CHAPTER 1
PART I
CHAPEL HILL
The history of Chapel Hill and the history of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are one and the same. In 1789, the North Carolina General Assembly charted the creation of the University of North Carolina, which was to be the first public university to admit students in the United States. The University of Georgia had been chartered by the Georgia General Assembly in 1785 but did not admit students until 1801. Near an old Anglican church, the cornerstone was laid for the East Building on October 12, 1793. In February 1795, a young man named Hinton James, having walked all the way from Wilmington, North Carolina, arrived at the university as its first student. He was alone for two weeks before other students began to arrive. The university grew and prospered over the years and survived the dark days during and after the Civil War. The doors were closed briefly during Reconstruction, due to political and financial strife, but the school survived these times and again reopened its doors to students. In 1932, the process of consolidating the universities in North Carolina into one system began. The system became fully coeducational in 1965, as the Women's College of North Carolina became the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It was during this period that the original campus became known as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Today, the school has one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States and boasts traditions that rival any other university in the nation. The campus at UNC is made up of quads, the two main being Polk Place and the "Pit." Polk Place is named after President James K. Polk, who was a native of North Carolina and an alumnus of the university. The Pit does not have a great namesake, but it is the central part of the campus for the students. The bookstore and dining halls are located at the Pit, and it is close to the library. When the weather is nice, the Pit becomes a melting pot of students, talking and relaxing during the time that one could only hope is between classes.
Close to this hot spot, across the street between the Pit and Keenan Stadium, where the Carolina football team plays, is the Morehead- Patterson Bell Tower. The bell tower is a stunning sight, especially in the fall as the sun slowly sets, and the tower is illuminated against the autumn sky. Across the campus, between the Old East and Old West Buildings, is the Old Well. Modeled after the Temple of Love in the Garden of Versailles, the Old Well was built on the spot of the original working well at the university. It is said that if incoming freshmen drink from the well, they will receive straight As for their first semester of classes. This myth can be discredited by an ungodly number of people. Across McCorkle Place, near the infamous Franklin Street — the staging ground for the many celebrations for national titles and other big basketball game victories — stands the most controversial student at the school. Silent Sam is a monument that was built to honor the many young men that left the school to fight in the Civil War. Some argue that the statue represents the fight to uphold the practice of slavery, but supporters of the statue say that Silent Sam represents those who, as in most wars, did not make the policies or start the war but were drafted to fight in it.
The university has many traditions, such as the Halloween celebration that takes place on Franklin Street every year and draws the most charming people imaginable to the party. The sports traditions are the most famous for the university and, again, are comparable to any other university in the United States. The football team has a long-standing rivalry with the University of Virginia, which dates back to the creation of the football teams at both schools. In more recent history, this rivalry has been overshadowed by UNC's football rivalry with North Carolina State University, which is located right down the road in Raleigh. UNC's biggest rivalry, however, is on the hardwood with the Duke University Blue Devils of Durham, which is even closer than Raleigh. These two basketball powerhouses are located roughly eight miles apart and play at least twice a year. These games for fans of both schools are like the Super Bowl, Christmas and a trip to the dentist wrapped up in one. The games always prove to be close contests that are rarely decided before the final seconds, and losing could mean prodding by co-workers or friends from the time of the game until the next meeting.
In concluding this brief history of UNC, there only remains one question: what the hell is a "Tar Heel"? The answer is in legend rather than historical fact. Sometime during the Civil War (or, as sometimes told, the Revolutionary War), the soldiers from North Carolina were joshing the soldiers from Virginia about their inadequacy on the field of battle, when one of the Virginians stated that the North Carolinians needed to get some tar and put it on the bottoms of their shoes to help them to stick in battle instead of running away from the fight. The name, too, stuck and naturally was carried back to the place that represents the state that the men called home.
Because of its beauty, mystique and tradition, the University of North Carolina is a place where anyone who attends the school or lives in Chapel Hill would want to stay forever. It appears that some poor souls did, in fact, decide to spend eternity there. There are many stories and legends of ghosts in Chapel Hill. The unusal thing about the stories that are heard and passed down in a university town is that we will never know how much of the story is true and how much of the story is just urban legend handed down through generations of students. Either way, the stories are entertaining and certainly help to carry on the tradition of Chapel Hill.
