Chapel Hill is a town in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

and

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill,

, and the state capital,

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, make up the corners of the

Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...

(officially the Raleigh–Durham–Cary

combined statistical area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

), with a total population of 1,998,808. The town was founded in 1793 and is centered on Franklin Street, covering . It contains several districts and buildings listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and

UNC Health Care UNC Health is a not-for-profit medical system owned by the State of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It provides services throughout the Research Triangle and North Carolin ...

are a major part of the economy and town influence. Local artists have created many murals.

History

The area was the home place of early settler William Barbee of

Middlesex County, Virginia Middlesex County is a county located on the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,625. Its county seat is Saluda. History This area was long settled by indigenous peoples; those encount ...

, whose 1753 grant of 585 acres from

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, (; 22 April 16902 January 1763), commonly known by his earlier title Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763; he worked extremely close ...

was the first of two land grants in what is now the Chapel Hill-Durham area. Though William Barbee died shortly after settling there, one of his eight children, Christopher Barbee, became an important contributor to his father's adopted community and to the fledgling

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

Chapel Hill has developed along a hill; the crest was the original site of a small Anglican "

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

", built in 1752, known as New Hope Chapel.

The Carolina Inn The Carolina Inn is a hotel listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Orange County, North Carolina, which opened in 1924. The Carolina Inn is a member of Historic Hotels ...

now occupies this site. In 1819, the town was founded to serve the University of North Carolina and developed around it. The town was chartered in 1851, and its main street, Franklin Street, was named in memory of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

. In 1969, a year after the city fully integrated its schools, Chapel Hill elected Howard Lee as mayor. It was the first majority-white municipality in the South to elect an African-American mayor. Serving from 1969 to 1975, Lee helped establish

Chapel Hill Transit Chapel Hill Transit operates public bus and van transportation services within the contiguous municipalities of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the southeast corner of Orange County in ...

, the town's bus system. 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 the

Chapel Hill Museum Chapel Hill Museum was a local cultural and historical museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The museum was founded in 1996 by leaders of the Town of Chapel Hill's Bicentennial Committee and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006. In the decade ...

. This cultural community resource "exhibiting the character and characters of Chapel Hill, North Carolina" includes among its permanent exhibits ''Alexander Julian'', ''History of the Chapel Hill Fire Department'', ''Chapel Hill's 1914 Fire Truck'', ''The

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

Story'', ''Farmer/James Pottery'', and ''The Paul Green Legacy''. In addition to the Carolina Inn, the Beta 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 Chapel Hill Cemetery is a graveyard and national historic district located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. History The land was a land grant to the University of North Carolina ...

, Old East, University of North Carolina,

Playmakers Theatre The Playmakers Theatre, originally Smith Hall, is a historic academic building on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Built in 1850, it was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture, as an important ex ...

, Rocky Ridge Farm Historic District, and West Chapel Hill Historic District are listed on the

Geography and climate

Chapel Hill is located in the southeast corner of

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. It is bounded on the west by the town of

Carrboro Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census.United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is covered by water. University Lake is part of the town's public water supply.

Demographics

Durham, North Carolina, is the core of the four-county Durham-Chapel Hill MSA, which has a population of 504,357 as of Census 2010. The US Office of Management and Budget also includes Chapel Hill as a part of the Raleigh-Durham-

Cary Cary may refer to: Places ;United States * Cary, Illinois, part of the Chicago metropolitan area * Cary, Indiana, part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area * Cary, Miami County, Indiana * Cary, Maine * Cary, Mississippi * Cary, North Carolina ...

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

, which has a population of 1,749,525 as of Census 2010. Effective June 6, 2003, the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

redefined the federal statistical areas and dismantled what had been for decades the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill MSA, and split them into two separate MSAs, though the region functions as a single metropolitan area.

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 61,960 people, 20,369 households, and 10,552 families residing in the town.

2010 census

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 57,233 people in 20,564 households resided in Chapel Hill. The population density was 2,687 people per square mile (1037/km). The racial 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. 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. 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. According to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau, over the three-year period of 2005 through 2007, the median income for a household in the town was $51,690, and for a family was $91,049. Males had a median income of $50,258 versus $32,917 for females. The ''per capita'' income for the town was $35,796. About 8.6% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty 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 an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

or higher, and 73% of adults possessing a

baccalaureate degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

or higher.

