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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: November 6, 2025 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-i <br /> SUBJECT: Proclamation Recognizing and Honoring Jean Andrews Earnhardt <br /> DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Proclamation Thomas C. Jepsen, Treasurer, Chapel <br /> Hill Historical Society, 919-929-1793 <br /> PURPOSE: To approve a proclamation recognizing and honoring Jean Andrews Earnhardt as <br /> an "Orange County Community Treasure". <br /> BACKGROUND: The Chapel Hill Historical Society has requested a Board proclamation <br /> recognizing and honoring Jean Earnhardt as an "Orange County Community Treasure". <br /> Jean Earnhardt is a direct descendant from the Andrews and Lloyd families, two of the earliest <br /> settlers of Orange County. Ms. Earnhardt is the owner and steward of Bolin Brook Farm, a 200- <br /> acre property on Union Grove Church Road that was part of the original land grant farm acquired <br /> by Thomas Lloyd in the 1750s. Ms. Earnhardt lives on the farm with her children and <br /> grandchildren. John Earnhardt, her husband, passed away in 2008. <br /> Bolin Brook Farm sits at the headwaters of Bolin Creek, and thanks to Ms. Earnhardt and Triangle <br /> Land Conservancy, the farm is protected by one of the first farm conservation easements in <br /> Orange County. Ms. Earnhardt has a distinctive view of the community that captures the complex <br /> interconnections of a heritage rural community with a prestigious public university, and is <br /> committed to environmental stewardship coupled with sustainable growth and development. <br /> Ms. Earnhardt opens her farm every year for bird counts, and for her famous July 4th blueberry <br /> pancake breakfast where thousands of pancakes filled with fresh blueberries are served with <br /> sausage, and fresh fruit, and a landscape that has been preserved for all. Breakfast is open to <br /> everyone and attendees meet others from every corner of Orange County. <br /> Ms. Earnhardt recently secured the Farm's legacy when she applied for the home and farm to be <br /> added to the National Historic Register. The home, a treasure in itself, was designed by Franc <br /> Sidler, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright and built by hand by Alfred and Willis Barbee of Chapel <br /> Hill. The home is a distinctive example of modernist architecture nestled in a wooded area of the <br /> farm. It is renowned as "The Stone House" where Ms. Earnhardt co-founded the North Carolina <br /> Haiku Society. <br /> Ms. Earnhardt holds degrees from the University of North Carolina and Duke University, and <br /> worked for years as a marketing director for Alamance Regional Hospital. Ms. Earnhardt enjoys <br /> opportunities as a writer and photographer, and has served on multiple Orange County boards. <br /> Although she never speaks about it, Ms. Earnhardt also happens to be a repeat winner on <br /> Jeopardy! At 94 years young, Ms. Earnhardt also continues to work part time for the US Census <br /> — going door to door to ensure that hard-to-reach families are counted — and to work for the <br />