Mickle-Mangum-Smith House | Plaque Program

PRESERVATION PLAQUE PROGRAM

The Preservation Chapel Hill’s Historic Plaque Program recognizes and designates historically and architecturally significant structures in our community.

Why Apply for a Plaque?

The Preservation Chapel Hill’s Historic Plaque Program recognizes and designates historically and architecturally significant structures in our community. Chosen structures receive a plaque and are also listed and described on the PCH website. Additionally, the information gained by going through the process of researching a house helps us to build our community accessible archive about historic Chapel Hill and to create programming for residents and visitors. Help preserve and mark the historic architecture of Chapel Hill by applying for a plaque for your home or place of business.

Eligibility

To be considered for a Preservation Chapel Hill Historic Plaque, properties must be 50 years or older and within the city limits of Chapel Hill.

Selection Process

The Preservation Committee of Preservation Chapel Hill’s Board of Directors reviews all applications for historic residence plaques. It is important to provide accurate dates, correct full names, and sources for all information included in your application. The Preservation Committee is willing to discuss and work with applicants to improve information, but first consideration will be given to well researched and well documented applications. The name on the plaque will be chosen by the committee. Whenever possible, buildings will be named for the original owner or a significant resident. Other owners or residents may be added if they occupied the building for a significant part of its history, made significant architectural changes to the building, or made important contributions to the history of Chapel Hill. The cost of a residential plaque is $150 for members and $300 for nonmembers. This covers manufacturing costs of the plaque and PCH staff time. Checks and money orders are payable to Preservation Chapel Hill. Plaques are awarded each May during Preservation Month.

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West Chapel Hill

Mallette-Wilson-Maurice House

c.1845

215 W. Cameron Avenue

Constructed in 1845, the Mallette-Wilson-Maurice House is one of the oldest homes in the Cameron/McCauley historic district. Built in the Greek-Revival style, the home is the work of Chatham and Orange county cabinetmaker, carpenter, and contractor, Isaac J. Collier. Collier worked on multiple noteworthy Chapel Hill buildings. He was the contractor of Chapel of the Cross as well as the contractor of the brick additions to the Old East and Old West buildings on UNC’s campus.

Sally Mallette bought the land where the Mallette-Wilson-Maurice House sits in 1845. Sally Mallette was the daughter of early Chapel Hill resident and bookseller, Charles Mallette. Sally was also the sister of Dr. William Mallette, who was a Chapel Hill physician who performed one of the first successful cesarean sections in the South. When Sally’s brother, Edward, died in the Civil War, she raised his orphaned children in the home.

Dr. Thomas J. Wilson purchased the home in 1891 for $800. Dr. Wilson was a graduate of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and acted as a surgeon for the Confederate Army of Virginia. Wilson’s son, T.J. Wilson III, became a University registrar and later the head of the UNC Press. After Dr. Wilson passed away, students rented his corner office in the house. One of the most notable residents was UNC alumni and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Paul Green.

In 1944, Mrs. Charles S. Maurice and husband Dr. Anthony Maurice bought the home when Dr. Maurice accepted a position teaching geology at UNC. A graduate of Princeton University and Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Maurice joined the UNC faculty and during WWII taught physics to cadets in the Navy Pre-Flight School.

Junius Webb House

c.1913

302 Pittsboro Street

Junius D. Webb, best known in Chapel Hill for his reconstruction of the commerical section of Franklin Street, purchased the lot on which this house sits in 1894. He bought the land from David McCauley, after whom the Cameron-McCauley Historic District is named for. Webb built the house in 1913. The house was home for Webb, his wife Miriam, and their eight children until 1918. The Colonial Revival style home has undergone several renovations and additions, but the originial frame remains visible.

The Junius Webb House passed through many hands until 1958 when Kappa Jappa Gamma Fraternity, Inc. purchased the home. Kappa Kappa Gamma - Epsilon Gamma Chapter still owns the home, utilizing the space for active members to live, host social events, and hold academic banquets. Since purchasing the home, the sorority house has been home to over 2,000 UNC women.

