225 years of Tar Heels: Hinton James

Posted Feb 13, 2019
First-year students living in Hinton James Residence Hall are no strangers to long walks to campus. Neither was the namesake of that building, Hinton James, who — legend has it — walked from his home in Wilmington, NC, to Chapel Hill in 1795 and became the first student to enroll. James arrived at UNC on Feb. 12, 1795, almost a month after the University opened its doors. (UNC.edu)

Related: Campus Connections

'You can't escape the story': UNC class feels for indentations on Old East left by enslaved laborers
A class of first-year students spent an hour carefully running their hands along the grooves of Old East's brick exterior. Their goal? To find...
Sun Jun 7, 2026

Tasting the Town: The 'fryerarchy' of Chapel Hill
We have always said it is impossible to mess up french fries. However, we are also a proponent of the concept of a fry hierarchy...
Sat Jun 6, 2026

Chapel Hill-Carrboro Openings, Closings and Updates in January-March 2026
Kipos Greek Taverna returned to operations in Eastgate Crossing after months of restoration following Chantal’s flooding last summer. Located in the back corner of the...
Fri Jun 5, 2026

UNC Journalism School Takes Hearst Prize for 8th Consecutive Year
The University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media won the overall intercollegiate first place title at the Hearst Journalism Awards Program’s Intercollegiate...
Thu Jun 4, 2026