In honor of Durham's 150th birthday, GoDurham wants help residents learn more about the Bull City. Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 10:30, 12:30 and 3:30, select GoDurham routes will play messages about the history and significance of sites along the route. Below we've included a drop down list of the routes, sites and stop numbers if you want to read along or explore for yourself.
This was made possible with support from North Carolina Central University's Department of History. Dr. Jim C. Harper, II along with the Department of History graduate students, Mattison Bond and Malcolm Tillery were instrumental in working with GoDurham to see this Public History project come to fruition. The Department of History has a thriving Public History program that is directed by Dr. Charles Johnson.
Route 1 Historic Sites
BULL DURHAM TOBACCO FACTORY
- 300 Blackwell Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6317
Demand for tobacco was high after the Civil War. William T. Blackwell purchased interest in the Bull Durham Tobacco Company in 1869 and renamed it The W.T. Blackwell Company. Needing a business partner, he sold a third of the interest in the company to Julian S. Carr, allowing them to begin building a factory large enough to meet their demand. The factory was completed in 1874.
BRIGHTLEAF HISTORIC DISTRICT
- W. Peabody St., Duke St., Minerva Ave., N&W RR, Corporation St., Ligget St., Morris St. and W. Loop
- Stop ID: 5030
This historic district, located in west downtown Durham, has 22 contributing buildings and seven contributing structures. Many of the buildings were built between the 1870s and World War II, including the: B.L. Duke Warehouse, Liggett and Myers Office Building, Imperial Tobacco Company Warehouse and the Cobb Building. This district is stretches from W. Peabody and South Duke Street to Minerva Avenue, Corporation Street, Ligget Street, and Morris Street.
BULLINGTON WAREHOUSE
- 500 N. Duke Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5438
The Carmichael, Bullington, and White warehouses were built by Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company in 1926 and 1927, to store and dry tobacco. The Carmichael and White were completed in 1926 and the Bullington in 1927. In 1982, the Bullington was converted into condos, while the Carmichael and White Warehouses were converted to office use.
LIGGETT MYERS POWERHOUSE
- 300 Fuller Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5030
The Powerhouse, located in downtown Durham’s West Village, was originally constructed in 1926 to provide electricity for the Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company operations. Today it houses a vibrant environment for Duke University’s Talent Identification Program.
TRINITY HISTORIC DISTRICT
- Green, Duke, Morgan, and W. Main Sts., Markham Ave., and Clarendon St.
- Stop ID: 5142
The Trinity Historic District is composed of major portions of Trinity Heights and Trinity Park neighborhoods. These two Trinity neighborhood locations were originally created when Trinity College moved from Randolph County to Durham County in 1890. The relocation of the college and the trolley system, built later, influenced real estate development in the surrounding areas. The neighborhoods grew at rapid paces, attracting businessmen, professionals and many of the faculty and staff at Trinity College.
CRANFORD-WANNAMAKER HOUSE
- 1019 West Trinity Avenue, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5139
The Cranford-Wannamaker House is one of the original five Faculty Row houses on Trinity College's campus, now Duke University. It was built with the original college in 1891. Like all the Faculty Row houses, this one provided housing for many professors on the college campus. William H. Wannamaker, the most famous occupant, held multiple administrative positions at the college. Wannamaker helped build the athletic program and became the editor of the South Atlantic Quarterly. The house was moved to its current location when Guess Road (Buchanan Boulevard) was widened and the stone wall was constructed around the college.
PEGRAM HOUSE
- 1019 Minerva Avenue, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5139
The Pegram House is one of the original five Faculty Row houses on Trinity College's campus, now Duke University. It is named after William H. Pegram. Pegram served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and afterward he returned home and entered Trinity College. Pegram was taught chemistry at Duke University in the early 1900s. Over the next twenty years, he earned his L.L.D. degree and was named Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, as he became more involved in the Chemistry department. He retired in 1919, died in 1928 and was buried on the former Trinity College campus.
