Carrboro, North Carolina

Carrboro Oral History Project (Town of Carrboro)

Problem

Fractured identity and "decline stories" sap motivation. People don't see themselves (or each other) in the town's story.

Solution

The Carrboro Oral History Project (COHP) is a Town of Carrboro program begun in 2015 under the Town Manager's office after the Board of Aldermen considered creating a town historian position. Its first phase (launched August 2016) was a town web page gathering Carrboro-related interviews held by UNC's Southern Oral History Program; its second phase trained 13 volunteer interviewers to record elders. In 2026 the town launched a subproject, Carrboro Voices, on four new themes.

Patterns used: Shared Cultural Story

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