Gimghoul Neighborhood Historic District, Historic residential district in Chapel Hill, United States.
Gimghoul Neighborhood Historic District is a mainly residential section of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with 42 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure. It developed after 1924 as faculty housing and holds notable examples of Colonial Revival and Bungalow/American Craftsman architecture. The Order of Gimghoul sold the land for development to fund construction of neighbouring Hippol Castle.
The district developed from 1924 onward after the Order of Gimghoul sold their land to fund construction of their headquarters at Hippol Castle. Most homes were built during the 1920s and 1930s, with later structures displaying more standardized Colonial Revival designs.
The name Gimghoul comes from the Order of Gimghoul, the secret student society that owned the land and sold it for housing. The society's castle, Hippol Castle, stands next to the neighbourhood it financed. The district's 42 contributing buildings and one contributing structure date from after 1924 and show Colonial Revival and Bungalow/American Craftsman styles.
The district lies in a residential section of Chapel Hill near the University of North Carolina campus, and its 42 contributing buildings and one contributing structure are private homes, so visitors should view them from the public street. The neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, which is why its Colonial Revival and Bungalow/American Craftsman houses remain largely unchanged.
The Order of Gimghoul, a secret student society, sold this land to finance and build their mysterious Hippol Castle headquarters. This surprising connection between a faculty residential neighborhood and a hidden social order shapes the place's historical identity.
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