CROWELL HOUSE
- 504 Watts Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID 5142
The Crowell House was one of the five original Faculty Row houses built by Trinity College in 1891 during the original Durham campus construction. John Franklin Crowell, the first occupant, was the president of Trinity College from 1887 to 1895 and the director of the move from Randolph County to Durham. He believed the urban environment would best suit the college’s needs. In addition to his teaching and administrative duties, he introduced intercollegiate football to Trinity College.
WATTS HOSPITAL
- 1201 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705
- Stop ID: 5495
The Watts Hospital was the first hospital in the City of Durham and the sixth in North Carolina. Watts Hospital was founded by George W. Watts on February 21, 1895. Watts made his fortune from the tobacco and textile industries as one of the managing directors of the American Tobacco Company and director of Blackwell’s Durham Tobacco Company and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston Salem. When the hospital was first opened, any white person could be treated free of charge (unless the patient could pay for it, then they would pay a small fee). The original building had five small buildings and sat on four acres of land.
Watts not only treated patients, but also trained nurses. It was the first hospital to receive a class A rating form the American Medical Society. The hospital continued running because of the contributions that were made by the citizens of the community, Watts and the Duke Endowment Fund (1924), receiving $40 million from the fund.
Route 2 Historic Sites
BLACK WALL STREET
- North Magnum Street at West Parish Street
- Stop ID: 6307
Black Wall Street was a hub of Black-owned businesses which offered services to the Black populations of Durham during the late 1800s and early 1900s. This four block district along Parrish Street, bordered the Hayti community and served as an important center for Durham's Black community. It is the birth place of Mechanics and Famers Bank and North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
OLD BULL BUILDING
- 201-207 West Pettigrew Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6317
The Old Bull Building was built in 1874. It was the first all-brick tobacco factory in the United States. It is the oldest building that remains in downtown Durham. In 1869 William T. Blackwell purchased interest in the Bull Durham Company and renamed it the W.T. Blackwell Company. Soon he and his business partners constructed a tobacco factory that would later be known as “The Old Bull”.
ASBURY TEMPLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
- 201 South Alston Avenue, Durham NC 27701
- Stop ID: 7007
The Ashbury Temple United Methodist Church was built around 1925 on the southeast corner of Angier and Alston Avenue. Originally organized as the Commonwealth Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1880s, the church changed its name to the Branson Methodist Church in 1904, after W.H. Branson who was the director of the Durham Cotton Manufacturing Company, located close by on Driver Street. The congregation diminished considerably during the late 20th century. The church changed its name to the Asbury Temple United Methodist Church, during this time period.
DOWNTOWN DURHAM HISTORIC DISTRICT
- Peabody, Morgan, Seminary, Cleveland, Parrish and Queen Streets, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6307
The Downtown Durham Historic District includes 97 contributing buildings and one contributing structure. It is the central business district for Durham. Most of the buildings are from the early 20th century, including: the Carolina Theatre, First Baptist Church, Mechanics and Farmers Bank and St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church. The district is bounded by: Peabody, Morgan, Seminary, Cleveland, Parrish and Queen Streets.
GOLDEN BELT HISTORIC DISTRICT
- N&W Railroad, Taylor Street, Holman Street, Morning Glory Avenue and Main Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6383
The Golden Belt Historic District includes 116 contributing buildings in a mixed residential, industrial and commercial section of Durham. Many of the buildings are associated with the Golden Belt Manufacturing Company plant. Inside Golden Belt are 109 worker’s houses built in 1900-1902. There are also a few homes that were built in the late 1910s. This district is bounded by: N&W Railroad, Taylor & Holman Streets, Morning Glory Avenue and Main Street.
NORTH CAROLINA MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY BUILDING
- 116 W Parrish St, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5774
The former North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company building was located in downtown Durham in Black Wall Street. The six story building was home to the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company that was founded in 1898 by seven Black men. Two of them, John Merrick and Dr. Aaron Moore, survived in the business after a year. Moore’s nephew, Charles Clinton (C.C.) Spaulding took charge of the business in 1900. The company grew quickly, becoming the nation’s largest firm owned by Black people. This particular building was constructed in 1921 as its second headquarters. It was the second tallest building in Durham at the time.
