Yes, it is true. After 61 years on Legion Road, we are pulling up stakes and relocating nearby. It was a tough decision and a project that was over five years in planning. We are excited and look at our changes as a necessary part of our post’s growth and continuing legacy to the community.
In the Fall of 1956, just eleven years after the end of World War II and three years after the signing of the Korean War Armistice, our members sold their first post home situated in downtown Chapel Hill on an 198 x 200 foot lot on Rosemary Street. Our membership was growing rapidly, as was the town’s population. It was time to relocate.
We picked a dairy farm site outside of town on the road to Durham near US 15-501. The site was surrounded by other farmland and woods. There were no stores, no hotels, no homes, and little else nearby. But this was ideal for our members. There was lots of room for our members and their families to gather and play. We acquired about 35 acres. Next we built our Post Home and opened our doors on November 13th, 1957. Several years later, we expanded our home to include the addition of a huge meeting hall and dining area to accommodate our growing membership.
We are proud of what we have done during our first 100 years in Chapel Hill, but we are confident that we are creating a new Post Home that will better serve the men and women undergoing conversion from warriors to community veterans and our existing members.
On January 9th, 2018, we presented our request for a Special Use Permit (SUP) to develop/
Our Land Acquisition Committee, Post Home Design and Finance Committees, and Project Manager spent hundreds of hours preparing concept plans for our engineer and architect, and the county planning board. We had expert witnesses for every aspect of our project. In turn, each witness presented their salient points and detailed our specific plan to develop our new property. Post Commander Munsee ended our presentation by sharing how terrific all of our members are and our desire to pass-on a legacy to the warriors of the future. The County administrators fully understood our point of view and agreed not to place any unnecessary restrictions on our request for the Special Use Permit.
The Special Use Permit was approved at the same meeting. Now, after some administrative issues are completed, we will soon be the proud owners of 128+ acres of beautiful farmland bordered by woodlands and a stream in Orange County. We should close the on the real estate sale within the next 45 days.
Our plan is to have construction completed in time for our Post’s 100th Anniversary Celebration on October 28th, 2019, during the American Legion Centennial Year.
You, too, can be part of our American Legion history. Join or attend one committee meetings. See the men and women of Post No. 6 build for the future, then volunteer your time and service. If you are not yet a member of our post, join today. Learn how, click here.