Government

Chapel Hill uses a council-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 city at large; city elections are held in November of odd-numbered eyars. Mayor Pam Hemminger, a former board of education member, was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2017, 2019, and 2021. She is currently serving her fourth term. She defeated incumbent Mark Kleinschmidt, who in 2009 had been elected the first openly gay mayor of Chapel Hill, succeeding outgoing four-term Mayor Kevin Foy. 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 are Carolina blue and white); the green represents "environmental awareness"; and the "townscape" in the inverted chevron represents "a sense of home, friends, and community." The town's seal, has, since the 1930's, 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.

Education

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district covers most of the towns of Chapel Hill and

Carrboro Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census.East Chapel Hill High School East Chapel Hill High School ("East") is a public high school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It is the second high school of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district, which also contains Chapel Hill High School and Carrboro High Schoo ...

Carrboro High School Carrboro High School is located in Carrboro, North Carolina, United States. It is located close to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Carrboro High school is part of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district which contains ...

, and Chapel Hill High School have all received national recognition for excellence, with ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' 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. The small portion of Chapel Hill located in Durham County is part of

Durham Public Schools The Durham Public Schools district is a public school district in Durham, North Carolina. Formed in 1992 with the merger of Durham's previous two school districts, it is 8th largest school system in North Carolina as of November 2020. There ar ...

. There are several private K-12 schools in Chapel Hill, including Emerson Waldorf School. Founded in 1789, the

is a public research university and is the flagship of the

system. The state's main youth orchestra, Piedmont Youth Orchestra, is based in Chapel Hill.

Culture

Though Chapel Hill is a principal city 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. Many large murals can be seen painted on the buildings. Most of these murals were painted by UNC

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

Michael Brown. Also, for more than 30 years, Chapel Hill has sponsored the annual

street fair A street fair celebrates the character of a neighborhood. As its name suggests, it is typically held on the main street of a neighborhood. The principal component of street fairs are booths used to sell goods (particularly food) or convey informa ...

, Festifall, in October. The fair offer booths to artists, craftsmakers, nonprofits, and food vendors. Performance space is also available for musicians,

martial artists Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

, and other groups. The fair is attended by tens of thousands each year. Varsity Theatre Franklin Street Chapel Hill NC

A variety of corporations are headquartered in Chapel Hill. Health insurance provider

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBS, BCBSA) is a federation, or supraorganization, of, in 2022, 34 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance in the United States to more than 106 million people. It was f ...

of North Carolina was one of the town's 10 largest employers. Technology companies USAT Corp and Realtime Ops have made Chapel Hill their headquarters location. Journalistic, Inc., the publisher of the nationally acclaimed magazines ''Fine Books & Collections'', ''QSR'', and ''FSR'' recently relocated from Durham to Chapel Hill. New companies are selecting the town as their base of operations such as the service company Alpha Install. The

Morehead Planetarium Morehead Planetarium and Science Center is located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a unit of the university, Morehead receives about one-third of its funding through state sources, one-third through ticket and g ...

was the first planetarium built on a U.S. college campus. When it opened in 1949, it was one of six

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

s in the nation and has remained an important town landmark. During the

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

, and Apollo programs, astronauts were trained there. One of the town's hallmark features is the giant sundial, located in the rose gardens 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 a

fire engine A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...

(numbers 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35) that is Carolina blue. These engines are also decorated with different UNC decals, including a firefighter

Rameses Ramesses may refer to: Ancient Egypt Pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty * Ramesses I, founder of the 19th Dynasty * Ramesses II, also called "Ramesses the Great" ** Prince Ramesses (prince), second son of Ramesses II ** Prince Ramesses-Merya ...

. Chapel Hill also has some

new urbanist New Urbanism is an urban design movement which promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually inf ...

village communities, such as Meadowmont Village and

Southern Village Southern Village is a New Urbanism neighborhood located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Established in 1994, Southern Village includes 550 single-family homes, 375 townhomes and condominiums, 250 apartments, and of retail, office, and civ ...

. Meadowmont and Southern Village both have shopping centers, green space where concerts and movies take place, community pools, and schools. Also, a traditional-style mall with a mix of national and local retailers is located at University Place.

Food

Hailed as one of America's Foodiest Small Towns by ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...