HISTORIC BALDWIN BUILDING
- 107 W. Main Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6306
The Baldwin Department Store was opened in Durham in 1911. This was the third location of the chain store and it was originally located across Main Street from its present location. In the 1920s, a fire destroyed the block including the store. In 1929, the store was rebuilt on 107 W. Main Street. The department store served its community well, being most known for its selection of shoes. The store (after it moved) was the second building in Durham to have air conditioning. Baldwin also installed a pneumatic tube system that transported receipts from the multiple floors of the building.
HISTORIC DURHAM COUNTY COURTHOUSE
- 200 E. Main Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5741
After Durham County was established in 1881, its first courthouse was located in a rented space in Stokes Hall on the corner of Corcoran and West Main Street. By 1883, the county began to plan for creating additional space for the courthouse. In 1916 a ground-breaking ceremony was held for the new neo-classical structure, this new building would replace the older courthouse and site. The jail was located at the top floor of the newer building. By the 1960s, the county planned to replace the building once again because they needed more space. The new courthouse was completed in 1978. The original courthouse had the first sewer pipe in Durham County and is the site of the only two legal hangings in the County.
NORTH CAROLINA MUTUAL NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
- 116 West Parish Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6307
The Mechanics and Farmers Bank was established in 1907 by R.B. Fitzgerald. He also had the help of nine other businessman: J. A. Dodson, J. R. Hawkins, John Merrick, Aaron M. Moore, W.G. Pearson, James E. Shepard, G. W. Stephens, and Stanford L. Warren. Fitzgerald created the M&F Bank after the direction of a charter that was issue by the Legislature of the State of North Carolina. It served as a bank for the Black community of Durham.
ORANGE STREET MALL
- East Chapel Hill Street and West Parrish Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6306
Orange Street derived from Orange County, Durham's original county before Durham County was established by the General Assembly on April 17, 1881. It is one of the older street names in Durham. Around 1970, Orange Street turned into a semi-pedestrian mall. Half of the street was constructed into a parking deck/lot and the other half was demolished. The street was also made into brick, but not completely closed to traffic.
FORMER DOWNTOWN DURHAM WOOLWORTH STORE
- 124 West Main Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6306
The Frederick Geer building was modeled after the Florentine Palace and constructed in 1915 after a fire destroyed the other buildings on the block. The Woolworth store was located on the ground floor. Woolworth's was a part of the chain of Woolworth Stores that revolutionized customer shopping experiences by selling merchandise at lower regulated prices and allowing customers to handle merchandise. The Woolworth stores were also the location of civil right sit-ins that started in Greensboro, North Carolina.
TEMPLE BUILDING
- 302 West Main Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6306
In 1909, John Sprunt Hill constructed the Temple Building out of leftover materials from the Watts Hospital which was located on Club Blvd. The Home Security Life Insurance Company used the building as its headquarters in 1916. By the early 1960s, the Temple building became the home of the Guaranty State Bank. The building was recently purchased by Self-Help, and has since been remodeled.
VENABLE CENTER
- 303 South Roxboro Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6531
The Venable Center was originally made up of the Venable Warehouse and the Venable Prizery and Receiving Rooms. An independent tobacco processing company in Durham, North Carolina, the complex and center has been reused twice. It was first leased to artist, architectural salvage and flea markets. Most recently it was used as an office space for biotech companies, a local independent newspaper and the City of Durham. Today it is the last remaining set of historic structures between Blackwell Street, Fayetteville Street, and the Durham Freeway.
