About Open Orange

Open Orange is the second iteration of an online history/architecture mapping project developed by Sevy Kueber. Sevy began writing a Blogger blog in 2005 called Endangered Durham, documenting individual structures in Durham threatened by demolition, previously demolished, or otherwise architecturally or historically of interest. The site became quite popular locally, as Sevy published new content daily during the period 2005-2010.

In 2010, Sevy began development of an interactive platform to transform the blog into a comprehensive archive that would allow for multiple ways of organizing and visualizing the data. This project was also an effort to involve the community in helping create content for the website, adding their information and stories. To reflect this change, Sevy renamed the site Open Durham. Sevy and volunteers continued to develop, expand, and create content for Open Durham.

On May 26, 2016, Sevy donated Open Durham and its contents to Preservation Durham. The advocacy non-profit has embraced the opportunity to broaden access and participation in the important project of documenting community history; its volunteers have continuously expanded the base of stories on Open Durham and sought new partnerships in the process.

Also in 2016, Sevy created a new instance of the platform developed for Open Durham to provide for a 'sister site' to document Orange County, entitled Open Orange. With the help of Steve Rankin, who has worked for many years to document Orange County history, Sevy began documenting architecture and history in Orange County on Open Orange.

Beginning in fall 2021 Preservation Durham, with support from donors, effectuated a rebuild of Open Durham around a new and updated platform in collaboration with Jay Beaton Consulting. The updated Open Durham platform was launched in January 2023.

As part of the agreement to donate Open Durham to Preservation Durham, Preservation Durham agreed to share improvements to the platform with other implementations. In February 2026, Jay Beaton Consulting worked with Sevy to update Open Orange to the updated platform.

Open Orange aims to be a county-wide inventory for Orange County, North Carolina. It's easy to create a login and begin adding information and stories to the site - see the support page. The best information and most compelling stories about our history and our built environment comes from people like you.

The site is not a non-profit, because of the headache of maintaining a non-profit - but it is not-for-profit. Its purpose is to create easier access to historical and architectural information for busy 21st century folks - with a focus on a very local and granular history of the places people might encounter on a daily basis.

Site Credits:

Conception / Keeping things running: Sevy Kueber

Authorship: Sevy Kueber and Steve Rankin

Initial Design: QuickBrownFox Design

Developers: Christina Dulude, Alisa Herr, Chris Russo, Cuberis, Carlos Valdivia, Barb Baranski, Jay Beaton Consulting.

RESOURCES:

Books/Publications:

Lloyd, Allen A. and Pauline O. History of the Town of Hillsborough 1754-1966. Self-published.

Pender, Irene O. A History of Orange County Schools, 1752-1983. Hillsborough, NC: Shanklin's Press, 1983.

Hugh Lefler and Paul Wager (eds.). Orange County: 1754-1954. Chapel Hill: The Orange Printshop, 1953.

Otto, David A. and Richard Ellington. Images of America: Carrboro. Arcadia Publishing, 2011.

Stolpen, Steve. Chapel Hill: A Pictorial History. Donning Company, 1978.

Carrboro, N.C.: An Architectural & Historic Buildings Inventory, 1983

Holaday, Chris. Images of America: Hillsborough. Arcadia Publishing, 2002.

Oakley, J. Ronald. Images of America: Mebane. Arcadia Publishing, 2012.

Ryan, Elizabeth S. Orange County Trio - Histories and Tour Guides. Chapel Hill Press, 2004.

Dula, Lucille N. Pelican Guide to Hillsborough. Pelican Pub Co Inc, 1989.

Craig, David I. Historical Sketch of New Hope Church, In Orange County, N.C., 1891

Nash, Francis. Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary, 1903

Bellinger, Susan M. Photocensus: A Photographic Survey of Buildings in the Hillsborough, N.C. Historic District Built Prior to 1950. 1991.

Town of Hillsborough, North Carolina General Development Plan 1968-1988.

The Colonial Inn. Authentic Southern Recipes from the Colonial Inn. 1972.

A Sketch of the School of Miss Nash and Miss Kollock, by Mrs. W. S. Primbone, 1926

History of the Churches of Hillsborough

Peck, Todd, and Jody Carter. Historic Architecture of Orange County. Orange County Historic Properties Commission, Hillsborough, North Carolina. 1993.

Mattson, Richard L. History and Architecture of Orange County, N.C. Orange County Planning and Development Department, Hillsborough, North Carolina. 1996.

Bryant, Bernard Lee. Occupants and structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 5-year intervals, 1793-1998.

National Register of Historic Places, Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation: 01/22/2014. Prepared by Heather Slane.

Architectural field surveys for Orange County

Historic buildings and landmarks of Chapel Hill, North Chapel

Chapel Hill historic sites survey: final report

Chapel Hill township survey final report

Orange County multiple property documentation form: "Historic resources of Orange County."

History and architecture of Orange County, North Carolina

Architectural survey and National Register evaluation of St. Mary's Road (S.R. 1002)

Town and gown architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975

Hillsborough architectural survey, 2017

Websites/blogs:

Library of Congress (HABS, FSA)

UNC - Chapel Hill (Postcard Collection, Maps)

Orange County, NC Historic Information Cache (by Steve Rankin; no longer updated however, and much/most information from it has been transferred to Open Orange)

Chilton, Mark. Wandering through the NC Piedmont (blog).

Expanded Collection of All Sales of Enslaved People in Orange County

Efland N. C. Historical Photos, by Joe Dunn (RIP)

NCpedia

From the Rock Wall (Living Histories of Black Chapel Hill/Carrboro)

The Names of the Enslaved People who Built the University of North Carolina

NCCU School of Law History and Scholarship Digital Archives

Stone Walls: Chapel Hill history, unobstructed

Cheryl Warren. Time in Place, Place in Time: How History Connects People to Place in Hillsborough, NC. 2005.

Churton Street: Mapping the Businesses of Hillsborough

Mobile Version Mind: Black Women & Education

Mural Walking Tour (Chapel Hill-Carrboro)