COBB TERRACE

The earliest planned development (1915) in Chapel Hill is Cobb Terrace, located at the north end of Henderson Street at the northwest corner of the Franklin-Rosemary Historic District. According to deed records, this collection of properties was part of an earlier (proposed/attempted?) development called Fairview, that was developed by Orlando B. Barnes (b. 1858 - d. 1921) starting in late 1907; the Cobb family bought some/much/most of the property from Barnes. Cobb Terrace was developed as an affordable rental "community" for UNC professors and staff.

Because of the uneven terrain, some doubted the ability of Collier Cobb, a professor of Geology at UNC, to develop the land. However, Cobb brought in earth to partially level the site and designed a terraced development to take advantage of the steep slopes to the north and east.

Within the initial development, Cobb erected eleven houses (NOTE: four of the houses -- #1, 2, 6, and 8 -- may have already been on the property as part of Fairview), including several Aladdin Homes (mail-order kit houses), as affordable rental housing for young professors. The development was completed by 1927, with a total of just over 20 lots, including several small lots for garages.

The original plan for Cobb Terrace called for a loop street around the development with all of the houses facing outward. It is not clear whether the north part of the loop (initially named Cherokee Place, now named Cobb Terrace) was ever constructed, but by the time the streets were paved, the change in topography was too significant and the north part of the loop street was never paved. Instead, a narrow road that was meant to bisect the block became the primary road (initially part of Henderson Street, now named Cobb Terrace), addressing the rear of the houses on the north side of the development. As a result, many of the houses have been reoriented over time to face the road as it was constructed.

(Most of the above information is from: Chapel Hill Historic District Boundary Increase and  Additional Documentation, Chapel Hill, Orange County, OR1750, by Heather Wagner Slane, December 2013.)

Circa 1920 (photo by Collier Cobb, via UNC)

Circa 1924 postcard (by The Albertype Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., via UNC)

The development's entryway (photo by S. Rankin, 12.09.2021)

1915 Sanborn map excerpt (note: Cobb Road/Terrace was not in existence yet)

1925 Sanborn map excerpt

1946 plat map (3-170)

List of residents, 1936

List of residents, 1937

List of residents, 1938

List of residents, 1940

List of residents, 1957