Duke Centennial Resources

The following secondary source materials contain information about Duke University history, starting from the Randolph County days to the present. Clicking on the links will take you to the catalog record for each item.

Many of the secondary sources listed below are the products of research using Duke University Archives collections. As you read these secondary sources, take careful note of their footnotes; they will point you to University Archives collections that may be helpful to your own research.

This page is divided up into three sections: 

1. Randolph County (1838-1892)

2. Trinity College, Durham County (1892-1924)

3. Duke University (1924-)

General History:

• Chaffin, Nora Campbell. Trinity College, 1839-1892: The Beginnings of Duke University. Durham: Duke University Press, 1950. (print copy)

Other Relevant Books:

• Crowell, John Franklin. Personal Recollections of Trinity College, North Carolina, 1887-1894. Durham: Duke University Press, 1939. (print copy OR ebook available via HathiTrust)

• Dowd, Jerome. The Life of Braxton Craven. Raleigh: Edwards & Broughton, 1896. (print copy OR ebook available via HathiTrust)

• York, Brantley. The Autobiography of Brantley York. Durham: The Seeman Printery, 1910. (print copy OR ebook available via HathiTrust)

General History:

• Anderson, Jean. Durham County. 2nd edition. Durham : Duke University Press, 2011. (print copy OR ebook)

• Porter, Earl W. Trinity and Duke, 1892-1924. Durham: Duke University Press, 1964. (print copy OR digitized copy available via Internet Archive)

• Tilley, Nannie M. The Trinity College Historical Society, 1892-1941. Durham: Duke University Press, 1941. (print copy OR digitized copy available via HathiTrust)

Other Relevant Books:

• Garber, Paul Neff. John Carlisle Kilgo: President of Trinity College, 1894-1910. Durham: Duke University Press, 1937. (print copy OR digitized copy available via HathiTrust)

• The Inauguration of William Preston Few as President of Trinity College, November 9, 1910. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1910. (print copy OR digitized copy available via HathiTrust)

General History:

• Blackburn, William. The Architecture of Duke University. Durham: Duke University Press, various eds. (print copy OR digitized copy available via HathiTrust)


• Durden, Robert F. The Launching of Duke University, 1924-1949. Durham: Duke University Press, 1993. (print copy OR ebook)
• Duke University Archives, Duke Illustrated: A Timeline of Duke University, 1838-2011. Durham: Duke University Archives, 2011. (print copy)


• King, William E. If Gargoyles Could Talk: Sketches of Duke University. Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 1997. (print copy)


• Phelps, Jon. "I have selected Duke University...": A Short History. Durham: Duke University, 1973, 1977. (print copy or digitized copy via Internet Archive)


• Schumann, Marguerite E. Stones, Bricks & Faces: A Walking Guide to Duke University. Durham: Duke University Office of Publications, 1976. (print copy OR digitized copy available via HathiTrust)

Other Relevant Books:

• Anderson, Jean. Durham County. 2nd edition. Durham : Duke University Press, 2011. (print copy OR ebook)


• Baldwin, Alice Mary. "The Woman's College as I Remember It." Available in box 20 of the Alice Mary Baldwin Papers, 1863-1961.


• Booher, Bridget. Women at Duke Illustrated: Making Duke History Since 1838. Durham: Duke University Archives, 2014. (print copy)
• Campbell, Walter E. Foundations for Excellence: 75 Years of Duke Medicine. Durham: Duke University Medical Center Library, 2006. (print copy)


• Cole, R. Taylor. The Recollections of R. Taylor Cole: Educator, Emissary, Development Planner. Durham: Duke University Press, 1983. (print copy)


• Covington, Howard E., Jr. and Marion Ellis. Terry Sanford: Politics, Progress, and Outrageous Ambitions. Durham: Duke University Press, 1999. (print copy OR ebook)


• Duke University Medical Center. The First Twenty Years: A History of the Duke University Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Services, and Duke Hospital, 1930-1950. Durham: Duke University Press, 1952. (print copy)


• Duke University Office of the Vice President. Legacy, 1963-1993: Thirty Years of African-American Students at Duke University. Durham: Duke University, Office of the University Vice President & Vice Provost, 1995. (print copy OR digitized copy via Internet Archive)


• Durden, Robert F. Duke Gardens through the Years. Durham : Sarah P. Duke Gardens, c2001. (print copy)


• Durden, Robert F. The Dukes of Durham, 1865-1929. Durham: Duke University Press, 1975. (print copy OR ebook)


• Gifford, James F. The Evolution of a Medical Center: A History of Medicine at Duke University to 1941. Durham: Duke University Press, 1972. (print copy)


• Knight, Douglas M. Street of Dreams: The Nature and Legacy of the 1960s. Durham: Duke University Press, 1989. (print copy)


• Locke, Elizabeth H., ed. Duke Encounters. Durham: Duke University Office of Publications, 1977. (print copy)


• Phillips, Ida. The Duke Forest at 75: A Resource for All Seasons. Durham: Office of the Duke Forest, Duke University, 2006. (print copy)


• Pike, William E. "Duke University and the Methodist Tradition." Methodist History. 42.3 (April 2004): 167-177. (online access to Methodist History)


• Segal, Theodore. Point of Reckoning: The Fight for Racial Justice at Duke University. Durham: Duke University Press, 2021. (print copy OR ebook)
• Spence, Hersey E. "I Remember": Recollections and Reminiscences of Alma Mater. Durham: Seeman Printery, 1954. (print copy)


• Woody, Robert H. The Papers and Addresses of William Preston Few. Durham: Duke University Press, 1951. (print copy)


• Young, Betty Irene. The Library of The Woman's College, Duke University, 1930-1972. Durham: Regulator Press, 1978. (print copy OR digitized copy via Internet Archive)