Mason-Lloyd-Wiley House

c.1860

412 W. Cameron Avenue

James B. Mason, the first known owner of the home, bought the home from Turner Bynum in 1878. Mason, a graduate of UNC, served on the trustees committee between 1871-1875 when the University closed during Reconstruction. Built around 1860, the exact date of construction remains a mystery due to missing records. Handmade nails and bricks are evidence of the age of Mason-Lloyd-Wiley House. Since brick construction is rare in residential homes in Chapel Hill, especially in pre-20th century homes, the Mason-Lloyd-Wiley home is unique to Chapel Hill.

In 1885, James Mason sold the home to Confederate veteran Thomas F. Lloyd. Lloyd, an industrialist, constructed the first textile mill in Carrboro. Constructed in 1898, the textile mill was known as the Alberta Mill and was located at the West End railroad depot in Carrboro. Julian S. Carr purchased the mill ten years later. Today, the mill still stands and is now the Carr Mill Mall, a popular shopping and restaurant destination.

Purchased by William L. and Dorothy Ford Wiley in 1938, renovations to the home allowed for plumbing, electricity, and heat. W.L. Wiley, a French Professor, joined the faculty of the Department of Romance Languages at UNC and wrote numerous books in the home.

Scott-Gattis-Allen House

c.1860

400 W. Cameron Avenue

The lot where the Scott-Gattis-Allen House sits is a part of the original 221 acres granted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The University sold the one-acre lot to Ed Mallette who in turn sold the lot to Calvin Scott, a Chapel Hill merchant and elder in the Presbyterian Church. Completed in 1860, the original house consisted of four rooms, but has since undergone three changes. Wounded and imprisoned by Union forces, Scott served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. After the war, Scott never returned to his home in Chapel Hill and sold his home to James Mason in 1881.

Dr. Robert E. Gattis, a doctor from Orange County, purchased the house when he and his wife, Lula Foushee, moved to Chapel Hill in 1902. Dr. Gattis was a partner in the Eubanks Drug Store. When Dr. Gattis died from a bout with typhoid fever, his wife remained in the house to raise their six daughters and rented rooms to boarders. Among these renters were two future UNC presidents, Franklin Porter Graham and Marvin Hendrix Stacy.

Dr. Marvin Allen lived in the home for numerous years with his wife, Mrs. Marvin Allen. A professor of physical education at UNC, Dr. Allen started the soccer program at UNC and coached its first team. Allen coached the team until 1976. The North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame inducted Allen in 1998.

Pool-Patterson House

c.1870

403 W. Cameron Avenue

Built in 1870, Solomon Pool was the first known owner of the two-story house known as the Pool-Patterson House. The Pool-Patterson House is the first home in Chapel Hill to have running water installed. Raised by his two brothers on the family plantation in Elizabeth City, Pool graduated from UNC in 1853 and became the fourth president of UNC. Pool served as president from 1869 until the University closed in 1871 (during Reconstruction). Because he was a Republican during the time of Reconstruction, Pool was the “most disliked person ever to be President of the University of North Carolina.”

In 1888, Confederate veteran Henry Houston “Hoot” Patterson bought the house. Patterson became a leading businessman and one of Chapel Hill’s most prominent citizens. Patterson owned and ran a general store on the corner of East Franklin and Henderson Streets. Patterson was also vice president of the Bank of Chapel Hill, a village alderman, and a member and chairman of the Board of Education. Patterson was also the founder of the first telephone company in Chapel Hill in 1901.

PRESERVATION PLAQUE PROGRAM

The Preservation Chapel Hill’s Historic Plaque Program recognizes and designates historically and architecturally significant structures in our community.

Why Apply for a Plaque?

Eligibility

Selection Process

West Chapel Hill

East Chapel Hill

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