'', Chapel Hill is rapidly becoming a hot spot for pop American cuisine. Among the restaurants noted nationally are Al's Burger Shack, A Southern Season (now closed), Foster's Market (''

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pub ...

Living''), Mama Dip's (

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

's ''$40 A Day With

Rachael Ray Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook, television personality, businesswoman, and author. She hosts the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program ''Rachael Ray'', and the Food Network series '' 30 Minute Meals''. ...

''), Crook's Corner, Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen (''

The Splendid Table ''The Splendid Table'' is a weekly radio program about food hosted by Francis Lam. The program began in 1997 on Minnesota Public Radio, and was originally hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper until her retirement in 2017. It is produced and distrib ...

''), caffè Driade (Food Network's ''$40 A Day With Rachael Ray''), Lantern Restaurant (''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'', ''

Southern Living ''Southern Living'' is a lifestyle magazine aimed at readers in the Southern United States featuring recipes, house plans, garden plans, and information about Southern culture and travel. It is published by Birmingham, Alabama–based Southern Prog ...

'', etc.), and Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe.

Music

In the realm of popular music,

George Hamilton IV George Hege Hamilton IV (July 19, 1937 – September 17, 2014) was an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, switching to country music in the early 1960s. Biography Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, ...

Southern Culture on the Skids Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Originally a straightforward roots rock band, they became known as a tongue-in-cheek "party band" with an exaggerated "white ...

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the ...

Polvo Polvo is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band formed in 1990 and is fronted by guitarists/vocalists Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski, with Steve Popson playing bass guitar and Brian Quast playing drums. Eddie Watkin ...

Archers of Loaf Archers of Loaf is an American indie rock band originally formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1991. The group toured extensively and released four studio albums, one compilation, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was release ...

Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). The gro ...

The Kingsbury Manx The Kingsbury Manx is an American indie rock group from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. History The original members of The Kingsbury Manx met in middle school. They then attended different colleges and reunited during the summer mon ...

, Spider Bags and more recently

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, record producer, musician, and singer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Robinson began producing music in his childhood. He signed to Skrillex's record label Owsla, OWSLA at the age o ...

, 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 of

old-time music Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dancing, clogging, and buck dancing. It is played on acoustic instruments, generally centering on a combination ...

with such bands as the Ayr Mountaineers, Hollow Rock String band,

Mandolin Orange Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) is an Americana/ folk duo based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group was formed in 2009 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and consists of songwriter Andrew Marlin (vocals, mandolin, guitar, banjo) and Emily ...

, the Tug Creek Ramblers, Two Dollar Pistols, the Fuzzy Mountain String band, Big Fat Gap and the

Red Clay Ramblers The Red Clay Ramblers are a North Carolina-based band founded in Durham, North Carolina, performing continuously since their formation in 1972. The current touring band has been together since 1987, with Jack Herrick (trumpet, bass), Bland Simpson ...

. Chapel Hill was also the founding home of now Durham-based

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

has made a point to visit the town on four occasions. His most recent appearance was on September 15, 2003, at

Kenan Memorial Stadium Kenan Memorial Stadium is a stadium located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and is the home field of the North Carolina Tar Heels. It is primarily used for football. The stadium opened in 1927 and holds 50,500 people. It is located near the center ...

with the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

. U2 also performed at Kenan on the first American date of their 1983

War Tour War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

, where

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

climbed up to the top of the stage, during pouring rain and lightning, holding up a white flag for peace. The 2011 John Craigie song, "

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

", is about the singer's first visit there. One song from ''

Dirty Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a genera ...

'', a

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

album, is named after the town.

Sports

The University of North Carolina has been very successful at

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

and

women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the women's professional sports, professional level in multiple c ...

, and a passion for these sports has been a distinctive feature of the town's culture, fueled by the

Tobacco Road rivalry Tobacco Road is a term used in college sports, mainly basketball, for the four rival universities of North Carolina that play in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The term refers to the area's history as a major tobacco producer. The Tobacc ...

among North Carolina's four

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

teams: the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

, the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

, the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college footb ...

, and the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a mem ...

