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Collection Number: 05469

Collection Title: Department of City and Regional Planning Collection of Soul City, N.C. Materials, 1962-1991

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 4000 items)
Abstract Initiated and led by African American civil rights activist Floyd B. McKissick, Soul City in Warren County, N.C., was to be a new town administered by African Americans. In 1969, McKissick approached the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) for consultation and assistance in planning Soul City. John A. Parker, then head of DCRP, offered his and his colleagues' services to McKissick, and the DCRP faculty also used Soul City as a case study in their courses, requiring planning students to develop planning reports on various aspects of Soul City and its region. The material in the Soul City Collection was brought together over several years by DCRP faculty and F. Stuart Chapin, Jr. Planning Library staff. The collection was developed to serve as a reserve reading for DCRP courses dealing with new towns, and to document DCRP's role in the development of Soul City. The collection additionally illustrates DCRP pedagogy. It includes reports, proposals, correspondence, meeting minutes, legal documents, financial documents, administrative documents, articles, clippings, brochures, promotional materials, and video recordings about the planning and development of Soul City.
Creator University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Department of City and Regional Planning.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
Use of moving image materials may require production of viewing copies.
Restrictions to Use
No usage restrictions.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Department of City and Regional Planning of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Collection of Soul City, N.C. Materials #05469, Southern Folklife Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Transferred from the North Carolina Collection via F. Stuart Chapin, Jr. Planning Library in July 2010 (Acc. 101324) and September 2010 (Acc. 101346).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Johanna Russ, September 2007

Encoded by: Anne Wells, August 2019

Updated by: Anne Wells, August 2019

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Native North Carolinian, lawyer, and former leader of the Congress of Racial Equality, Floyd B. McKissick, led the initiative to create Soul City in Warren County, N.C., a new town to be administered by African Americans. Soul City, announced by McKissick in January 1969, received a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guarantee under the Urban Growth and New Communities Act of 1968. As McKissick and his company, McKissick Enterprises, Inc. moved forward with plans to create and develop Soul City, they approached the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) for consultation and assistance in planning the new town. John A. Parker, then head of the DCRP, offered his and his colleagues' services to McKissick, and Parker went on to serve on the Soul City Foundation Board of Directors until his retirement in 1974. After Parker's retirement, DCRP participation in Soul City diminished somewhat. Before that, though, DCRP faculty also used Soul City as a case study in their courses, requiring planning students to develop planning reports on various aspects of Soul City and its region.

Soul City received a great deal of media attention both because it was one of a handful of new town projects underway at the time and because of its African American leadership and administration. Soul City focused its early efforts on developing infrastructure in the region so that it could later support residential and industrial developments. Just as it began to move its focus from infrastructure to attracting industry to create employment opportunities, Soul City began to draw negative media attention.

Questioning its lack of industry, media began to make allegations about Soul City's use of federal funding. As the doubts heaped up, McKissick, adamant that funds were being managed sufficiently and that the lack of industry was due to Soul City's newness, agreed to an audit by an independent agency. The audit cited a few instances of mismanagement, but it largely found the Soul City Company innocent of any financial or legal violations. The damage, however, was done. Progress in Soul City was stalled for almost a year while awaiting the audit results, and, in the bad national economic climate, this delay was hard to overcome. The questions of Soul City's progress also caused HUD to question the entire New Communities program. The media continued its scrutiny of Soul City despite the audit results, and politicians also became involved in questioning Soul City's progress. Ultimately, in 1980, HUD withdrew its backing of Soul City, and the new town could no longer sustain itself. HUD acquired the development and did not pursue further construction.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The material in the Soul City Collection was brought together over several years by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) faculty and F. Stuart Chapin, Jr. Planning Library staff. The collection was developed for two reasons: first, to serve as reserve reading for DCRP courses dealing with new towns; and second, to document DCRP's role in the development of Soul City. DCRP's role is captured through inclusion of correspondence among DCRP faculty and McKissick Enterprises staff and through planning proposals produced by DCRP faculty. It includes reports, proposals, correspondence, meeting minutes, legal documents, financial documents, administrative documents, articles, clippings, brochures, promotional materials, and video recordings about the planning and development of Soul City.

Of note in this collection are the 1979 reports of the Soul City Task Force and Avco Community Developers that led to HUD's withdrawal of funds. Soul City's subsequent legal complaint to prevent HUD from acquiring control of Soul City development also appears in the collection. Also of note are the 1969-1972 student papers from UNC Planning students. These papers illustrate not only thoughts about how to develop Soul City, but also how the DCRP used Soul City as a case study in its pedagogy. The entire collection, created, in part, as reserve course reading, further illustrates DCRP pedagogy. Of additional note are the articles and clippings published about Soul City and the promotional publications and newsletters produced by the Soul City Foundation which document the activities and programs of Soul City.

