Hinton James: First Student at UNC

In February of seventeen ninety-five, a young man named Hinton James walked roughly one hundred miles from his home in New Hanover County to Chapel Hill. He arrived two weeks before any other student, making him the first person to enroll at the newly opened University of North Carolina, the first public university in the United States to hold classes. For two full weeks he was the only student on campus.

James graduated in seventeen ninety-eight as part of the university's first class of seven, went on to become a civil engineer along the Cape Fear River, and later served in the state legislature. He died in eighteen forty-seven as treasurer of Wilmington. A dormitory at Chapel Hill bears his name today.

His grave lies roughly three hundred yards east of this marker.