early student group

Slavery and the University

The roles of African American slaves in early university life, from constructing the physical campus to serving students and faculty.

Enter the exhibit

  1. Wilson Caldwell (1841-1898), college servant
  2. Old East, ca. 1797. Pen and ink sketch by John Pettigrew.
  3. Scrollwork by Thomas Day (1801-1861)
  4. Page from account book, 1830, listing student fees including two-dollar charge paid for slaves hired as college servants
  5. Slave advertised for sale, Milton, NC, Chronicle, 12 April 1861
  6. James Phillips (1792-1867)
  7. Elisha Mitchell (1793-1857)
  8. Benjamin Smith (1756-1826)
  9. Paul C. Cameron (1808-1891)
  10. Thomas Ruffin (1787-1870)
  11. Drawing of November Caldwell (1791-1872) done after his death probably using his son Wilson as a model
  12. Wilson Caldwell (1841-1898)
  13. Title Page of The Poetical Works of George M. Horton, 1845
  14. 1829 advertisement for a college servant runaway slave, Hillsborough Recorder, 29 November 1829
  15. James Strudwick Smith (1787-1852)
  16. Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Franklin Street, adjacent to the university campus
  17. Pauli Murray (1910-1985)
  18. Grave marker in Old Chapel Hill Cemetery for college servants
  19. Do-Ho Suh, Unsung Founders, Bond and Free, McCorkle Place, 2005

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