This collection is divided into five series: student papers; planning proposals and reports; operations of Soul City Foundation, Warren Regional Planning Corporation, and UNC Department of City and Regional Planning; publicity and promotional material; and video recordings.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Student Papers, 1973-1991 and undated.

About 1200 items.

Arrangement: Chronological.

For several semesters, the nascent Soul City was used as a case study for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of City and Regional Planning courses. Planning 222 especially focused on Soul City, requiring graduate students to produce proposals for developing Soul City. The course professors, personally involved with the planning of Soul City, shared the student proposals with Floyd B. McKissick who responded favorably to the work.

Included in this series are student reports, a master's thesis, correspondence about the courses, and course announcements about UNC courses related to Soul City.

Fall 1969

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Fall 1970

Folder 7

Planning 222: Table of Contents and Internal Team Organization

Folder 8

Planning 222: #1 Sketchley and Gildea. "Populations, Jobs, and Income in Soul City"

Folder 9

Planning 222: #2 Jenne and Eichle. "A proposed institutional structure for the development of Soul City"

Folder 10

Planning 222: #3 Gildea. "Soul City Developer's cash flow analysis"

Folder 11

Planning 222: #4 Emmi and Bond. "Soul City Economic Model"

Folder 12

Planning 222: #5 Brandenburg, Campbell and Slidell. "A house strategy: Soul City"

Folder 13

Planning 222: #6 Glover. "Soul City: institutional delivery systems: physical facilities"

Folder 14

Planning 222: #7 Simpson. "Commercial and industrial development"

Folder 15

Planning 222: #8 Davis. "Soul City transportation report"

Folder 16

Planning 222: #9 Campbell. "Parks and recreation for Soul City"

Folder 17

Planning 222: #9a Kent. "Water and sewer plan for Soul City"

Folder 18

Planning 222: #10 Maloney and Sketchley. "Conceptual framework of a social services system for Soul City"

Folder 19

Planning 222: #11 Maloney. "Social services delivery system for Soul City, NC"

Folder 20

Planning 222: #12 Bernard. "Health services for Soul City"

Folder 21

Planning 222: #13 Knight and O'Brien. "Plan for the educational system - Soul City"

Folder 22

Planning 222: #14 Newlin. "Manpower training program"

Folder 23

Planning 222: #15 McLawhorn. "Legal Aid; Peace Keeping"

Folder 24

Planning 222: #16 Ome. "Day Care services in Soul City"

Folder 25

Planning 222: #4 Emmi and Bond. "Soul City economic model." Copy 2

Folder 26

Planning 222: Table of Contents, #2, #6, #7, #9, #9a, #10. Copy 2

Folder 27

Planning 222: #11, #12, #13, #16. Copy 2

Folder 28

Planning 222: Evaluations of reports

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Fall 1971

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Spring 1972

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Undated

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Correspondence and Course Announcements

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Planning Proposals, 1962-1979 and undated.

About 2000 items.

Arrangement: Chronologically by producer of the report.

Numerous planning reports and proposals were consulted and produced during the development of Soul City. Documents created by government agencies about comparable or neighboring regions as well as about Soul City itself are included in the Soul City Collection. Planning proposals on Soul City were also produced by University of North Carolina faculty, outside consultants (around half of the reports from outside consultants were produced by Hammer, Greene, and Suer), and Soul City organizations including McKissick Enterprises, Inc., Soul City Foundation, and Warren Regional Planning Corporation.

This series is comprised almost entirely of reports. Some maps and blueprints, however, appear as report attachments. Additionally, some reports include correspondence in the form of cover letters introducing the report to colleagues. As much as possible, these materials have been kept together.

Reports and Proposals Produced by Government Agencies

Folder 39

Warren County. Subdivision regulations, 2 April 1962

Folder 40

Warren County Planning Board. Overall economic development program for Warren County, 13 August 1962

Folder 41

N.C. Department of Conservation and Development. Development plan for Lake Gaston, January 1964

Folder 42

North Carolina Fund. "Operation uplift-human resources from Warren County, N.C.," 1964

Folder 43

Sponsored by Agricultural Policy Institute, NC State University in Cooperation with State Planning Task Force of N.C., State of S.C., GA Board of Industry and Trade. Economic development potentials of the Atlantic Coastal Plains Region, June 1967

Folder 44

Soul City environs: county road map of Vance and Warren Counties, N.C., 1968

Folder 45

Coastal Plains Regional Commission. "Regional development plan," 19 December 1968

Folder 46

Tennessee Valley Authority. Timberlake reports, 8 October 1969 (2 copies)

Folder 47

U.S. Department of Agriculture. Soil survey for Soul City, 1969. Technical version (3 copies)

