NOTE: These tours are currently on hold.
Chapel Hill Historical Society and Preservation Chapel Hill are presenting several free walking tours this spring.
Heart of the Hill Tours promise to engage, surprise, educate and inspire you to understand Chapel Hill in a new way.
They are 60-90 minutes long and are free, and are organized by Missy Julian-Fox and volunteer tour leaders.
Each tour has been designed by the individual guide to share pieces of Chapel Hill’s collective story and town spirit through history, lore and personal experience.
Follow these links to learn more about the two organizations (and consider a donation):
You might also be interested in these other free walking tours of Chapel Hill, and of more free walking tours around the Triangle.
Spring 2020 Heart of the Hill Tours
Sign up for any of the following tours. When you do that you’ll receive an email with all the details. Registration starts February 15th, 2020.
March Madness: Sports on the Hill with Jon Brunner
Friday, March 13th, 2020
3:30 p.m.
Chapel Hill, Six Feet Under: A Walking Tour of the Historic Cemetery with Tim Kuhn
Saturday, March 21st, 2020
10:30 a.m.
Tim Kuhn will lead you through our historic town cemetery for facts, fun and hard truths of Chapel Hill’s former citizens.
Midway with Danita Mason-Hogans
Saturday, March 28th, 2020
10:30 a.m.
Beneath Our Feet with Steve Davis: An Archeological Look at Chapel Hill’s Earliest Days
Friday, April 17th, 2020
3:30 p.m.
Over the past 70 years, virtually all of the major discoveries in the understanding of North Carolina’s ancient past can be attributed to the Research Labs of Archeology (RLA) or to researchers trained there. Steve Davis, associate director of RLA and professor of archeology, will lead us to several former archaeological sites nearby and share artifacts and found objects of the people here in the early days of Chapel Hill – and before.
Walk This Way! with Sandra & Stephen Rich
Saturday, April 18th, 2020
10:30 a.m.
In ninety minutes you will walk up one side of Franklin Street and down the other in Chapel Hill’s first historic district. Learn about the history of the old village and America’s first public university through the stories, impact and influence of the people that lived along the street. Stephen and Sandra Rich are seasoned tour guides for Preservation Chapel Hill and active volunteers around town and campus since their return in 2003.
Campus Architecture with JJ Bauer
Saturday, April 25th, 2020
10:30 a.m.
Our UNC campus is a virtual, illustrated history book of architecture with its various styles, features and flourishes – all working in concert to bring character, substance and beauty to our built environment. In celebration of a revised edition of John Allcott’s “The Campus at Chapel Hill,” published this fall by the Chapel Hill Historical Society.
Heart of the Hill KIDS EDITION with Susan Worley
Saturday, May 2nd, 2020
10:30 a.m.
Susan Worley moved to Chapel Hill when she was six – and been a devoted fan ever since! With both undergrad and graduate degrees from Carolina, Susan has been the Executive Director of Volunteers for Youth since 1988 – and a tour guide for Estes Hills third graders. Susan will lead you all on a tour of downtown & campus to learn more about this town we call home. Great fun for grandchildren and grandparents, too!
The Noble Grove of Trees with Tom Bythell
Friday, May 8th, 2020
3:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Carrboro with Richard Ellington
Saturday, May 16th, 2020
10:30 a.m.
“Ballet of the City” with Matt Gladdek
TBA
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