Rocky Ridge Farm Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: Laurel Hill
Why it's listed
Laid out in 1927 as Rocky Ridge Farm, this Chapel Hill neighborhood, known locally as Laurel Hill, was planned by botany professor William C. Coker and engineering professor T. Felix Hickerson with roads that follow the contours of the land. The boundary increase adds houses built mainly after 1940 on Laurel Hill Road and the small lanes branching from it, and extends the district's period of significance to 1960. The added homes include brick Colonial Revival houses, Cape Cods, Colonial-style Ranches, and Contemporary Ranches and Split-Levels. Local architects such as George Watts Carr, William Van Sprinkle and Jim Webb designed several of them. The 1954 Julian House on Ledge Lane, by George Matsumoto, is a landmark International Style design whose construction was delayed by a lawsuit over design covenants that reached the state Supreme Court. Many original owners were University of North Carolina faculty and coaches. Most additions to the houses are small, so the post-war phase remains largely intact.
Significance in brief: The increase brings in the intact post-World War II phase of a 1927 subdivision planned by William C. Coker and T. Felix Hickerson along City Beautiful road principles. It extends the period of significance to 1960 and documents houses of Colonial Revival, Cape Cod, Ranch, Contemporary and International styles. Several were designed by local architects, including the Webb brothers, George Matsumoto, George Watts Carr and William Van Sprinkle.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 07001501, listed January 30, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Includes portion of Country Club Rd., Laurel Hill Rd. & Ledge Ln., and all of Round Hill Rd., Chapel Hill |
|---|---|
| County | Orange County |
| Listed | January 30, 2008 |
| Reference number | 07001501 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1937-1960 |
| Architect / builder | Sprinkle, William Van; Webb, James; Matsumoto, George; Carr, George Watts |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival; Modern Movement; International Style; Other: Ranch |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Houses are in continued residential use as single and multiple dwellings; the boundary increase houses are described as having a high level of integrity. |
| Acreage | 20 |
| Within district | Rocky Ridge Farm Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.90660, -79.03768 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 07001501.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.