Agenda - 01-19-1993 - VIII-H - Laserfiche WebLink

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Farm Complexes Until recently, the economy in Chapel Hill Township was agriculturally based like the rest of Orange County. Despite increased residential and commercial devel- opment around Carrboro and Chapel Hill, a number of farm complexes survive in the township--some still in use for farming purposes. Fifty-five sizeable farm complexes were documented in Chapel Hill Township, while most of the remain- ing properties had at least one surviving outbuilding. Farmsteads are usually comprised of the main farm dwelling and groups of domestic and agricultural outbuildings, as well as any landscape features or acreage that accompany them, such as trees, gardens, cultivated fields, woodlands, ponds, farm roads, and fences. Cotton and corn were the principal crops grown in Chapel Hill Township, which predominantly has White Store Fine Sandy Loam soil that is not very favorable for tobacco cultivation.2 Thus, very few of the distinctive tobacco-curing barns that are found in much of the North Carolina piedmont are found in Chapel Hill Township. Most of those that do exist, such as the two log barns on the Will Mayse Farm [OR 483] are found near the edges of the township and built of log construction. After the boll weevil inhibited cotton production in the 1920s, many area farmers turned to dairy farming. Outbuildings The majority of outbuildings in Chapel Hill Township are of log construction, put together with half-dovetail or V-notches, although frame outbuildings became somewhat more common in the twentieth century. Most outbuildings are simple rectangular, gable or shed-roofed structures that serve specialized pur- poses, often identifiable only by people familiar with them. A number of out- building types were found consistently on farms. Dairy farm buildings will be treated separately. A. Smokehouses The smokehouse, where meat was cured and stored, is the most common domestic outbuilding. The smokehouse on the William F. Cole Farm [OR 373] exemplifes the smokehouses in the township: a small, gable-front, log structure with half-dovetail notches, a batten front door, and a slightly overhanging front gable. B. Kitchens