VENABLE TOBACCO COMPANY WAREHOUSE
- 302-304 East Pettigrew Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6531
The Venable Tobacco Company was built in 1905 by a branch of Dibrell Brothers of Danville, VA. Soon a prizery and re-drying plant was constructed to the east of the warehouse. In the early 1920s the company was reorganized and came under the control of local tobacconist Clinton W. Toms Jr. and James S. Cobb, president and vice president of the American Tobacco Company trust. The new company purchased the prizery and re-drying plant from the original Virginia based Venable Tobacco Company a month later, the warehouse, two years later. The Venable Tobacco Company was the largest independent tobacco broker for years.
VENABLE TOBACCO COMPANY PRIZERY AND RECEIVING ROOM
- 302-304 East Pettigrew Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6531
The Venable Tobacco Company was made up of two buildings, a brick warehouse that was built in 1905 by the Durham Tobacco and Inspection Company, and a prizery, built in 1925. The warehouse was built for the sorting, drying and packing of tobacco, while the prizery served as a receiving room. The Prizery house was several stories high and was originally built of corrugated iron.
WHITE ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH
- 303 US-501 BUS, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6531
This church was known as the “First Baptist Church”. In 1881 the church's first building was completed and the church was renamed to “White Rock Baptist Church” because of the large white flint rock in the front of the church. White Rock has provided services to the community such as: as a play program for children in the community, a nursey school for low income families, a health clinic and a training program for African American employees of the Recreation Department. It served as a meeting place for the first African American Boy Scout Troop, Troop 55 in Durham, the Tobacco Labor Unions, created softball leagues and decreased juvenile delinquency. The church was threatened by urban renewal and the construction of the Durham Freeway when it was located at 62 Fayetteville St. and was destroyed in 1967. The church was relocated to 3400 Fayetteville Street. While the church was being built, the congregation worshipped at the B.N. Duke Auditorium on North Carolina Central University and St. Joseph’s AME Church. The church opened in October 1971.
Route 4 Historic Sites
HISTORIC DURHAM ATHLETIC PARK (EL TORO PARK)
- 500 W. Corporation Street, Durham, NC 27701
- STOP ID: 6246
Baseball has a rich history in North Carolina. Local baseball teams were formed in Durham as early as the 1870s. The Piedmont League was established in 1919, and the Bulls were one of the members. The Bulls were successful, and in 1926, private funds were raised to build a ballpark close to downtown; the facility was known as El Toro Ballpark. El Toro Park was renamed Durham Athletic Park, in 1930 after John Sprunt Hill donated money to the city to buy the park from the Piedmont league. On June 17, 1939, the original stadium burned to the ground. The present Durham Athletic Park, with its signature conical tower was built in its place.
DILLARD-GAMBLE HOUSE
- 1311 & 1307 N. Mangum Street, Durham, NC 27701
- STOP ID: 5985
The Dillard-Gamble house was built by Mr. and Mrs. Howard Gamble in 1935. Mrs. Gamble’s father, Richard E. Dillard, the owner of the property on 1311 North Mangum Street subdivided his property and gave the southern part to his daughter and son-in-law to build their house. The house serves as an early example of an International Style house in the country. It was particularly unique for Durham, North Carolina, and the South in general.
EPHPHATHA CHURCH
- 220 West Greer Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6244
In 1926, fundraising campaign began to create a church that would serve deaf congregants via American Sign Language. By 1930, George Watts Carr Senior's design was implemented and services began in May of 1931. Ephphatha was one of only four churches in the country which catered exclusively to deaf members; the services were done entirely in ASL. Revered Roma Fortune, who was hearing impaired, was the first head of the church. James Fortune, Roma Fortune’s son, succeeded him. They were both prominent deaf ministers in North Carolina.
FOSTER AND WEST GEER STREETS HISTORIC DISTRICT
- W. Corporation, Madison & Washington Streets., Rigsbee Ave., N&S RR Tracks
- Stop ID: 6246
This district includes 312 contributing buildings, three contributing sites and four contributing structures. The buildings were built between 1923 and 1955. Notable resources in this are the Forest Hills Park and the original campus of the Durham Academy. Other notable buildings in this district are Durham Baking Company building and Uzzle Motor Company. This district is bounded by: West Corporation, Madison & Washington Streets, Rigsbee Avenue and N&R Railroad Tracks.