The Horace Williams House
The Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill is owned today by the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill, and it serves as its headquarters. The house has gone through many changes and renovations over the years. The oldest part of the house is the dining room, or the farmhouse room, as it is sometimes called, which was built in the 1840s. The property, along with the house, was purchased from the university for $300 in 1855 by a chemistry professor named Benjamin S. Hedrick. During the time that Hedrick owned the house, he added on what would come to be known as the octagon room. Built sometime between 1852 and 1855, the room is connected to the original part of the house by a breezeway that makes the house unique. Hedrick was criticized and finally dismissed from the university for his political view on slavery and for his support of John C. Fremont, a radical Republican presidential candidate who opposed slavery. After his dismissal, Hedrick left the state and sold the house to H. Hosea Smith for $1,500.
Smith was a Northerner and was also unpopular among faculty and students for refusing to volunteer for the Confederate army during the Civil War. Students once even set off a powder charge under his seat during class. During the time that Smith occupied the house, he was frequently visited by Governor Zebulon Vance. Smith sold the house in 1879 to a professor of Latin named George T. Winston for $1,000. During the time that Winston lived in the house, he made many additions and changes, such as the front porch, the front parlor and the enclosure of the entrance hall. He served as university president from 1891 to 1896, when he left to become the president of the University of Texas. Later, he returned to North Carolina to become the second president at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. In 1891, when Winston became president at UNC, the house's namesake took up residence.
Horace Williams was a graduate of the university, and upon receiving his doctorate in divinity from Yale, he was appointed as the chair of the Mental Health and Moral Science Department at UNC. For almost fifty years, Williams stayed at the university and became incredibly popular among the student population for his teaching style. He preferred to use open discussion rather than just lecture. When Horace Williams died in 1940, he left the house to the university, which used it as a rental for professors until it was finally taken over by the Preservation Society.
Many people believe that Horace Williams never left the house at all. It has been reported over the years that the fireplace tools will move from one side of the fireplace to the other at night. Children who have lived in the house have said that they have seen the ghost of Horace Williams — and not only have they seen him, but they also have held conversations with him. One caretaker reported that a rocking chair in the house will sometimes begin to rock on its own. All of the reports about the disturbances tell of a friendly presence, nothing menacing. The house has been investigated many times, but no solid evidence has ever been obtained to substantiate the claims. The house, located at 610 East Rosemary Street, remains open to the public, and even without a "smoking gun" of paranormal activity, the house remains a landmark of the rich history of Chapel Hill and a magnet for ghost hunters of all degrees.
If you visit the house, take the time to look up at the large portrait of Horace Williams in the front room. Chills will go down your spine, as the professor's face gives out an extremely personal and human quality. The portrait looks down at you and gives you a sense that you may be looking at someone you once knew — a lost friend or family member that you remember from childhood. He can easily be imagined living and teaching in Chapel Hill, which only makes the stories of his spirit inhabiting the grounds more eerie.
The Legend of Peter Droomgoole
The legend of young Peter Droomgoole is an essential part of any historic analysis of Chapel Hill. The story has been retold many times and has many versions, but they are all very similar. The legend tells of eighteen-year-old Peter Droomgoole arriving in Chapel Hill about 1830 to attend the university. He was a high-strung young man who enjoyed drinking, playing cards and womanizing. Soon after he arrived, he became smitten with a beautiful young woman named Fanny. Peter soon gave up his extravagant ways and became totally devoted to Fanny. They would meet every evening around dusk at a high point on the east side of Chapel Hill, a spot called Piney Prospect. There on the rocks, they would stay for hours and talk about a future together, as young lovers are known to do. As their relationship progressed, another student became enamored of Fanny and goaded Peter about his love. Pride overtook Peter, and he challenged the man to a duel. Although dueling had been outlawed in North Carolina in 1802, it was still considered an appropriate way for a man to reclaim his honor and dignity.
