Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, (population 47,000 Census 2001
estimate) is the largest municipality in Orange County. Originally
called New Hope Chapel hill, it was named for a church located here
in the late 1700s. (It is now nicknamed "The Southern Part of
Heaven." after the title of the book by William Meade Prince.)
North Carolina's Piedmont region, affords Chapel Hill a moderate
climate with winter temperatures averaging 40 degrees and a summer
average of 76. Located within easy driving distance of the Blue
Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic Coast beaches (about three hours
each way), a choice of spectacular outdoor recreation can be found
year round.
Chapel Hill’s quaint historic charm is genuine. The nation's first
state university (1795), in fact, the only public university in the
U.S. to award degrees to students in the 18th Century, the
University of North Carolina, is open for historic tours while
consistently ranking among the highest educational facilities in the
nation. The Orange County Historical Museum in nearby Hillsborough
and the Ackland Art Museum are well endowed with North Carolina’s
historical artifacts and exhibits.
North Carolina’s world renowned Research Triangle, is anchored by
Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham. The Research Triangle Park, founded
in 1959, is an international gathering of cutting-edge educational
and commercial research and development companies; many are world
leaders in Biotech and Environmental Health Sciences.
Chapel Hill’s quiet ‘college town’ atmosphere is slightly unusual,
however when you look closely at things the residents take for
granted:
• Southern Cuisine is a staple in North Carolina – but only Crook's
Corner got a rave review for their 'Shrimp and Grits’ by Craig
Claiborne in the New York Times.
• Many musicians break strings or have other disasters during late
night gigs after the music stores are closed – but check out the
vending machine outside the Cat’s Cradle (containing complete sets
of strings, assortments of picks, etc.)
• Mentioned by greats from Aristotle and Da Vinci to Kepler, many
fields of study and all colleges contain references to the camera
obscura – UNC actually has a working model outside the Hanes Art
Center.
• All towns have red fire engines – but in Chapel Hill, one fire
engine at each station is Carolina blue.
Chapel Hill was recently voted the #2 city in A&E's "Top Cities To
Have It All" and Money magazine rated the community as the "#1 Best
Place to Live in the South."
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