NORTH DURHAM-DUKE PARK DISTRICT
- Glendale Ave., W. Knox St., Roxboro Rd., Trinity Ave., Magnum St. & Broadway St.
- Stop ID: 5702
This district includes 229 contributing buildings, which are mostly residential. Many of the buildings date back from the 1890s to the 1930s. The two biggest features of this district are how different areas of the district were constructed during different time periods and the host of styles that are inside of it. This district is bounded by Glendale Avenue, West Knox Street, Roxboro Road, Trinity Avenue, Magnum Street and Broadway Street.
PEARL MILL VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT
- 900 Block of Washington and Orient Streets between Trinity and Dacien Avenues
- Stop ID: 6246
Brodie L. Duke decided to create Pearl Cotton Mills at the end of the 19th century. He selected an undeveloped tract of land just outside Durham’s city limits. A cotton mill was his ultimate goal. With the help of wealthy people from Durham, he was able to establish a mill that had 200 workers, 10,000 spindles and 160 broad-looms. As more workers started to come in looking for jobs, houses began to spring up. This intended purposes were not for a residential community, but the economic opportunity made the area around the mill transform. The district has 26 contributing residential buildings that were built by the owners of Pearl Cotton Mills. The dwellings in the district were built between 1905 and 1924. The district is bounded by: 900 Block of Washington and Orient Streets between Trinity and Dacien Avenues.
SCOTT AND ROBERTS DRY CLEANING PLANT, OFFICE, AND STORE
- 733 Foster Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6246
The Scott and Roberts Dry Cleaning Plant, Office and Store was founded by Mack Frederick Scott and Charles B. Roberts. Roberts was a tailor, entrepreneur, and student at Duke University. When he graduated in 1922, he and Scott, his roommate, established their own dry-cleaning business. By 1940 the two had a plant, office and branch all in different locations in Durham. A new plant, office and store were built in 1947 on a parcel of land on Foster Street. The company dissolved in 1987, but the building continued to function as a dry-cleaning business and store until the early 20th century. In 2011 the building was bought by a local real estate developer and redeveloped.
CAROLINA THEATRE
- 309 W Morgan Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6316
Originally called the Durham Auditorium, the Carolina Theatre was a replacement for the “New Academy of Music” that was destroyed and replaced by the Washington Duke Hotel. The theatre showed a mix of live performances. The Carolina Theatre was segregated, Blacks could only sit in the balcony of the theatre which was often referred as the buzzard’s roost. In 1962, Blacks protested by participating in rolling “line protest”. During these protest, Blacks would attempt to buy tickets in the white-only section and when denied they would return to the back of the line and try again. In 1989 the theatre closed for renovations and reopened around 1992.
DURHAM FIRE DRILL TOWER
- 501 Washington Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6242
The Durham Fire Drill Tower was created in May 1928. The six-story, flat roofed, tower was located between Washington and Morris St. It was designed by Atwood and Nash, architects that designed the Durham City Garage. It included a smoke room, platforms, a safety net and standpipe system. The tower is 61 feet tall and was originally a practice facility for Durham firefighters. The firefighters would spray gasoline on the tower, set it ablaze and practice using the hoses and equipment. It was used for training operations until the early 1970s because they thought it was no longer safe for drill activities.
LIBERTY WAREHOUSE
- 603-615 Rigsbee Avenue, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6242
Frank Satterfield and S. Walker Stone were business partners that built their first Durham Tobacco auction warehouses in 1925 on the corner of Rigsbee and Seminary Streets. The Warehouses were called the Satterfield & Stone Warehouse, the Liberty Warehouse, Liberty 1 and Liberty 2. The Liberty Warehouses were used for loose-leaf tobacco auctions that were growing in popularity after the Civil War. Tobacco farmers traveled to auction houses to sell fresher tobacco to buyers. Auction houses served as markets, housing, and commerce centers to farmers, as they often spent their money in cafes and stores that were located within the warehouses.
