Carrboro

History

Before European settlement, the Occaneechi Indians lived in the area of what is now Hillsborough, north of Carrboro. As part of North Carolina's piedmont region, European settlement in the area likely did not begin until at least the 1730s. The history of Carrboro is similar to the history of many mill towns in North Carolina and largely parallels the histories of the State University Railroad and the Alberta Cotton Mill. Located just west of Chapel Hill, Carrboro was originally known as West End. It was settled in 1882 near the terminus "in a vacant field" of the State University Railroad spur from University Station in Glenn, North Carolina. (State law required that the railway be at least from the university campus "to guard against possible damage to student morals and habits of study," or as it was more cynically put, "to discourage students from leaving on the weekends and spending their money elsewhere.) Settlement in West End increased after 1898 when Thomas F. Lloyd of Chapel Hill built a steam-powered grist mill near the depot. This would become the Alberta Cotton Mill, and in 1900 the town briefly called itself Lloydville in his honor. Durham businessman Julian S. Carr bought the mill and other nearby buildings in 1909, adding them to the chain of mills that became Durham Hosiery Mills. In 1911, West End was incorporated and named Venable in honor of chemistry professor and University of North Carolina president Francis Preston Venable, but only two years later was renamed Carrboro, after Carr provided electric power for the community and expanded the mill. As a result of the riot, Carrboro and Chapel Hill leadership met to "sum up events and explore methods of suppressing future disorders." "Robert 'Bob' Drakeford, the town's first Black mayor,…

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Carrboro typically has a North American humid subtropical climate. Summer conditions are hot and humid, with daily average high temperatures of and higher. Winter temperatures tend to remain above or well above freezing, though snowfall does happen and occasional snow and ice storms are not unusual. The average high temperature in July, the hottest month of the year, is , and the average high temperature in January, the coldest month, is . Average monthly precipitation ranges from , with the heaviest precipitation occurring during the summer months.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  72,021
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  66,373
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  59,850
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  59,816
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  47,634
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  47,234
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  47,066
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  46,922

Largest nearby schools

• Chapel Hill High
  High · Chapel Hill · 1,597 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• East Chapel Hill High
  High · Chapel Hill · 1,447 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Cedar Ridge High
  High · Hillsborough · 1,104 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Carrboro High
  High · Carrboro · 870 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Smith Middle
  Middle · Chapel Hill · 768 students · 13:1 ratio
• McDougle Middle
  Middle · Chapel Hill · 752 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• Culbreth Middle
  Middle · Chapel Hill · 656 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• A L Stanback Middle
  Middle · Hillsborough · 646 students · 14.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2019-03-26
  8 km E of Archdale, North Carolina