1501 E. FRANKLIN ST. / THE ROCK PILE

View north west, January 1, 1964 (photo by Jim Wallace)

When The Rock Pile almost became a rock pile, view north east, September 6, 1963 (via the CHW)

September 1963 ad (via the CHW)

Owner and operator of The Rock Pile (with the building/property itself leased from a D. B. McLennan), Carlton Howard Mize (b. 29 Aug 1914 - d. 12 Feb 1999), was a fervent racist and had a "white only" policy at his store (i.e. nobody but white people were allowed to shop there; this was the only business in Chapel Hill that wouldn't serve black customers whatsoever, and he had it prominently painted on the front door). Mize started this business sometime prior to 1954; it was called Carlton's Gulf Service Station.

There were several Civil Rights protests at The Rock Pile; one on December 17, 1963, and others in January (1, 4, 5, 11, and 18), 1964; there may have been others. The December protest is where NAACP youth leader/member Quinton Baker (and the other protestors) were doused with ammonia and bleach, causing first-degree burns which required them going to the hospital.

In June 1967, the property was sold to the Union Oil Company (by which time Mize had likely not had his lease of the property renewed).  The Union Oil Company sold it in March 1980 to Silas and Patsy Talbert. They sold the property in October 1981 to the Stallings Oil and Coal Company. In the 1980s the original building was replaced with a more modern filling station structure. 

The property is now the location of a Kangaroo gas station/Circle K convenience store.

View north east, June 2019 (via Google Streetview)