University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
University Of N.C. At Chapel Hill. First state university to open its doors, 1795. Chartered in 1789 under the Constitution of 1776.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Chartered in 1789 under the mandate of North Carolina's 1776 constitution, the University of North Carolina opened its doors in 1795 — the first state university in the nation to admit students. Its founding gave concrete form to the revolutionary generation's belief that a republic required public higher education.
Why it matters
As the first public university to actually open, UNC helped establish the American ideal that a free people should educate its citizens at public expense.
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Related events
- · Opening of the University of North Carolina, 1795
Themes & tags
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