Local figure
Joshua W. Gore
Joshua Walker Gore came to the University of North Carolina in 1882 as professor of natural philosophy and engineering and became its registrar. He was responsible for the university's electric light plants, oversaw building the YMCA, helped bring the first long-distance telephone line to Chapel Hill, and served as a town alderman and a director of the Bank of Chapel Hill.
Orange County Indexed has not yet linked an indexed work directly to Joshua W. Gore. The biography and the dated events on this page provide sources about Joshua W. Gore’s life and work. If you know a useful source, tell us.
Life and Orange County connections
Dated events connected with this person, earliest first. See these 10 dated events in the chronology →
- Joshua W. Gore joins the university as professor of natural philosophy and engineering The trustees unanimously chose Joshua Walker Gore, a Virginia-born civil engineer who had studied at Richmond College, the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins, to succeed Carey D. Grandy as professor of natural philosophy and engineering. He was the first appointee in years to take permanent charge of the subject.Search the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 257
- The annual YMCA convention meets at Chapel Hill The Young Men's Christian Association's annual convention met at Chapel Hill, with sessions in Gerrard Hall, reports from associations around the state and a Sunday talk to townspeople in the Baptist church. Professor J. W. Gore was chosen its president. People: Thomas Hume, Joshua W. GoreSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 355
- The Orange County Sunday School Convention meets at Hillsborough Seventeen delegates of the county's Sunday schools met in convention at the Hillsborough Methodist church with Rev. W. F. Wilhelm in the chair, heard addresses by Revs. G. W. Harman and W. B. North, and chose delegates to the state convention at Charlotte. People: Joseph A. Harris, Joshua W. Gore, W. S. RobersonSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), March 2, 1889, p. 3
- Orange County Sunday School Convention meets at the Hillsborough Baptist church The county convention of Sunday schools met in Hillsborough on Saturday, March 12, with reports from 21 schools. It elected officers, with J. W. Gore of Chapel Hill as president, and named delegates to the state convention at New Bern. People: Joshua W. GoreSearch the index · Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), March 26, 1892, p. 3
- Dr. Joshua Gore and his wife leave the Chapel Hill Baptist Church for Mount Carmel While the church had no pastor, from June 1895 to September 1897, its minutes record that Dr. Joshua Gore and his wife moved their membership to Mount Carmel Baptist Church. The Gores went on to build Gore's Chapel on a hilltop about two miles south of Chapel Hill and held services there for years; Mrs. Gore and her sister kept a Sunday school there into the 1920s, and the building later burned.Search the index · Almonte Charles Howell, A History of the Chapel Hill Baptist Church, 1854-1924 (1945), scan p. 31
- Joshua Gore's steam plant brings electricity to the campus and village A steam engine near South Building drove a small dynamo and the pumps that filled the campus water tanks, and lines ran from it to university buildings and to shops, cafes and hotels in the village. Physics professor Joshua W. Gore planned the work; the library in Smith Hall got power late in 1896, and arc lights later went up along campus walks. People: Joshua W. GoreSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 30
- Acting president Joshua Gore demonstrates an X-ray machine at the university While Alderman was abroad from February to May 1898, physics professor Joshua W. Gore ran the university and set up an X-ray apparatus in his laboratory. A Raleigh doctor brought over a patient to look for a shawl pin thought to be in her throat, which Gore could not find. People: Joshua W. GoreSearch the index · Howard E. Covington Jr., Fire and Stone: The Making of the University of North Carolina under Presidents Edward Kidder Graham and Harry Woodburn Chase (2018), p. 36
- Chapel Hill gets its first long-distance telephone Through the efforts of Professor Joshua W. Gore, the first long-distance telephone line was set up at the university during the 1900-01 session, connecting by way of Durham. People: Joshua W. GoreSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 597
- The campus YMCA building is dedicated The new Young Men's Christian Association building was formally dedicated on the evening of June 2, 1907, after the YMCA sermon. Professor J. W. Gore presented it for the building committee and Dr. Richard H. Lewis accepted it for the trustees. People: Richard H. Lewis, Joshua W. GoreSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 665
- Joshua W. Gore, professor of physics and dean, dies Joshua Walker Gore, professor of physics and dean of the university, died in a Baltimore hospital on April 8, 1908. A memorial service followed on May 10, and alumni later gave his portrait for the library. People: M. C. S. Noble, Charles Edward Maddry, Joshua W. GoreSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 673
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 3 with a known location.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange and OpenStreetMap; town and community pins mark the middle of their mapped buildings.
- University YMCA University schools and programs · Chapel Hill · 2 events here
- Gerrard Hall University buildings and grounds · Chapel Hill · 1 event here
- South Building University buildings and grounds · Chapel Hill · 1 event here
- University Baptist Church Churches and lodges · Chapel Hill · 1 event here
Named with them in the chronology
People named in the same dated entries as Joshua W. Gore, 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.
- Charles Edward Maddry 1 entry: Joshua W. Gore, professor of physics and dean, dies (April 8, 1908)
- Joseph A. Harris 1 entry: The Orange County Sunday School Convention meets at Hillsborough (February 22, 1889)
- M. C. S. Noble 1 entry: Joshua W. Gore, professor of physics and dean, dies (April 8, 1908)
- Richard H. Lewis 1 entry: The campus YMCA building is dedicated (June 2, 1907)
- Thomas Hume 1 entry: The annual YMCA convention meets at Chapel Hill (March 11-14, 1886)
- W. S. Roberson 1 entry: The Orange County Sunday School Convention meets at Hillsborough (February 22, 1889)
Research sources
Resources picked for this person, each with a note on what it holds. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further.
Collections and databases
- NC LIVE: prepared search for Joshua W. Gore Library card An advanced search of the state’s shared databases already scoped to Orange County’s places and this subject; edit it freely, and sign in through your North Carolina library to read
- 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
Local help
- Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection, Orange County Public Library The county library’s local-history room at the Main Library in Hillsborough: books, journals, maps, and microfilm of county records from 1752
- Local History Help Hours and request formOCPL Local History Liaison The library’s Local History Liaison helps in person most Mondays, 12 to 3, at the Main Library, or by the online request form
Search further
Ready-made searches in other catalogs and collections. Results are not checked against this person.
Books about Joshua W. Gore
- WorldCat (opens in a new tab) Library catalogs worldwide
- OCPL (opens in a new tab) Orange County Public Library
More catalogs that show where copies are
- Chapel Hill Public Library (opens in a new tab) Public library in Chapel Hill
- Durham County Library (opens in a new tab) Public library next door in Durham
- UNC Libraries (opens in a new tab) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Duke Libraries (opens in a new tab) Duke University, Durham
- NC Cardinal (opens in a new tab) The State Library of North Carolina and public libraries across the state
Photographs, papers, and newspapers
- DigitalNC (opens in a new tab) North Carolina newspapers, yearbooks, and photographs
- DPLA (opens in a new tab) Digital collections from libraries, archives, and museums across the country
Historical records and collections
- Chronicling America (opens in a new tab) Historical newspapers from across the country, through 1963
- Internet Archive (opens in a new tab) Digitized books, directories, and local histories
- HathiTrust (opens in a new tab) Full text of digitized books
- ArchiveGrid (opens in a new tab) Papers held by archives across the country
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