This is an archival post originally published on January 6, 2015.
There is only one known existing image of the iconic Old Well that dates back past the pillars and marble to when a wooden structure was simply known as “the well.”
Taken for former University of North Carolina President of Carolina Kemp Plummer Battle, and wedged between the pages of a 120-year-old photo album, the faded photo is among a collection of images showcasing 19th century life in Chapel Hill.
“This is the most comprehensive set of images from a set period of time,” said Stephen Fletcher, photo archivist for the North Carolina Collection in UNC’s Wilson Special Collections Library.
Fletcher and his colleagues recently reorganized and relaunched the photo album online to give viewers a full experience of the 19th century artifact. All 74 images of the book have been scanned and formatted into a virtual album, which allows researchers the ability to flip through the book like intended when it was created in 1894.
UNC recently featured the Kemp Plummer Battle photo album in a story about its history. View the album online to see more.
