Gothic Bookshop

Beginning in the mid-1920's, Duke University purchased many small farms and interspersed frostland as a buffer and expansion land for the new campus. These tracts, totaling 4,696 acres, became the Duke Forest in 1931 when they were placed under the stewardship of Dr. Clarence Korstian, the first director of the Duke Forest and the dean of the School of the Forestry. Over the years, academic uses of the Duke Forest have broadened beyond the original forestry objectives to encompass a variety of disciplines in the natural and environmental sciences. Now the Duke Forest is nationally recognized as a premiere facility for outdoor education and environmental science research.

The Sarah P. Duke Gardens: A Wonderful Wander invites readers to explore the growth and beauty of a North Carolina landmark. Whether they have come to the Gardens once or a thousand times, visitors will always find something new here to delight, teach, or inspire. That is the gift of a garden, and the one at Duke is especially generous.

Like the majority of the founders of large philanthropic foundations in the United States, James B. Duke assumed that the Duke Endowment, which he established in 1924, would continue its charitable activity forever. Lasting Legacy to the Carolinas is an examination of the history of this foundation and the ways in which it has -- and has not -- followed Duke's original design.