. The two largest sports venues in the town both house UNC teams. The

Dean Smith Center The Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center (commonly known as the Dean Smith Center, Smith Center, or the Dean Dome) is a multi-purpose arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, used primarily as the home for the University of North Carolina at Ch ...

is home to the men's basketball team, while

is home to the football team. In addition, Chapel Hill is also home to

Carmichael Arena William Donald Carmichael, Jr. Arena is a multi-purpose arena in on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. It is home to four Tar Heels athletic teams: women's basketball, vo ...

which formerly housed the UNC men's basketball team, and currently is home to the women's team, and to the new

Dorrance Field Dorrance Field is the on-campus soccer and lacrosse stadium at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The stadium was constructed on the site of the old Fetzer Field. Construction on the new field began in May 2017 and ...

, 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 and Bolin Creek Trail.

Media

* WCHL: local AM radio station (1360AM, 97.9FM) providing talk radio, news, and local sports coverage as the flagship station of the

Tar Heel Sports Network The Tar Heel Sports Network is a radio network in the United States dedicated to broadcasting live events and programming relating to North Carolina Tar Heels athletics. It is operated by Tar Heel Sports Properties, a property of Learfield IMG ...

. * WUNC: local public radio station (91.5FM) located on the UNC campus. *

WXYC WXYC (89.3 FM) is an American radio station broadcasting a college radio format. Licensed to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, the station is run by students of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The station is owned by ...

: noncommercial student-run radio station (89.3FM) on the UNC campus. In 1994, it became the first radio station in the world to broadcast over the internet. * ''

The Daily Tar Heel ''The Daily Tar Heel'' (''DTH'') is the independent student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded on February 23, 1893, and became a daily newspaper in 1929. The paper places a focus on university news and sp ...

'' is the nationally ranked, independent student newspaper that serves the university and the town. The free newspaper is printed thrice weekly during the academic year and weekly during summer sessions. * ''

The Sun Magazine ''The Sun'' is a magazine based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The overall goal for the publication, as stated by editor and co-founder, Sy Safransky Sy is a given name, nickname/hypocorism (often of Seymour) and surname which may refer to: ...

'' is an independent, ad-free magazine that for more than 40 years has published personal essays, interviews, short stories, poetry, and photographs. * ''

Carrboro Citizen ''The Carrboro Citizen'' was a weekly newspaper based in Carrboro, North Carolina, USA. ''The Citizen'' covered Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, Orange County and northern Chatham County. It was published on Thursdays and distribu ...

'' was a locally owned community newspaper covering local news, politics and town government of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The last issue was published in October 2012. * The metro area has TV broadcasting stations that serve the Raleigh-Durham Designated Market Area (DMA) as defined by

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

Transit

Bus

Chapel Hill has intracity bus service via

. Go Triangle provides connection to the rest of the Triangle (

, and Hillsborough), of which the Hillsborough service is operated by Chapel Hill Transit, and supplemented mid-day by a county shuttle.

Light rail

The Durham–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.

Notable people

* Alice Adams, author *

Emil Amos Holy Sons is a one-man solo band built around American songwriter and drummer Emil Amos. Amos is notable for releasing "genre-bending" albums, according to ''LA Weekly'' music reviewer Chris Martins, and for being a prolific songwriter; one accou ...

, musician *

K. A. Applegate Katherine Alice Applegate (born October 9, 1956), known professionally as K. A. Applegate or Katherine Applegate, is an American young adult and children's fiction writer, best known as the author of the ''Animorphs'', '' Remnants'', ''Everworld ...

, author *

Owen Astrachan Owen Astrachan is an American computer scientist and professor of the practice of computer science at Duke University, where he is also the department's director of undergraduate studies. He is known for his work in curriculum development and met ...

, Duke Professor of Computer Science *

John David Roy Atchison John David Roy Atchison (August 28, 1954 – October 5, 2007) was an American assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida's northern district who was arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex with a 5-year-old girl. He was also a volunteer coach for girls' ...

(1954–2007), Assistant US Attorney and children's sports coach, committed suicide in prison after being charged with soliciting sex from a 5-year-old girl *

George A. Baer George A. Baer (April 14, 1903 – July 24, 1994) was a German/Swiss/American bookbinder. He specialized in fine leather bindings, including inlays and gold tooling. Much of Baer's work involved the restoration of old and rare books for both p ...

(1903–1994),

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...

Stephen Barrett Stephen Joel Barrett (; born 1933) is an American retired psychiatrist, author, co-founder of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), and the webmaster of Quackwatch. He runs a number of websites dealing with quackery and health frau ...

