A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Entry

Gardner, Ava; movie; hollywood; Johnston County

Written by

Born in Johnston County in 1922, Ava Lavinia Gardner became one of Hollywood’s most popular starlets in the 1940s and 1950s. She attended Rock Ridge High School and Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College), and in 1939 her big break in film occurred. While visiting her sister in New York a photographer took several pictures of Gardner who later sent them to the MGM talent office. MGM signed Gardner to a seven-year contract and her acting career began. Gardner appeared in several classic films including The Killers, One Touch of Venus, and the classic musical, Show Boat.

Entry

Gardner, O. Max (1882-1947)

Written by

O. Max Gardner served as governor of North Carolina from 1929 to 1933, but more importantly, his political organization dominated state politics from the 1920s to the 1940s. As a result, Gardner and his allies controlled the Democratic Party when it dominated the state and the South.  Although initially he endorsed publicly the New Deal, Gardner privately criticized some New Deal programs. By the late 1930s, as the New Deal became more pro-labor and anti-business, Gardner privately opposed it and fought to prevent the implementation of Roosevelt’s “court-packing scheme” and supported New Deal opponents during the 1938 election.

Entry

Gaston County (1846)

Written by

A southern Piedmont county, Gaston County is a well established hub for North Carolina textile production. The county was established in 1846 from a large section of Lincoln County, and the county seat is Gastonia. Before its reliance on the textile industry, Gastonia was known for its corn crop, and earned the label the “Banner Corn Whiskey County of Carolina” in 1870.

Entry

Gaston, William J. (1778-1844)

Written by

Many North Carolinians, and Americans from elsewhere, respected, if not adored, Gaston.  John Marshall (1755-1835) once said that he would retire if he knew Gaston would replace him as U.S. Supreme Court Justice.  In 1840, the state legislative leaders proposed Gaston as U.S. Senator, but he declined the honor.

Entry

Gates County (1779)

Written by

Cozily situated in between Hertford and Pasquotank counties, Gates County contains rural settings, a tight-knit community, and an extensive history.

Entry

Gatling Gun

Written by

The first successful machine gun, known as the Gatling gun was invented by North Carolina native Richard J. Gatling in 1862. The gun saw limited use in the Civil War because the original model proved ineffective but once Gatling perfected his machine gun, the United States Army purchased 100 guns in 1866. Although the patent was eventually purchased by Colt’s Armory, the more developed guns built by Nordenfeldt and Maxim gun manufacturers outlasted the Gatling machine gun.

Entry

George Washington Carver College

Written by

When North Carolina’s manufacturing sector started growing rapidly during the mid-twentieth century, African American students lacked educational opportunities to become marketable in the modern workforce.  To meet this demand, C. A. Barrett in 1948 started George Washington Carver College in Asheboro.

Entry

Gilbert S. Waters (1869-1903)

Written by

Gilbert S. Waters built one of the first buggymobiles.  Born in 1869, Waters grew up in New Bern around the buggy industry and worked in the family business, G. H. Waters Buggy and Carriage Factory. 

Entry

Gold Mining, Antebellum (1820-1860)

Written by

“The mining interest of the State is now only second to the farming interest.”  So wrote a reporter of the Western Carolinian of Salisbury in 1825.  But according to historians Richard D. Knapp and Brent D. Glass in Gold Mining in North Carolina (1999) the average Tar Heel did not fall victim to gold fever.  Nevertheless, there was enough demand by 1830 for a Charlotte-based Miners’ and Farmers’ Journal to begin publication.  

Entry

Goody's Headache Powder

Written by

Like many pharmacists in 1932, Martin “Goody” Goodman compounded his own headache relief powder called “Goody’s” to sell in his local pharmacy.

Entry

Graham County (1872)

Written by

Bordering Tennessee and in the Appalachian mountain range, Graham County is known for its agriculture and its tourism.

Entry

Graham, Billy (1918 - 2018)

Written by

One of the most renowned orators and preachers of the twentieth century, Graham has touched the lives of millions internationally since entering evangelism after World War II. Born in Charlotte, Graham grew up as a skeptic, but he converted after hearing evangelist Mordecai Ham in 1934.  Afterward, Billy Graham became passionate about spreading the Gospel, and his organization, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (established in 1950), remains a vital international outlet for Christian devotions, radio, and television.

Entry

Graham, William Alexander (1804-1875)

Written by

An established public servant, William Alexander Graham’s lengthy political career included tenures as  Governor of North Carolina and a U.S. Senator. He utilized both posts to push for reforms characteristic of the waning Whig Party, of which he served as a prominent member. 

