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[Identification of item], George W. Gillette Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The George W. Gillette Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1978.
Processed by Rubenstein Library staff, 1978
Encoded by Carrie Mills and Meghan Lyon, May 2011
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 6-8-78
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
George W. Gillette was born at Marines, in Onslow Co., N.C., in 1888, the only son of William Issac Gillette and Rena Winbury Gillette. He attended North Carolina State College and later the Army Engineer School. His military career began in 1916 and lasted until his retirement in 1948. As an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers, Gillette helped organize the Engineer Training Center at Fort Belvoir, Va., commanded the Engineer Training center at Fort Lewis, Washington, and served as Division Engineer both of the New England and South Atlantic Divisions. He was District Engineer in Wilmington in 1945. Subsequently, he brought his engineering expertise and knowledge of waterways construction (as well as his personal connections) to the consulting field. He was associated (through connections) to the consulting field. He was associated (through the World Bank, United Nations, and private agencies) with projects in Latin America, Africa, and South East Asia.
In 1939, Colonel George W. Gillette of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed and mapped the area from Fort Monroe, Virginia to Fort Sumter, South Carolina, which included the Onslow County coastline and the New River. The map is believed to have fostered the interest of the War and Navy Departments in establishing an amphibious training base in the area.
Chiefly papers and letters concerning the later period of Gillette's life. An extensive correspondent, Gillette expounded his personal beliefs and philosophy with a wide circle of friends and associates, including prominent civic and military figures such as General Raymond Wheeler, Senators B. Everett Jordan and Sam Ervin, Congressman Alton Lennon, and Governors Linwood Holton and Terry Sanford. Also represented are many figures of local political importance - those from southeastern North Carolina especially.
These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
Topics included in collection include: United Nations in the Congo, Boys Club of Wilmington, the Brunswick Maritime Commission, the B. Everett Jordan Campaign for Senator of 1966, the Muskegan Project, a Honduras Enginerring Project, and biographical sketches of United Nations personnel.