
1908 IOr si4 OpQ.
In DECEMBER, 1t9l, the General Assem-
bly, granted a loan of so, 600, afterward
converted into a gift, TO be used in erect
& ing buildings.
Chapel Hill Chosen as the Site.
ON the lth of August, 1892, the Board
convening at IIillsboroush, provided fo
fixing the site of the University. Ballot
were taken for the selection of q point
the centre of a circle OF fifteen miles radiu
within which the University should be 10
Gated by committee Of the Board, on
from each Judicial District, to be chose
likewise by ballot. Raleigh, Hillsborough
Wlliamsboro, Charlotte, Goshen Gn Gran
Vile county), Smithiield and gyprit
Bridge IL Chatham county over Ne'
iiupe Greek, on the main road from Ia
tigh to PittsbOro, were placed III nomnf
tIon. Cyprite (now Princes Bridge) wa
chosen
The following Trustees We're elected tn
committee of location, viz: From the Mo-
Canton District, VIM. Porter; Salisbur
district, John Hamilton; HillsbOrOugh di
trct. Alexander Mebane; Halifax distric
Willie Jones; Edenton district, Davi
stone, New beIlt ulSlIlCl, EIcueIlCk lld
rett Wilmington district, VIM. II. Hill
Fayetteville district, James Hogg {
these Porter, Hamilton and Hargett wei
for years members of tue General Assem-
bly from Rutherford, Guilford and jon
counties respectively; Mebane and Iii
We're repeatedly members of the Nations
House Of Representatives, Stone becan
GoYernor and United States Senator ar
Iones had been chairman of the Sta
Of faty of IN 10
islative and other positions,
of the committee, Messra. Hargett, NJ
bane, Hogg, HILL Stone and Jones met
Pittsboro on the 1St of November, 179
and received various proposals OF donatlo
Of land and money to secure the selectlo
Eleven hundred and eighty acres were {
fered at the place called New Hope Chap
HILL and on the 9th Of November the COZ
44itte2 decided in its favor by a unal
nous vote.
The village Of Chapel I'LL was laid o
the srst lots sold and the corner stone
the old East Building was laid on the II
day Of October, 1893. VIM. Richards
Dayie, afterwards Governor and Comm
sioner to France, as Grand Master of
Free and Accepted order Of Masons, W
foremost in the ceremony. Other Trr
tess present were Alfred Moore, aftt
wards Judge of the Supreme Court of t
United States. VIM. H. Hill, member
the National House of Representative
from the New Hanover District. John Ha
wood, for forty years Treasurer of t
State Alexander Mebane, member
Congress from the lIillsboro District; Th'
Blount, member of Congress from the I;
horo District; John Williams, one of
thrse judges hrst appointed under
Constitution of 1916 Frederick Harge
state senator, who was one of the Co
missioners for selecting the site for a
laying out the city of Raleigh; and
samuel f. McCorckle, one of the most !
ted teachers of the State.
The circle around Cyprite Bridge
chosen because of its central position
he State Within that circle Chapel /
vas selected as the site of the tniyers
IN account of It's health, its numert
,prngs Of pure water and its location
the only postal road then running fr
East to West III the State. 1t was pro
ded by the charter that the site Sho
not be within five miles of the seat
government or of any county seat, pro
bly, because of the superior discipline Il
obtainable. Chapel Hill is in the cou7
If Orange, twenty eight miles Wes
northwest of Raleigh and twelve N
south Of liillsborough, the county seat