Orange County NC Website
048 <br /> Orange County, founded over 230 years ago, Is an area <br /> rich in history. Chapel Hill , Carrboro, and Hillsborough each <br /> have Historic Districts and other buildings on the National <br /> Register of Historic Places . There are additional National <br /> Register Sites in Cheeks, Hillsborough, and Bingham <br /> Townships. The North Carolina Department of Cultural <br /> Resources has also identified over twenty sites in rural <br /> sections of the county that, while not yet nominated or <br /> eligible for the National Registers are architecturally <br /> significant or important to the history of Orange County.. <br /> While existing buildings are perhaps the easiest <br /> historic sites to document they are by no means the only <br /> ones. Numerous mills once provided for the economic well- <br /> being of the county; many of the dams and raceways still <br /> exist. Over 150 cemeteries and burial sites provide a record, <br /> in many cases the only record, of the lives and deaths of <br /> Orange County residents. The Archeology Branch of the North <br /> Carolina Department of Cultural Resources has identified <br /> nearly 200 archeological sites in the county, recommending <br /> further study for many of them. <br /> Churches and rural community centers, including <br /> recreational facilities, should also be acknowledged as <br /> unique physical features. Their existence Imparts an Identity <br /> and cohesion to rural communities and neighborhoods that can <br /> benefit the planning process . While chuch buildings maybe of <br /> recent vintage and not of historic value, the same does not <br /> necessarily hold true for the congregations . Over twenty <br /> Orange County congregations have been In continuous existence <br /> for at least 150 years. <br /> A list of culturally and historically important sites, <br /> along with natural areas, is contained In Appendix D: An <br /> Inventory of Sites of Cultural , Historical , Recreational , <br /> Biological , and Geological Significance In the Unincorporated <br /> Portions of Orange County. As information on new sites is <br /> gathered or information on, existing sites changes the <br /> inventory may be updated administratively by the Planning <br /> Department Staff .. <br /> 1 197 a <br /> Southern Highlands:�lountain Resource Management Pjan , 1974 . <br /> North Carolina Department of Natural and Economic Resources, <br /> Division of Parks and Recreation . <br /> Areaw i de Water Quality Ma , 208 Project <br /> Inventory of Existing Uses . P. IV Gi . 1976. Triangle J <br /> Council of Governments . <br /> 2 <br /> Classificafications of endangeredndthreatehed, and special ial <br /> species according to Enslange aDd <br /> An1ma1� Qf North Carolina, 1977 ., North Carolina Museum of <br /> Natural History . <br />