, retired psychiatrist, webmaster of

Quackwatch Quackwatch is a United States-based website, self-described as a "network of people" founded by Stephen Barrett, which aims to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and to focus on "quackery-related information tha ...

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis ...

, stand-up comedian, author, actor *

Ash Bowie Ashley Hideyo "Ash" Bowie (born c.1968) is an American musician. In 1990, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he formed the band Polvo (as guitarist and vocalist) along with Dave Brylawski, Steve Popson, and Eddie Watkins. Polvo was influential in t ...

, musician *

Steve Breedlove Steven Allen Breedlove (born 1950) is an American prelate of the Anglican Church in North America. He was elected as the first Presider Bishop of PEARUSA, a missionary district that was formerly part of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, in 2012. ...

, clergyman, bishop in the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...

Sean Bridgers Sean MacKenzie Bridgers (born March 15, 1968) is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for his role as Johnny Burns on the HBO series '' Deadwood'' and on the SundanceTV original series ''Rectify'' as Trey Willis. Additional to ma ...

, actor, screenwriter, director, producer *

Fred Brooks Frederick Phillips Brooks Jr. (April 19, 1931 – November 17, 2022) was an American computer architect, software engineer, and computer scientist, best known for managing the development of IBM's System/360 family of computers and the O ...

, computer scientist *

Christopher Browning Christopher Robert Browning (born May 22, 1944) is an American historian who is the professor emeritus of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). A specialist on the Holocaust, Browning is known for his work documenting ...

, historian *

Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and playe ...

, football coach *

Spencer Chamberlain Spencer Chamberlain (born January 4, 1983) is an American musician, best known for being the current lead vocalist for the metalcore band Underoath. Before fronting Underoath, Chamberlain was the vocalist for the band This Runs Through in which ...

, musician *

Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, also known as Doug Clark and his Hot Nuts, The Hot Nuts and, since the death of Doug Clark in 2002, Doug Clark's Hot Nuts, is an American rhythm and blues, rock and novelty band that has played party and club dates fo ...

, band. * Fred C. Cole, librarian and historian *

Elizabeth Cotten Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten ( Nevills; January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) was an American folk and blues musician. She was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down. This po ...

, musician *

Floyd Council Floyd Council (September 2, 1911 – May 9, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, mandolin player, and singer. He was a practitioner of the Piedmont blues, which was popular in the southeastern United States in the 1920s and 1930s. He was ...

, blues singer, the "Floyd" after which Pink Floyd is named *

Butch Davis Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant col ...

, former UNC football coach *

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching career, Davis played for North Carolina from 19 ...

, UNC basketball coach, ESPN analyst, former NBA basketball player * Walter Royal Davis, North Carolina philanthropist and oil tycoon *

Anoop Desai Anoop Manoj Desai (born December 20, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and actor best known for his time as a contestant on the eighth season of ''American Idol''. Desai was the first ever 13th finalist on ''American Idol'' and was the se ...

, finalist on ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', singer *

Sarah Dessen Sarah Dessen (born June 6, 1970) is an American novelist who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Born in Illinois, Dessen graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her first book, ''That Summer'', was published in 1996. She ...

, author *

David Drake David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography Drake graduated Phi ...

, science fiction and fantasy novelist and small-press publisher *

Elizabeth Edwards Mary Elizabeth Anania Edwards (July 3, 1949 – December 7, 2010) was an American attorney, author, and health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who was the 2004 United States Democrati ...

, late wife of former U.S. Senator of North Carolina

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

, former presidential candidate *

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. The author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, an ...

, Beat Generation poet and co-founder of ''City Lights Book Sellers & Publishers''. Earned a B.A. in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1941. *

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

, musician * Paul Green, playwright *

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Am ...

, author *

Meredith Hagner Meredith Kathleen Hagner (born May 31, 1987) is an American actress. She began her career portraying Liberty Ciccone on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (2008–2010), which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Yo ...

, actress, portrays

Liberty Ciccone This is a list of some of the major or minor characters that appear (or have appeared) on the soap opera ''As the World Turns''. A ; Karen Adams : Doe Lang (1968–70) :: Registered nurse. ; Reg Addington : Mark Sullivan(2008–09) ; Bart Al ...

on ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' *

Bernardo Harris Bernardo Harris (born October 15, 1971) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He attended Chapel Hill High School, graduating in 1990. He was recruited by Mack Brown to play at the University of North Carolina a ...

, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

linebacker *

Dave Haywood David Wesley Haywood (born July 5, 1982) is an American country musician and songwriter. He is one-third of the American country music band Lady A, in which he plays guitar, piano and mandolin, and sings backing vocals. Early life Haywood's fat ...

, musician, member of the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

* Bunn Hearn,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher *

Jack Hogan Jack Hogan (born Richard Roland Benson Jr.; November 24, 1929) is an American retired actor. He is most notable for the role of PFC William G. Kirby on the 1960s television show ''Combat!'' Biography Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Hogan w ...

, actor, noted for his role as Private William Kirby on ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American sol ...

'' television series, 1962–1967 *

Laurel Holloman Laurel Lisa Holloman is an American painter and actress. She is best known for playing Tina Kennard in ''The L Word''. Early life Holloman is the youngest child in her family. She has two older brothers. She graduated from Saint Mary's Schoo ...

, artist and actress. Known for The L Word television series. *

George Moses Horton George Moses Horton (1798–after 1867), was an African-American poet from North Carolina who was enslaved till the Emancipation Proclamation reached North Carolina (1865). Horton is the first African-American author to be published after th ...

, a slave poet, called "the black bard of Chapel Hill" * Paul Jones, computer technologist *

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

, six-time NBA champion, basketball hall of famer, national champion at UNC *

Alexander Julian Alexander Julian (born ) is an American fashion designer, known for his ''Colours'' clothing brand and designing his own clothing fabric. Julian has won five Coty Awards for design — the first before age 30—and the Cutty Sark award three tim ...

, fashion designer * Michelle Kasold, Olympic field hockey player * Charles Kuralt, journalist * Kay Kyser, big band leader, entertainer * Howard Lee, first black mayor of a predominantly white city * William Carter Love, United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from North Carolina during the 1800s *

, Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz, a folk/americana duo * Mac McCaughan, musician * Nick McCrory, Olympic bronze medalist in Diving (sport), diving * Richard McKenna, novelist, ''The Sand Pebbles'' * Mark Newhouse, professional poker player * Marty Ravellette armless hero * David Rees (cartoonist), David Rees, political satirist, cartoonist of ''Get Your War On'' *

, electronic music producer * Brian Roberts (baseball), Brian Roberts, former MLB second baseman, two-time All-Star * Dexter Romweber, rockabilly roots-rocker * Aziz Sancar, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry * Betty Smith, novelist, ''A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (novel), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'' * Dean Smith, former basketball coach * Elizabeth Spencer (writer), Elizabeth Spencer, author of ''The Light in the Piazza (novel), The Light in the Piazza'', currently resides in Chapel Hill * Silda Wall Spitzer, wife of former New York governor Eliot Spitzer * Chris Stamey, musician * Leo Sternbach, chemist and discoverer of benzodiazepines * Matt Stevens (safety), Matt Stevens, former NFL safety *

, musician * Blair Tindall, author and musician * Richard Trice, blues guitarist, singer and songwriter * Willie Trice, blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer. Elder brother of above * Karl Edward Wagner, horror writer, editor, and small-press publisher * Daniel Wallace (author), Daniel Wallace, writer, author of ''Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions'' * Manly Wade Wellman, novelist * Roy Williams (coach), Roy Williams, men's basketball coach * Thomas Wolfe, author. UNC alumnus. Chapel Hill appears as "Pulpit Hill" in his posthumous novel ''You Can't Go Home Again''. * Bayard Wootten (1875–1959), photographer and suffragette

Sister cities

* Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristóbal (Galápagos Islands), San Cristóbal (Galápagos Province, Galápagos, Ecuador)

References

External links

*
Chapel Hill Memories (preserving the history of Chapel Hill)
{{authority control Towns in North Carolina Towns in Orange County, North Carolina Towns in Durham County, North Carolina Chapel Hill-Carrboro, North Carolina Populated places established in 1793 1793 establishments in North Carolina Research Triangle

History

Geography and climate

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

Government

Education

Culture

Food

Music

Sports

Media

Transit

Bus

Light rail

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

References

External links