Hunt, William Lanier

William Lanier Hunt (22 May 1906-19 October 1996) served in the United States Army in World War II as a liaison officer in the Allies' Strategic Bombing Survey. He was assigned to a map room under the command of General Montgomery in Belgium, where he became interested in collecting underground and liberation material. Hunt was born in Pomona, N.C., and attended the University of North Carolina, where his chief interest was horticulture. He pursued this interest until the outbreak of World War II. At the end of the War, he resumed his career in southern horticulture.

From the guide to the Belgian Underground and Liberation Materials from World War II, 1943-1945, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rare Book Collection.)

William Lanier Hunt was born in 1906 in Pomona, N.C. He studied botany under W.C. Coker at the University of North Carolina, graduating in 1931, after which he traveled throughout the southeast United States giving garden lectures and short courses, consulting with various cities on parks, and writing for newspapers and magazines. During World War II, Hunt helped design camouflage for a base in Elizabeth City, N.C. After the war, he became southern region editor for "House Beautiful" and wrote weekly columns for the "Durham Morning Herald" newspaper in Durham, N.C., and the "Shreveport Times" newspaper in Shreveport, La. In the 1960s, Hunt began the process of creating the North Carolina Botanical Garden, for which W.C. Coker had begun advocating in the late 1920s. Hunt added more acreage to a gift of land from the W.C. Coker estate, and the North Carolina Botanical Garden opened in 1966 with Hunt as the garden designer and the first president of the North Carolina Botanical Garden Foundation, which was created to receive funds and hold land for the Botanical Garden. Hunt died in 1996.

From the description of William Lanier Hunt papers, 1880s-1996. WorldCat record id: 312174160

William Lanier Hunt was born on 22 May 1906 in Pomona, N.C. As a child, he grew up next to the J. Van Lindley Nursery, which was North Carolina's oldest and largest plant nursery. He studied botany under W.C. Coker at the University of North Carolina, graduating in 1931. As early as 1927, Coker had begun advocating for a botanical garden near Chapel Hill, N.C. At the University, Hunt helped to develop the Coker Arboretum and the landscaping of University grounds. He also traveled to England to see the Kew Gardens. Hunt's friendship with W.C. Coker later resulted in Coker's estate giving his Laurel Hill property in Chapel Hill, N.C., to Hunt; this is the land that eventually became part of the North Carolina Botanical Gardens and the Hunt Arboretum.

After graduation, Hunt became, in his own words, a wandering garden specialist. He spent this time traveling throughout the southeast United States, giving garden lectures and short courses, consulting with various cities on parks, and writing for newspapers and magazines. During World War II, he helped design camouflage for a base in Elizabeth City, N.C. After the war, he was appointed to the managing staff of House Beautiful as an editor for the southern region and wrote weekly columns for the Durham Morning Herald newspaper in Durham, N.C., and the Shreveport [Louisiana] Times.

Starting in the 1960s, Hunt began the process of creating the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Hunt had acquired the land around the gift from W.C. Coker, some of which was donated by the University of North Carolina. The North Carolina Botanical Garden, comprised of 100 acres of land Hunt had acquired, opened in 1966 with Hunt as the garden designer. He also gave tours, lectures, and seminars of the Garden and the surrounding area and served as the first president of the Botanical Garden Foundation, which was created to recieve funds and hold land for the Botanical Garden. Hunt died on 19 October 1996.

From the guide to the William Lanier Hunt Papers, 1880s-1996, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)