| Order of Gimghoul | |
|---|---|
 Hippol Castle | |
| Founded | 1889 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Type | Secret society |
| Affiliation | Independent |
| Status | Active |
| Scope | Local |
| Chapters | 1 |
| Headquarters | Gimghoul Road Chapel Hill , North Carolina United States 35°54′43″N79°02′10″W / 35.91194°N 79.03611°W |
The Order of Gimghoul is a collegiate secret society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is headquartered at Hippol (or Gimghoul) Castle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. [1] [2]
The order was founded in 1889 by Robert Worth Bingham, Shepard Bryan, William W. Davies, Edward Wray Martin, and Andrew Henry Patterson, who were University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) students at the time. [3]
The society centers itself around the legend of Peter Dromgoole, a student who mysteriously disappeared from campus in 1833. [4] [5] An urban legend evolved surrounding his departure, centering around his love of a Chapel Hill girl known only as "Miss Fanny." Supposedly, Dromgoole attempted to fight a duel to win her hand but was ultimately slain. Retellings of the legend vary from that point, variously stating that Miss Fanny either died of sorrow after visiting his grave every night or held his head in her arms as he passed. In reality, it is believed that Dromgoole left for Europe after failing his entry exams or joining the Army, possibly under the name of his roommate, John Buxton Williams. The legend may have originated, at least partially, from a duel involving Peter's uncle, George C. Dromgoole. [6] [7]
The founders originally called themselves the Order of Dromgoole, but later changed it to the Order of Gimghoul, "in accord with midnight and graves and weirdness," according to archives. [3] Tradition has it that the order held to the "Dromgoole legend and the ideals of Arthurian knighthood, and chivalry." From all accounts, the order is social and is believed to have no clandestine agenda. Membership is closed and information about the order is strictly confidential as is access to archives less than fifty years old.
The society is open to "notable" male students (rising juniors and higher), and faculty members by invitation.
The meeting place of the Order of Gimghoul is Hippol Castle, commonly known as Gimghoul Castle. Club founder Edward Wray Martin was noted as the most vocal proponent of the castle: former UNC English Professor Charles Phillips Russell recalled, "Gimghoul Castle, medieval in form and mysterious in air, owes its existence to the romantic fancies of law student Edward Wray Martin of the class of 1891, a devoted reader of Arthurian and other medieval legends, who saw shining knights where others saw grey professors. He perceived blond princesses instead of fat waitresses." Martin dreamed of the club having a "great gloomy pile standing on the edge of a cliff" where it could perform secret activities. [8]
There is some disagreement about exactly how old the castle is, as well as who built it. According to Russell, the castle was finished in 1926—its elaborate stone construction the handiwork of Waldensian stone-masons from Valdese, North Carolina. [8] Others are less definite in their claims, stating the castle took between four and six years to finish and was completed in the 1920s by French artisans. [9] [6] A third variation of the tale states that its construction started in 1924 and took 1,300 tons of rough stone . [7] All sources agree that the cost of construction exceeded $50,000 ($868691 in today's money).
To finance its construction, the Order sold 35 acres (14 ha) of property that was later designated the Gimghoul Neighborhood Historic District. [10] The castle is located off-campus at the end of Gimghoul Road, not far from Old Chapel Hill Cemetery near Carmichael Auditorium. [11] According to real estate records, the 2.15-acre (0.87 ha) site is owned by a non-profit corporation the Order of the Gimghoul and has a taxable value of over $1 million. [1] [12] The castle is a contributing building in the Chapel Hill Historic District.
According to legend, the castle is situated on or near the grave of Peter Dromgoole and his ghost still haunts the grounds. A rock, known as "Dromgoole Rock," is supposedly permanently stained red with his blood after it was used to hide his body; it sits directly in front of the castle. [2] [7]
The Chris Gethard Show , a public access comedy television show in New York, has filmed several "exposés" on the order, none of which have substantiated any of the show's allegations. [13]
The archives of the Order of Gimghoul are available in Wilson Library at UNC; although, access to records less than fifty years old requires permission of the order. [14]
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-most populous municipality in the state. Chapel Hill and Durham make up the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. When it's combined with Raleigh, the state capital, they make up the corners of the Research Triangle, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795, making it one of the oldest public universities in the United States.
Orange County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 148,696. Its county seat is Hillsborough.
Frank Porter Graham was an American educator and political activist. A professor of history, he was elected President of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1930, and he later became the first President of the consolidated University of North Carolina system.
Old East is a residence hall located at the north part of campus in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Built in 1793 by slave labor, it became the first state university building in the United States. The Wren Building at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, was built in 1695, but William and Mary did not become a public university until 1906.
Chapel Hill High School is a public high school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It is located close to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill High School is part of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district which contains two other high schools, Carrboro High School and East Chapel Hill High School.
Woody Lombardi Durham was an American play-by-play radio announcer for the North Carolina Tar Heels football and men's basketball programs from 1971 to 2011.
The University of North Carolina School of Law, sometimes referred to as Carolina Law, is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in the state of North Carolina.
Kemp Plummer Battle was an American lawyer, railroad president, university president, educator, and historian. He served as North Carolina State Treasurer and as president of the University of North Carolina in the nineteenth century.
Franklin Street is a prominent thoroughfare in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Historic Franklin Street is considered the center of social life for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as the town of Chapel Hill.
Robert Sidney Martin is an American librarian, archivist, administrator, and educator. He is Professor Emeritus, School of Library and Information Studies, Texas Woman’s University, where he was the Lillian M. Bradshaw Endowed Chair until his retirement in 2008.
On the morning of March 5, 2008, Eve Marie Carson was shot and killed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States where she was a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Walter Royal Davis was a Texas oil tycoon and philanthropist originally from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He was also an influential figure in state politics and higher education. Davis Library, the main library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill since it opened in 1984, is named for him, he having been a trustee at the university for 16 years. He died at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at the age of 88. He also had a home in Midland, Texas.
John Sprunt Hill was a North Carolina lawyer, banker and philanthropist who played a fundamental role in the civic and social development of Durham, North Carolina, the expansion of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the development of rural credit unions in North Carolina during the first half of the 20th century.
James Arthur Pope is an American businessman, attorney and former government official. Pope is the owner, chairman and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, a group of 370 retail stores in 16 states. He is also the president and chairman of the John William Pope Foundation. He previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and recently served as the Budget Director for North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.
Gimghoul Neighborhood Historic District is a national historic district located at Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 42 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure in a predominantly residential section of Chapel Hill. The district developed after 1924 as faculty housing and includes notable examples of Colonial Revival and Bungalow / American Craftsman style architecture. The acreage was sold for development by the Order of Gimghoul to fund the construction of neighboring Hippol Castle.
Julie Story Byerley is an American physician who is known as a leader in the fields of medical education and pediatrics. Byerley has served as a clinical professor and Vice Dean for Education for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. She currently serves as President and Dean of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine as well as Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer for Geisinger Health System.
The North Carolina Collection is the largest collection of traditional library materials documenting a single state. It is part of the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The origins of the collection began in 1844 with the creation of the North Carolina Historical Society. The collection formally came into existence after a donation from John Sprunt Hill in 1930 totaling $25,000. The collection includes The Thomas Wolfe Collection and The Sir Walter Raleigh Collection.
David Timothy McCoy is an American Indian attorney and state public official in North Carolina. McCoy is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and was the first American Indian to serve in several roles in North Carolina state government, including State Controller, State Budget Director, and Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Ricky Hurtado is an American politician and educator who previously served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 63rd district. Elected in November 2020, he assumed office on January 1, 2021.
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