Entry

Grandfather Mountain

Written by

A distinctive cultural and tourist attraction in North Carolina, Avery County’s Grandfather Mountain peaks at 5,964 feet. Grandfather Mountain is the tallest mountain of the Blue Ridge Mountains, known for its distinctive old man visual characteristic. Two important cultural events are held at the mountain annually: Singing on the Mountain and the Highland Games.

Entry

Granville County

Written by

Once part of Edgecombe County, Granville County was formed in 1746, and its county seat, Oxford, was incorporated in 1811. After the Tuscarora War, Virginia settlers and farmers moved to Granville and took advantage of the rich farmland in the region. During the antebellum period, the plantation economy thrived in the county, and even after the Civil War, agriculture continued to flourish in Granville, with much success due to the bright leaf tobacco crop.

Entry

Great Smoky Mountains, National Park

Written by

Officially dedicated in 1940, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park rests on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. As the federal government began to designate national parks in the 1870s, concerned citizens started to suggest a park on the Great Smoky Mountain range. After years of raising funds and acquiring land plots of the mountain range, Congress authorized the park in 1934. Today, over nine million tourists visit the park annually.

Entry

Greene County

Written by

Greene County, established in 1791, was the site of an important battle in the Tuscarora War. Its county’s seat is Snow Hill, and the county is named after General Nathanael Greene, Patriot general and victor at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Entry

Greensboro Shootings

Written by

On November 3, 1979, an armed confrontation between members of the Maoist Communist Workers Party (CWP) and several Klansmen and Nazis ended with four CWP members and one supporter being shot dead.  Three trials soon followed, and CWP survivors and their supporters claimed that their anti-establishment views incited a conspiracy to have them killed.

Entry

Greensboro Sit-In

Written by

On February 1, 1960, four African-American students of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University sat at a white-only lunch counter inside a Greensboro, North Carolina Woolworth’s store. While sit-ins had been held elsewhere in the United States, the Greensboro sit-in catalyzed a wave of nonviolent protest against private-sector segregation in the United States.

Entry

Griffith, Andy; Mt. Airy; Pilot Mountain; Surry County

Written by

Born on June 1, 1926 in Mount Airy, Andy Griffith studied at UNC-Chapel Hill where he majored in music. Griffith worked as a teacher for several years before starting his career as an actor, starring in the play No Time for Sergeants, a Broadway show that opened in 1955. Five years later, Griffith starred in his most famous role as Sheriff Andy Griffith in The Andy Griffith Show. Griffith starred in several other television movies and shows, including Matlock before his retirement to Dare County. The actor died on July 3, 2012 from heart complications.

Entry

Griggs v. Duke Power

Written by

Griggs v. Duke Power Company was a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971. It concerned the legality, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, of high school diplomas and intelligence test scores as prerequisites for employment. The court ruled unanimously against the intelligence testing practices of the Duke Power Company. In his opinion, Chief Justice Warren Burger argued that employers can use intelligence tests only if "they are demonstrably a reasonable measure of job performance."

Entry

Grimes, Bryan (1828-1880)

Written by

A planter, Confederate general, and a University of North Carolina trustee, Bryan Grimes was one of the Tar Heel State’s most respected men.  His life had an unfortunate end; returning from a political convention in Beaufort, Grimes was assassinated in 1880.  It would take seven years for the assassin’s identity to be determined conclusively.

Entry

Grove, William Barry (1764-1818)

Written by

A Federalist who represented North Carolina in the United States Congress from 1791 until 1803, William Barry Grove supported the ratification of the Constitution and thwarted the Democratic-Republic agenda.  He earned a reputation as pro-British and anti-French and a supporter of Federalist foreign policy.

Entry

Guilford College

Written by

Guilford College was founded by the Society of Friends (Quaker church) in 1837 as a boarding school. During the Civil War, the institution became a place of Confederate resistance, largely due to the Quaker tradition of equality and pacifism. Today, over 2,700 students study at the institution and it is the third oldest coeducational college in the United States.

Entry

Guilford County (1771)

Written by

Formed in 1771 from parts of the Orange and Rowan counties, Guilford lies in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, and its county seat is Greensboro. The decisive Battle of Guilford Courthouse occurred in Guilford in 1781, and O. Henry, Dolly Madison, and Edward R. Murrow were all born in the county. The county is home to the two major cities of Greensboro and High Point.