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Midway Business District

"I’ve heard stories from people that were around when there were Black owned businesses and most people that owned those businesses were family members or they knew the kid’s parents. It was really easy for them to come in and just hang around and don’t have to worry about safety or…

Midway Barber Shop

Stephen Edwards opened the Midway Barber Shop in 1952.

Merritt School

"We went to a little country school back of our house [run by] Lottie Merritt. It was a school where we [went] from [grades] 1 through 7 and then we would take a test and go to high school at Orange County Training School." - Isabel Atwater Lottie Merritt ran a country school known as Merritt School…

Merritt's Store

"The geographic boundary was pretty much the neighborhood. I think one time a friend and I left the neighborhood and we ended up at Merritt's store to get some candy. And we went past Merritt's store and we ended up on the next street. There turned out to be some lady up there who knew us, and she…

Memorial Hospital

"And that was 1952, when the hospital was opened. That's when jobs really became available. And then, if you got a job at the university hospital, twenty-five dollars a week, a hundred dollars a month. That was a long way from paying seven dollars a week." - Rebecca Clark "My grandmother didn't do…

McDougle Middle School

"I know at McDougle Middle School where I worked part-time for the past six years, I made many a phone call encouraging Blacks to come to PTA meetings and to let them know that it was very important to be involved. I did encourage becoming leaders within the PTA." - Hilliard Caldwell McDougle Middle…

McDougle Elementary School

McDougle Elementary opened in 1996. The school is named after Charles and Lucille McDougle, who educated students in Chapel Hill for over 40 years. It shares a campus with McDougle Middle School.

Mason's Grocery Story

"And my uncle was quite innovative at that time, and...he would get me and my brothers, and some of my friends—and we would go all over Chapel Hill. And he would have leaflets made, identifying when he was going to have a big sale at his store. And we would go all over Chapel Hill to do this. And,…

Mason's Barber Shop

"You know, the black community had their businesses. One of the ladies they employed out here ran the Bar-be-cue. There was Mason's Barber Shop. That whole area up there between Chapel Hill and Carrboro."
- Joanne Peerman

Mason Motel

"My uncle had Mason’s groceries, and then he decided he would have a motel, and they called it Mason’s Motel for Colored. And, it was the only motel for Black people. Of course, Black people couldn’t go to the hotels in this area. And, Callaway had been there, Diana Washington, James Brown." - David…

M&N Grill

"The M and N Grill...was owned by, my uncle Charlie and Robert Nicks, who were brothers in laws. I don’t know how they got along...The M and N Grill was the hangout for the Blacks in Chapel Hill. Especially on Saturday night after a big football game." - David Mason "It was a stop off place going…

Lincoln Park

"Then we moved out to Lincoln Park, name of the subdivision. We were sort of like the Hillbillies. When you turned on the hot water, it scared us, especially me. Getting used to these things. But all the good things went away, like homemade biscuits. In the old house, Momma used to cook homemade…

Lincoln Hospital

"...I was doing a part-time job at Lincoln Hospital where I was taking x-rays from one hospital to another...It was $7.50 every two weeks. And I would stop by after school in the afternoon, and I would go in the lab. They would give me several x-rays, and bus fare, and I would go from Lincoln…

Lincoln High School

“What we had students don’t get now as easily. There’s something missing now for many of the kids…when I attended Lincoln there were Black role models around me everywhere…there were Black people around you, which you always had a sense of family, and a sense of community, a sense of safety, and a…

Lincoln Center

Located at 750 S. Merritt Mill Road, Lincoln Center is an administrative building of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. From 1951-1966, the building was home to Lincoln High School, the school serving Black students in the school system. The campus currently houses an alternative high school…

Lenoir Dining Hall

"I’ll never forget, down at the university when I worked in the food service, they were picketing in Lenoir Dining Hall, Chase Cafeteria, and the Student Union. We all had to group together because they didn’t want to pay us minimum wage, and the hours were so long. So, a guy came in from Georgia…

Knotts Funeral Home

"My uncle ran a funeral home here. Bynum Weaver Funeral Home (Chapel Hill Funeral Home), which is now on Graham Street. Actually, the original funeral home is still on Graham Street but is Knotts Funeral Home now. But that was my uncle’s funeral home." - Kathy Atwater Located at 113 N. Graham…

Pine Knolls

"There were people that walked [to Orange County Training School] from Knolls Development which was down off of Crest Street which is now Knolls Street and people walked from there, and people walked from Windy Hill...They had school buses but we were not allowed to ride school buses." - Mary…

Johnson C. Smith University

"I vowed that when I left [Chapel Hill High School], I was going to a historically Black institution. And I did. I went to Johnson C. Smith up in Charlotte. And that was the best decision I ever made. I felt such a sense of acceptance. I made lifelong friends at Smith. I was actively involved. I…

Holmes Day Nursery

"I enjoyed the teaching and then we enjoyed the children too. I did very little teaching with the children since I was the Director. But we handled the money well and fed them! We had good lunches and good food for them." - Sallie Pendergraft Holmes Day Nursery (now known as Holmes Child Care…

Hollywood Theater

"Now the only time we would go to that was on Friday nights...And we'd start getting very good before Friday, maybe start up Wednesday or Thursday, so you'd be eligible to go. Doing housework or any little thing, or being very sweet with your tongue, and very mannerly to get to go to the movies." -…

Heavenly Groceries

"Reverend Harrison was seeing that they were throwing away the day-old food at the Food Lions and then it became, 'How is this happening? So much food is being wasted. Why are we not surplussing this food and giving it to the need for the community?' And that is how Heavenly Groceries started at St.…

Hearn's Grocery

"It was a little store right in Carrboro called Hearn’s Grocery Store. They went to that grocery store to buy stuff like flour, cornmeal... maybe milk, but I think they got their milk from a dairy, if I can remember correctly. But they very seldom had to go to the grocery store. When they did, they…

Harry's Grill

Harry's Restaurant or Harry's Grill was located at 175 East Franklin Street and operated from the early 1960s until 1973. The space is currently occupied by Four Corners restaurant.