Battle House - Senlac - NC Study Center

Located beside Battle Park and only a short walk from campus, Battle House was originally built by teacher and minister Abner Clopton in 1820 in one of Chapel Hill's first six plots of land. The house would later be bought by Judge William Battle (founder of the UNC School of Law) in 1843 after moving his family from Raleigh to Chapel Hill. After purchasing the property Battle immediately began work adding more structures to the house through the use of enslaved laborers. There were two houses for enslaved persons on the property, and the majority of letters from Lucy Battle to her husband William Battle reviewed the daily actions of the people they enslaved.

After the Civil War William's son Kemp Plummer Battle was an active advocate for the Morrill Land Grant of 1862 and fought to reopen the school after the Civil War. Kemp had many positions within UNC and local faculty, and would be elected as University president in 1876 and served until 1891 when he retired to become an Alumni Professor. Kemp Plummer Battle was also known for blazing trails in the nearby Battle Park, which also takes the family name.

The Battle family would divide the house into private residences in 1918, although the house stayed largely empty until purchased by the Baptist Student Union in 1964. The UNC Study Center purchased the house in 2015 as a study site and 'center for Christian youth,' and has also worked to remodel the site to fit the needs of their organization.

UNC Libraries. SLAVES OF FACULTY AND TOWNSPEOPLE, Slavery and the Making of the University. January 1st 2021. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/exhibits/show/slavery/faculty_townspeople.

NC Study Center. The Battle House, NC Study Center. January 1st 2021. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://www.ncstudycenter.org/battle-house.