Folder 48

U.S. Department of Agriculture. Soil survey for Soul City, 1969. Non-Technical version (2 copies)

Folder 49

North Carolina data file, circa 1970

Folder 50

State of North Carolina. Industrial site guidelines, January 1970; Checklist for industrial development teams

Folder 51

N.C. Dept. of Administration. State Planning Division. Kerr-Tar regional data, July 1971

Folder 52

N.C. Dept. of Administration. State Planning Division. Kerr-Tar regional data, July 1971. Copy 2

Folder 53

Department of Housing and Urban Development. 'Draft environmental statement Soul City,' 1971

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Reports and Proposals Produced by University of North Carolina Faculty

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Reports and Proposals Produced by Outside Consultants

Folder 60

Hammer, Green, and Siler. "Soul City: potential for economic base development," circa December 1968-January 1969

Folder 61

Whitman, Dale. "Soul City Federal Assistance and Desirability of Incorporation," 8 April 1969 (2 copies)

Folder 62

Hammer, Green, and Suer. "Preliminary draft: Soul City development proposals," 14 October 1969

Folder 63

Hammer, Green, and Suer. "Economic base study of the Soul City, N.C.," December 1969

Folder 64

Hazen and Sawyer. "Report on water supply, sewerage, and storm drainage, Soul City, NC.," 22 December 1969 (2 copies)

Folder 65

Davis, James Edgar. "Soul City transportation," circa 1969

Folder 66

Hammer, Green, and Siler. "Population projection for Vance and Warren Counties, NC. A report on trends projection methodology and assumptions," 19 May 1971

Folder 67

Hammer, Green, and Siler. "Study area housing market. Region K new community," September 1971

Folder 68

Hammer, Green, and Siler. "Industrial feasibility study-Region K-new community," October 1971

Folder 69

Urban Interface Group. "Feasibility study for the development of Soul City, North Carolina." Prepared for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 6 December 1971

Folder 70

Urban Interface Group. "Feasibility study for the development of Soul City, North Carolina." Prepared for Department of Housing and Urban Development, 6 December 1971. Copy 2

Folder 71

Housing Innovations, Inc. "Report on growth center circulation (work element D-2)," December 1971

Folder 72

Hazen and Sawyer Engineers. "Application to the North Carolina Office of Water and Air Resources and State Board of Health," 20 July 1972

Folder 73

Hazen and Sawyer. Soul City, North Carolina water and sewer systems location plans. Blueprints. [Accompanies Folder 72's application], 21 July 1972

Folder 74

Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc. "Developing employment base strategies for new communities." Prepared for Department of Housing and Urban Development, circa 1975

Folder 75

Soul City Task Force. "Report of the Soul City task force." Prepared for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, June 1979

Folder 76

Avco Community Developers. "Analysis of financial viability of Soul City and costs ramifications of alternative proposals." Prepared for Department of Housing and Urban Development. [Appendix to folder 75], 20 June 1979

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Reports and Proposals Produced by Soul City organizations including McKissick Enterprises, Inc., Soul City Foundation, Warren Regional Planning Corporation

Folder 77

McKissick Enterprises, Inc. "A proposal for the development of a new town," 3 January 1969. (3 copies)

Folder 78

McKissick Enterprises, Inc. "Basic Methodological Approach for Planning Soul City"; "A proposal for planning funds to develop Soul City," 24 August 1969.

Folder 79

McKissick Enterprises, Inc. "A proposal for planning funds to develop Soul City," 24 August 1969. Copy 2

Folder 80

McKissick Enterprises, Inc. "Investigation of water supply, sewage disposal, and storm drainage requirements," November 1969. Incomplete draft

Folder 81

McKissick Enterprises, Inc. "Work program for Soul City impact area." Submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1 December 1969

Folder 82

Proposed site locations for communities. Blueprint, 15 April 1970

Folder 83

Community site location. Blueprint, 15 April 1970

Folder 84

Warren Regional Planning Commission. Summary Report of New Community Planning, 'Chapter VI: financial programming," October 1971

Folder 85

Warren Regional Planning Corporation. Summary Report of New Community Planning, "Chapter VI: Financial Programming," October 1971. Copy 2

Folder 86

Soul City Foundation. 'Preliminary proposal for a comprehensive health services program in Warren and Vance counties, N.C.," 7 January 1972

Folder 87

Soul City Foundation. "Preliminary proposal for a comprehensive health services program in Warren and Vance counties, N.C.," [possible early draft of Folder 86]

Folder 88

Soul City Company. "Detailed development and marketing strategy for achieving a primary job base," December 1972

Folder 89

Warren Regional Planning Commission. "Report to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Minority Business Enterprise," June 1976

Folder 90

Soul City Company. "Complaint and order temporarily restraining the Department of Housing and Urban Development from taking any actions regarding Soul City for ten days." Suit filed, 17 August 1979. Hearing scheduled, 27 August 1979

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Operations, 1969-1974 and undated.

