QR codes reveal E. Franklin Street’s history

COMMUNITY NEWS

CHAPEL HILL–The E. Franklin Street building housing Epilogue Books has been a furniture store, a grocery store, a general store, and a pharmacy. Sutton’s Drug Store is now 102 years old. Chapel Hill Tire has been on Franklin Street since the most popular car was the Hudson Hornet.

For anyone who’s curious about the history behind E. Franklin Street’s businesses, the Chapel Hill Historical Society and the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership are making it easier to learn about the road’s past. Businesses participating in a new self-guided walking tour post vintage images and QR codes on their store windows: simply aim your phone camera at the QR code and learn their story.

The Society’s Missy Julian-Fox told The Local Reporter that sharing E. Franklin’s history with the public has been on their wishlist for a long time. “We printed a booklet of a historical walking tour way back when the Special Olympics first came to Chapel Hill in 1999. The dream happily evolved into this current model.”

Julian-Fox has led a walking tour or two herself, according to her collaborator on the project, Joe Petrizzi. Petrizzi explained that using QR codes came from something he worked on at the Alumni Association during the pandemic. “That project was designed to introduce people to the business owners in downtown Chapel Hill at a time when it was difficult for people to visit in person. As part of it, we also added historical information about what used to be in those locations and the types of places alumni from past generations loved.”

Petrizzi says his inspiration was his lifelong love of Chapel Hill. A historian, he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees studying University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill history. Julian-Fox said her inspiration came from growing up in Chapel Hill as the daughter of Julian’s clothing store owners.

How self-guided tours began

The inspiration for the self-guided tour, Julian-Fox said, stemmed from the Downtown Partnership asking the Historical Society for vintage photos and stories, something the Society had gathered for its Business of Franklin Street exhibit at the Orange County Historical Museum. The two groups worked together to pick the initial nine places for the tour. They first asked the business owners to put up the QR codes, then they worked on the photos and content for the online display. A grant from NC Humanities covered the cost of reproducing some of the images.

“Franklin Street is full of stories,” said Julian-Fox, which made picking the initial locations a challenge. “We all knew we had to start with a handful of spots and that there were many, many to highlight in further additions. We are proud of this first collection of QR codes, yet realize there is so much more to share.”

The Historical Society has a brochure with all the QR codes available. You can pick up a copy from the Chapel Hill Welcome Center at 308 W. Franklin Street.

Doing the research

The duo started with a larger list before narrowing it down to nine, prioritizing stories history has overlooked. “We recognized the need to amplify the contributions and experiences of Chapel Hill’s Black community,” said Petrizzi. “While Franklin Street has always been seen as a centerpiece of the town, its history (and the history of Chapel Hill as a whole) is incomplete without acknowledging the people and places that have been excluded from mainstream narratives.”

“These businesses agreed to showcase these images and play their critical role in bringing these stories to the public,” said Julian-Fox. “Not only are we grateful to them all, but we’re also proud of what they each bring to our downtown and community. Franklin Street is where stories are made…memories, meetings, wonderful and meaningful interactions, all ages, all types.”

Even after finding the right locations, the project required “a lot of research, rewriting, editing! Designing! Building a website. Sifting through photos,” added Julian-Fox.

“A lot of research,” agreed Petrizzi, “as well as compiling that research into compelling narratives. From there we worked to edit and refine the stories, design a website, and sort through all the photos and historical materials we’d gathered.”

Research sources included books on Chapel Hill history, DigitalNC.org, and the Historical Society’s own archives. Petrizzi said exploring the archives was one of the best parts of the project for him, “uncovering original sources behind well-known stories and amplifying the lesser-known ones.”

The Historical Society’s Samantha Pell designed the website for the walking tour. Julian-Fox and Petrizzi also thanked Society members Susan Worley, Tom and Marsha Jepson, and Jeri Lynn Schulke with the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership.

What comes next?

Petrizzi said he and Julian-Fox are working with UNC history students who will research and write the next phase of the walking tour. “By the end of the semester, we expect to add several new locations, and we hope the project will continue to grow from there. Ideally, every building on Franklin Street would participate, so we could share the full story of this incredible place.”

“Please let us know what you think,” said Julian-Fox. “What should we add? What is your favorite story or memory? Perhaps you have a photo to share: chhistorical@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you!”

Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections.
This reporter can be reached at Info@TheLocalReporter.press