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Local figure

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie, the steel industrialist and philanthropist, paid for the Carnegie Library at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He offered $50,000 in 1905, later raised to $55,000, if the university raised an endowment of equal value. The library opened in late September 1907 and became Hill Hall after its 1929–1930 conversion into a music building.

Source: UNC, Names in Brick and Stone: Hill Hall

1 work about Andrew Carnegie is indexed here.

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Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineThe University’s Carnegie library and Hill Music Hall, 1906–19301906–1930 · 12 events · Andrew Carnegie's gift, first offered in 1905 as $50,000 and later raised to $55,000, built the University a new library. Construction began in October 1906, after President Venable reported that the $50,000 endowment for the library had been raised, and the Grand Lodge of Masons laid the cornerstone at commencement on June 1, 1907. The building opened to students that fall and served as the main library until Wilson Library opened in 1929. The old library, remodeled with an auditorium and an organ, most of the cost given by the Hill family, was dedicated as the music building on November 14, 1930. In 1931 it was renamed for John Sprunt Hill.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 4 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Andrew Carnegie offers the university $50,000 for a library Andrew Carnegie's offer of $50,000 for a library building, if an equal sum were raised for its upkeep, was announced in the university chapel on March 31, 1905. At commencement President Venable told the alumni that about $27,000 was in sight, and a faculty and alumni committee was named to raise the rest. People: Francis Preston Venable, Eben Alexander, Charles Alphonso Smith Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 647 · Also: Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), April 6, 1905, p. 2
  2. The university reports the Carnegie library endowment raised and the gift paid On University Day 1906 President Venable reported that the $50,000 endowment for the new library had been raised and Andrew Carnegie's $50,000 subscription paid. Construction began that month. People: Francis Preston Venable Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 660
  3. Masons lay the cornerstone of the Carnegie library On the Saturday of the 1907 commencement the Grand Lodge of Masons, led by Grand Master Francis D. Winston, laid the cornerstone of the new library built with Andrew Carnegie's gift. Construction had begun in October 1906. People: M. C. S. Noble, Eric A. Abernethy, Francis D. Winston, Andrew Carnegie Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 664
  4. UNC's Carnegie Library opens UNC's new library, built with a gift from Andrew Carnegie first offered in 1905 as $50,000 and later raised to $55,000, was finished in the summer of 1907 and opened to students that fall once its furniture arrived. It served as the main library until Wilson Library opened in 1929 and was renamed for John Sprunt Hill in 1931. People: Andrew Carnegie Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Wilson LibrarySearch the index · UNC, Names in Brick and Stone: Hill Hall

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Andrew Carnegie, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

Indexed works

Works about or by Andrew Carnegie. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

In order to secure the gift of $50,000 offered by Mr. Andrew Carnegie

University of North Carolina (1793-1962) · 1906 · The University?

A circular from the University of North Carolina on Andrew Carnegie's offer of fifty thousand dollars toward a library, issued at Chapel Hill in 1906. The title points to the conditions the university had to meet to secure the gift. The piece deals with Carnegie libraries in Chapel Hill and with gifts and legacies to North Carolina libraries.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919.

UNC

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 1 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

  • Hill Hall University buildings and grounds · Chapel Hill · 4 events here
  • UNC Libraries University schools and programs · Chapel Hill · 4 events here

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Background

  • Carnegie LibrariesNCpedia Covers his grants for public library buildings in North Carolina towns.
  • History The foundation he endowed tells the story of his giving, including library buildings.

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  • NC LIVE: prepared search for Andrew Carnegie Library card Search NC LIVE for this subject and Orange County. You can change the search terms. Sign in through your North Carolina library to access the materials.
  • Ancestry Library Edition In the libraryOrange County Public Library Census, birth, death and marriage records, and more, free on the public computers at OCPL libraries

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