Hill, John Sprunt, 1869-1961

Banker, lawyer, and legislator John Sprunt Hill (1869-1961) founded the Durham Loan & Trust with his father-in-law, George Washington Watts. A University of North Carolina alumnus, Hill was a major figure in Durham, N.C., business, politics, and philanthropy for almost 60 years. In addition to his business career, he served in the North Carolina Senate, 1933-1938. Much of his philanthropy was directed at the city of Durham and the University of North Carolina, including the donation of the Carolina Inn to UNC.

John Sprunt Hill was born on 17 March 1869 in Faison, Duplin County, N.C. He was the son of William Edward Hill and Frances Diana Hill. After leaving school at age twelve, he worked in a country store for four years. He then attended the University of North Carolina, graduating in 1889 with a Ph.B. Following graduation, Hill taught at Faison High School for two years. He began attending law school at the University of North Carolina in 1891 and, in 1892, moved to New York City to complete his degree at Columbia University. Hill graduated with a law degree in 1894 and that same year was admitted to the bar in New York and began practicing.

Hill opened his own law firm and practiced estate law, becoming a well-regarded and successful lawyer. In 1898, Hill partipated in the Spanish-American War, fighting in Puerto Rico. He returned to New York and continued his law practice, also becoming involved with the Democratic Party in Manhattan. He joined and served as a leader in groups like the Reform Club and the Young Men's Democratic Club. Hill ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1900, but was defeated.

Hill married Annie Louise Watts on 29 November 1899. Her father was George Washington Watts, a North Carolina businessman who had co-founded the American Tobacco Company. After several years of marriage, Hill decided to move with his wife and young son to Durham, N.C., to go into business with his father-in-law. Watts and Hill became powerful partners in the growing city. They founded the Home Savings Bank and Durham Loan & Trust Company. Hill served as president and chair of the board of these institutions, respectively. In 1916, Watts and Hill founded the Home Security Life Insurance Company. In response to the deep economic depression of the 1930s, they reorganized the Durham Loan & Trust Company into the Durham Bank & Trust Company in 1931. In 1950, the Home Savings Bank merged with the Durham Bank & Trust. In early 1961, shortly before Hill's death, the Durham Bank & Trust became Central Carolina Bank and Trust Company.

In addition to banking and insurance, Hill was active in a wide variety of other areas. He served as vice-president of Erwin Cotton Mills from 1908 to 1910. A golf enthusiast, he began building what became the Hillandale Country Club in Durham in 1909. Hill donated the golf course to Durham in 1934, one of many philanthropic gifts the Hills made to the city. In the 1910s, Hill became interested in farmers' co-operative organizations and credit unions and launched a personal campaign to help establish them around North Carolina. Hill served on the North Carolina Highway Commission from 1921 to 1931, then successfully ran for a seat in the North Carolina Senate, serving from 1933 to 1938.

Perhaps Hill's longest-running interest was his love of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He donated generously from the time of his graduation in 1889 until his death. In 1904, Hill was named a trustee of the University of North Carolina and continued as a trustee of the consolidated university in 1932. Hill remained a trustee for the rest of his life. In 1920, Hill built the Carolina Inn next to the University of North Carolina campus and later donated the hotel to the University. The profits from the hotel helped support what became the North Carolina Collection in the Wilson Library. Hill and his family made numerous other financial donations for University projects.

Annie Watts Hill died on 26 March 1940. She and John Sprunt Hill had three children: George Watts Hill, Laura Valinda Hill DuBose and Frances Faison Hill Fox.

John Sprunt Hill died on 29 July 1961 at the age of 92.