Orange County Courthouse Mural

Education

What we know of education in Orange County starts in the colonial era. In this period it was difficult for the majority of people to receive an education. As the government claimed no responsibility for the teaching of its citizens, the majority of schooling was done through churches. Interest in education increased through the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The University of North Carolina was chartered by the state legislature in 1789 and opened to students in 1795. This period also saw the opening of private academies with broader curricula than the church-run schools, though these institutions were generally only accessible to affluent white male children. A number of these schools were opened in Orange County, such as the Hillsborough Academy, the Bingham School, the Hughs Academy, and the Hillsborough Military Academy.

The basis for public education in North Carolina was established when the General Assembly passed the Education Act of 1839, which allowed counties to vote for a tax to fund schools. By 1846 every county in North Carolina had at least one public school, and by 1860 Orange had 25 public schools serving the county’s white children. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, North Carolina was viewed as one of the best school systems in the country.

There was an ebb in education during and following the Civil War as people struggled to recover, both from the war itself and the economic hardships it brought. This included the closing of UNC between 1871 and 1875.

Prior to the Civil War, Black children received almost no education. In fact, it was illegal to teach Black people to read and write, though some learned either through secret lessons or teaching themselves. After the war, schools for African Americans did begin to open, largely funded through the Freedmen’s Bureau and Quaker missionary groups, as well as through community support. There were six Freedman Schools in Orange County by 1868. That same year, the North Carolina Constitution of 1868 was ratified, making several determinations about the state’s school system. This included implementing a uniform public school system, funding schools, creating a minimum school term of four months, and requiring different schools for different races. The schools for white children were significantly better funded than those for Black or Native American children.

Interest in education increased in the early 20th century, much of which is credited to Governor Charles Aycock. Improvements included better funding for schools and a longer school term. Schools for rural Black children began to improve in the 1920s with the Julius Rosenwald Fund. Conceived by Booker T. Washington and the staff of the Tuskegee Institute, the program saw Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears, Roebuck, and Company, match community fundraising to build schools, primarily for Black communities. North Carolina had the most Rosenwald schools of any state, with Orange County being home to four of them.

UNC expanded greatly during the 20th century, developing renowned programs in areas such as medicine, science, law, government, and the arts. Enrollment increased from 512 students at the turn of the century to 2,600 students in 1930.

The desegregation of schools in Orange County began at UNC. In 1951, after their victory in the McKissick v. Carmichael legal case, five Black men were admitted to the Law School. They were followed by the first Black undergraduate students in 1955 and the first female Black student, Karen Lynn Parker, in 1963. The first Black faculty member, Hortense McClinton, began in 1966; Blyden Jackson and Roberta Jackson would become the first Black tenure-track professors in 1969 and 1970. Desegregation in Orange County public schools began in 1961 with “integration by choice,” in which Black students could request to attend schools that were previously all white. This was followed in 1963 with attempts to create equal percentages of Black and white students in schools via transfer and redrawing district lines. The first African American teacher to teach in an integrated classroom in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system, Frances Hargraves, did so in 1966. Public schools in Orange County were not fully desegregated until 1970.

North Carolina public schools expanded throughout the last decades of the 20th century, placing increasing emphasis on reform and improvement. Education in Orange County has continued to grow in the 21st century. As of 2025, Orange County has two school districts and 34 schools, and serves approximately 18,000 students. UNC has approximately 32,200 students in 82 bachelor’s programs, 112 master’s programs, and 66 doctoral programs.

This theme contains the mural subjects related to education in Orange County. Topics range from the founding of the University of North Carolina to the desegregation of the county’s public schools.