The other man accepted, and they met at Piney Prospect with their seconds on a foggy fall morning. The two men stood back to back and began to count off paces. As they turned and fired, Fanny appeared on the scene, having been warned of the duel by a friend. She screamed in horror as Peter dropped his pistol and crumpled to the ground. She rushed to his side and held him in her arms as he died. The young men quickly quieted Fanny and set about burying Peter in a shallow grave on the hillside. The parties involved went their separate ways to hide their involvement in Peter's death. Fanny, heartbroken, left school but returned periodically to Piney Prospect over the years to mourn her lover and to think of all of the dreams they'd had that would never come true. She died a few years after the duel, some say of a broken heart, having always felt responsible for Peter's dying in defending her honor.
Peter's family became extremely worried after months of no communication from him, and his uncle, a Virginia congressman, came to Chapel Hill to find out what had happened to his nephew. There were reports that Peter had left to go to Europe to travel the Continent but never came back. There were also rumors that he had joined the army and ended up out West, later getting killed in a gunfight, but the congressman never came to the truth about Peter. He remained an open wound to his family for generations. To this day, it is said that Peter returns to Piney Prospect to search for Fanny, and it is also reported that Fanny can be seen there sitting on the rocks, reminiscing and waiting for her lover. Some have even reported that there are rocks at Piney Prospect that have strange brownish-red stains on them that seem to bleed during rainstorms.
The legend of Peter Droomgoole has stood the test of time, not only due to the fascinating story itself but because of the magnificent Gimghoul Castle that was built on the site in 1926. The castle was originally named Hippol Castle and was built by the Order of the Gimghouls, a society that was formed by university students who had heard the legend and formed a fraternity for juniors and seniors based on the story of Peter Droomgoole. The castle is said to be haunted, and a dark hooded figure looms in the window of the south room, facing the reported spot of the duel, pointing out. Is this Peter, or maybe his killer, trapped in this spot, waiting for eternity to catch up to him? The castle is an amazing architectural feat, but it is still owned by the society, and "No Trespassing" signs are posted all over the property. It is not suggested that anyone go there "ghost hunting," as many people have been escorted off of the property by the authorities in the past for trespassing.
The Carolina Inn
The Carolina Inn was built in 1924 to accommodate visitors to the University of North Carolina. In 1920, there were very few places for visitors of the university to stay, and in November 1921, the famous University Inn burned down. John Sprunt Hill, a UNC graduate, decided that he would build a hotel that would house the professors and alumni who frequented the university. The hotel was built at the site of the eighteenth-century New Hope Chapel, for which Chapel Hill was named. The structure was modeled after the Potomac side of George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. In 1935, Hill left the hotel to the university, with the stipulation that the profits from the deed would go to funding the library system of the university. The Carolina Inn has hosted many famous dignitaries, intellectuals and stars over the years. One of the most famous of these visitors was North Carolina's own Andy Griffith, who as a young actor, just starting out, performed his stand-up monologue "What It Was, Was Football." Another now-famous occupant of the hotel was Dr. William Jacocks, a physician with the International Health Division of the Rockefeller Foundation. Dr. Jacocks lived in the inn between 1948 and 1965 in suite number 252, and some claim that he never left.
Although Jacocks died in Burke County and not the hotel itself, he is rumored to still occupy this area of the hotel. His spirit is not considered to be malicious in any way, and as a matter of fact, his spirit is described as more of a prankster. One of the spirit's favorite tricks is to lock the guests out of their rooms from the inside. Even after the $16.5 million renovation and modernization in 1996, the doctor was not dissuaded. He still locks the rooms, with a disregard for the new, modern electronic key cards now used as room keys. On some occasions, maintenance has had to be called to enter the room with a ladder from the window over the door. It is still reported that items are moved and doors closed in the rooms of the suite. Guests and employees have heard music in the rooms. The visitors and employees all seem not to mind the presence and feel that it is a lighthearted entity that enjoyed life and wants to enjoy the afterlife just as much.
Those who have close ties to the inn believe that Dr. Jacocks enjoyed the inn so much that he returned to spend eternity there. The Carolina Inn today is still an important historic feature of Chapel Hill, and it is more than just a hotel where visitors come to sleep. Today, the inn provides a comfortable place to stay, along with a wonderful history to enjoy.