About 600 items.

Arrangement: Chronologically by content.

The material in this series further documents the role played by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Department of City and Regional Planning (DCRP) in the planning of Soul City. After Floyd B. McKissick's request for advice and consultation, faculty members, especially John A. Parker (Jack), became heavily involved with planning Soul City, serving on boards and committees for the Soul City Foundation and the Warren Regional Planning Corporation, and organizing events. This series also documents the activities of the Soul City Foundation Board of Directors. The material in this series also relates information about Soul City finances, administration, and programming.

This series is comprised of meeting minutes; correspondence; planning documents; administrative documents; legal documents; financial documents; event invitations and programs; and material related to Soul City programming.

Soul City Foundation and Warren Regional Planning Corporation Board of Directors and Committee Meetings

Folder 91

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 22 March 1969

Folder 92

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 3 October 1969

Folder 93

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 6 March 1970

Folder 94

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 18 May 1970

Folder 95

Soul City Foundation Organizational Committee Meeting, 3 August 1970

Folder 96

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 29 January 1971

Folder 97

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 5 March 1971

Folder 98

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 16 June 1971

Folder 99

Soul City Foundation Expenses, 31 August 1971

Folder 100

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 2 March 1973

Folder 101

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 13 June 1973

Folder 102

Soul City Foundation Ad Hoc Committee Meeting, 19 September 1973

Folder 103

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 19 October 197

Folder 104

Soul City Foundation Executive Committee Meeting, 26 November 1973

Folder 105

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 14 December 1973

Folder 106

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 8 March 1974

Folder 107

Soul City Foundation Board of Directors Meeting, 28 June 1974

Folder 108

Warren Regional Planning Corporation Board Meetings, 1973

Folder 109

General correspondence primarily among Department of City and Regional Planning faculty and McKissick Enterprises, Inc. staff, 16 January 1969-8 October 1969

Folder 110

General correspondence primarily among Department of City and Regional Planning faculty and McKissick Enterprises, Inc. staff, 15 October 1969-20 December 1969

Folder 111

General correspondence primarily among Department of City and Regional Planning faculty and McKissick Enterprises, Inc. staff, 1970-1971

Folder 112

General correspondence primarily between Eva Clayton and John Parker, 1973-1974

Folder 113

Miscellaneous Notes, Undated

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Documents from the Department of City and Regional Planning

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Administrative and Legal Documents

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Financial Documents

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Documents Relating to Soul City Events

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Soul City Programming

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Publicity and Promotional Material, 1968-1991 and undated.

About 200 items.

Arrangement: Chronologically by producer.

This series documents the publicizing of Soul City both through articles in print media and through promotional items produced by Soul City. This series is comprised of newspaper clippings, journal articles, brochures, newsletters, and other promotional material. Several articles were maintained in separate folders by the Planning Library staff. Other clippings were interspersed throughout various folders. Individual article folders have been retained. Clippings have been photocopied and grouped into one folder. In some instances, photocopies of articles are all that remain in the collection.

Five articles that were listed on the original inventory for the collection had gone missing. The journals and newspapers in which they originally appeared were located in UNC libraries, and copies of the articles have been re-added to the Soul City Collection. These five articles appear in the Folder 127. Three of them were on microfilm, and the photocopies are difficult to read. Users may wish to consult the microfilm in the North Carolina Collection themselves for:

-Olive, Cornelia. "Planning phase nears end for Black new town" and "The philosophy of Soul City is 'I've got a right to dream'," Durham Morning Herald, 29 August 1971

-Hunt, Marvin. "The resurrection of Soul City: a parable of power," Spectator Magazine, 12 November 1987

-"Soul City growing, not dying," Herald-Sun, 10 June 1991

Articles and clippings

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Publicity and promotional items produced by Soul City companies

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Video Recordings, 1970 and undated.

5 items.

Processing information: Titles compiled from original containers.

Video recordings of interviews and discussions regarding Soul City. "Gottschalk" most likely refers to David R. Godschalk, Chapel Hill Town Council member and longtime UNC regional planning professor.

Videotape VT-05469/1

Discussion of Soul City Presentations, 19 February 1970: tape 1

1" Open Reel Video

Videotape VT-05469/2

Discussion of Soul City Presentations, 19 February 1970: tape 2

1" Open Reel Video

Videotape VT-05469/3

Gottschalk: tape 1

1" Open Reel Video

Videotape VT-05469/4

Gottschalk: tape 2

1" Open Reel Video

Videotape VT-05469/5

Gottschalk: tape 3

1" Open Reel Video

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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