William Gattis and Dr. Courtney Rivard - On Windy Hill (clip)
Interviewed by Courtney Rivard on March 26, 2025
Dr. Courtney Rivard (CR): May ask a question because I want to think how we are going to be able write this in the Wikipedia and I just want to start by saying thank you. Thank you.
Patricia “Pat” Jackson (PJ): Now shut up. [Laughter]
CR: No, actually just the opposite. There’s some translational work that’s gonna need to get done and I want to make sure we do it accurately. So, there’s two, several questions that I have. The first is like how could we define the boundaries of the area in a way that’s accurate.
William Gattis (WG): The way you do that is with the Historic Society. There is a map. It’s actually down at Lincoln School. The map that shows Merritt Mill Road as being the separator, okay. So, there is actually a map that defines the area and then if you look back and Richard Ellington could probably help you do that. If you look back to when the town was founded, you will also see the documentation for Boundary Street and Merritt Mill Road. And what we also have to understand is that we are looking at these places through modern eyes.
CR: Sure.
WG: In fact, at that time for example, going down that hill towards Estes Drive was just a muddy hill. So, Boundary Street is right before you get to where you are descending, you see, so you cut it off there. And in 1937, if you check the earlier Chapel Hill Weekly, said these areas are worse than ghettos in New York. So, we have the documentation in the Chapel Hill Weekly referring to that same time frame.
