Historic Chapel Hill homes rich in University history

While students jog through the many side streets in the quiet neighborhoods of Chapel Hill, the beat in their headphones pushes them past generations of history, though they might not realize it.

In 1793, when University plans were drawn, builders laid out the town — meaning the two were — and still are — very much connected. Chapel Hill is a community where homeowners blend with college students and where residential and commercial life meet along Franklin Street.

The Widow Puckett House on East Franklin Street is one such example. Formerly a widow’s boarding house and an occasional classroom, the first chancellor’s residence’s central location has made it an important player in the University’s history. Current owners Ann Stewart and Randall Roden take great pride in the story behind their home and said they’re eager to share it with anyone interested.

“I feel a real responsibility to learn as much history of the house, to add to it and pass it on,” Stewart said. “This house has so much history that interesting things happen all the time.”

The couple has compiled a list of past owners, including Jane Puckett, the widow for whom the house is named. She housed notable tenants whose names are still visible on the walls.

“The students lived upstairs in the attic, and most of them signed their names in candle smudge to the ceiling and now have buildings named after them — like Venable, Phillips and Spencer,” Stewart said.

The house’s history is also constantly evolving with donations from visitors.

“People give things to this house all the time,” said Stewart, pointing to a picture of the entire University faculty seated in the side yard of the house during the 1870s.

“When people leave, one of the things they remember is the town. It is one of the things they come back to see,” Roden said. “They like to see the same places, and while they come to visit the campus, they also come to see the town and historic district that looks like what they remember.”

Another notable house is located in the Gimghoul Neighborhood Historic District and is home to 99-year-old twins Barbara Stiles and Bernice Wade.

The sisters’ quaint 1920s Sears, Roebuck and Company-style house stands out with a beautiful community garden.

When Wade first moved into the house in 1944, her yard was nothing more than a victory garden that started after World War II. Now, with the help of local preschoolers, neighborhood children and community volunteers, the garden has become a springtime attraction that draws busloads of senior citizens and elementary students alike — all of whom the sisters consider to be friends.

“I know every single neighbor — their dogs and cats by name and their children,” Wade said. “If you want friends, you have to be a friend. And when I moved here in ‘44, I was told that it’s a wonderful neighborhood because every neighbor is a good neighbor.”

The twins have found enjoyment outside of their garden as well.

“A university town is such a wonderful place to live,” Stiles said. “It’s nice to be part of a community, and because it’s a pedestrian town, you can walk everywhere, which we used to do.”

The sisters have become local celebrities with their own pop-up book, called “The Garden is Open,” and are in the midst of planning their 100th birthday party.

“You can’t expect things not to change since we came in ‘44,” Stiles said. “But we have tried to continue what we were told in 1944 and be good neighbors.”

Modern families in historic homes

On a sunny day in Chapel Hill, Jim Parrott’s daughter can be found playing in the front yard across from a fraternity house on Cameron Avenue.

The Noble family on Rosemary Street will sell lemonade down the street from former medical professor Tom Nuzum.

A common theme ­of renovation runs through the old homes of modern families on these streets.

“The house was built for a different era,” said Patrick Noble, owner of a historic home on Rosemary Street.

Built in 1924, the home is still in excellent condition, Noble said, thanks to the original construction’s durable wood. Following historic preservation codes, the Nobles didn’t change the front of the house and instead made the back of the house and its interior more accessible and comfortable for the young family.

Similar changes were made to the Pool-Patterson House on West Cameron Avenue.

“When I think about our house, it’s part renovation because you have to make it comfortable for whatever your life is like, but it’s also excavation because you’re peeling back all of the history and previous remodeling,” said Parrott, the current owner of the Pool-Patterson House.

The house was built in 1870 by the fourth president of UNC, Solomon Pool, who led the University until it closed during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Later, it became the first house in Chapel Hill to get indoor plumbing and running water.

Since moving to the neighborhood several years ago, Parrott said his family has found echoes of the past in the attic.

“You could see the footprints of those who made the house on the wooden ceiling of the attic. We also found guitars and other things that evoked a hippy-dippy kind of vibe from the ‘60s and ‘70s,” Parrott said.

The house has also retained its original glass windows, dual fireplaces and slipper doors that disappear into the walls.

“As we got into it, you begin to get more curious about its history because it clearly evokes a bunch of history, which you come to appreciate the more you’re here,” Parrott said. “You get curious about who was here and who did what to it.”

In the Franklin-Rosemary Historic District, two-time Olympic rower Henry Nuzum, Tom Nuzum’s son, grew up in the historic Henry-Nuzum House.

“People think the house is named after our son,” Jean Nuzum said, “But Henry was the name of the first owner.”

The Nuzums said they are proud to be the house’s third set of owners. They said they cherish the original hardwood floors and grand front porch.

“We love the big front porch,” Jean Nuzum said. “We use it when we entertain on Derby Day with our julep parties.”

Preserving neighborhood history

The Chapel Hill Historical Society and Preservation Chapel Hill both help homeowners learn the history of their homes as well as protect the historic buildings.

“The mission here is making the past present — following the people, events, knowing something about daily life, not just for Chapel Hill, but also for Orange County,” said Susan Newrock of the Chapel Hill Historical Society.

“This is just a beginning point of information,” she said. “But there are clues here.”

The real history is found within the homes themselves, and the fight to protect them continues.

“It is a fight that needs attention because otherwise the houses would be torn down for great big fancy homes,” Stewart said. “It’s really terrible how hard you have to fight to preserve really important history.”

Recently, one historic home was privately purchased and torn down, reduced to an empty lot used for football parking. Similarly, the Love House no longer serves as a residence after being purchased by UNC and given to the Center for the Study of the American South.

Roden said the neighborhood is changing from families, to absentee owners. But Parrott said Chapel Hill continues to maintain a unique neighborhood community.

“Chapel Hill has that small town feel yet is still dynamic and culturally interesting - it’s hard to find communities quite like this,” Parrott said.

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