CLARK AND SORRELL GARAGE
- 323 Foster Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6241
The Clark and Sorrell Garage was founded by Leroy Clark and Donnie Sorrell, in 1922. Their company, Clark & Sorrell Inc., first operated in a series of commercial buildings. Clark was known as the master mechanic and inventor and Sorrell was the business manager. In the first years, the garage specialized in Ford auto repair and had an Amoco oil distributorship, selling Amoco gas. The garage is the oldest functioning garage in Durham. It has provided auto repair services to the community since its establishment.
MUSEUM OF DURHAM HISTORY
- 500 West Main Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6680
The Museum of Durham History is a 21st century museum that that uses stories about places, people, and things to usher curiosity, community engagement and promoted an understanding of diverse perspectives about the Durham community and its history. The museum is putting its mission into action through a personal approach to history that sets this museum apart: an innovative, community model that engages with history through stories—the personal memories, experiences and family lore of our shared heritage.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
- 412 Cleveland Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6182
The First Baptist Church of Durham is the oldest church located in the county, being established in 1845. It was originally called the Rose of Sharon Baptist Church before it changed its name in 1878 and moved to the center of town after purchasing a lot on Mangum Street. The town grew around the church as the church itself grew. During the 1920s the church moved again to Cleveland Street. The new neo-classical structure was completed in 1927.
DUKE HOMESTEAD
- North Duke Street at Carver Street
- Stop ID: 6065
Duke Homestead is where Washington Duke, a tobacco industrialist and Civil War veteran, first grew and processed tobacco. When Duke arrived back home from serving in the Confederate Army, he learned many of the Union soldiers’ loved Bright Leaf tobacco. The North Carolina soil was perfect for this type of tobacco. His sons founded W. Duke and Sons (became the American Tobacco Company in the 1890s), which became the largest tobacco company in the world. The crops produced here carved out an important market for Durham-area tobacco, and solidified North Carolina’s place as the heart of this industry.
Route 5 Historic Sites
BULL CITY BLUES
- Fayetteville Street at Simmons Street
- Stop ID: 5907
During the 1920s and 1940s, Durham was home to Black musicians whose work defined a distinctive regional style. Blues artists often played in the surrounding Hayti community and downtown tobacco warehouse district. Prominent among these were Blind Boy Fuller (Fulton Allen) (1907-1941) and Blind Gary Davis (1896-1972), whose recordings influenced generations of players.
HAYTI HERITAGE CENTER & ST. JOSEPH'S AME CHURCH
- 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 6330
In 1801, Edian Markham, who was an African Methodist Episcopal missionary and former slave, came in to Durham with five others and established an AME church. In 1890, under the leadership of Rev. Andrew Chambers, a fundraising campaign began. The Black community gave generously to the church. The building was constructed by Architect Samuel Leary. The historic inventory describes the structure as “a highly eclectic work, combining the dense massing of Richardsonian Romanesque with elements culled from Gothic Revival and, to a lesser extent, from the Neo-Classical movement.” W.E.B DuBois said, “never in all my travels have I seen a church as great as St. Joseph’s.”
JAMES E. SHEPARD HOUSE
- 1902 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707
- Stop ID: 5225
Built in 1925 for N.C. Central University founder James E. Shepard. This house served as the official residence of the university’s presidents through the early 1980s and hosted luminaries such as W.E.B. DuBois, Phillip Randolph, Marian Anderson and Mary McLeod Bethune. A grant from the National Park Service and private donations helped fund a $685,000 renovation of the property, which displays interactive exhibits on the life and work of Dr. Shepard and serves as a space for small gatherings.
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
- 1801 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707
- Stop ID: 6077
In 1910, Dr. James E. Shepard, a Durham pharmacist and religious educator, opened the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua for the Colored Race. In 1923, the state legislature appropriated funds to buy the school and two years later, the name was changed to the North Carolina College for Negroes, dedicating it to liberal arts education and the preparation of teachers and principals. The college became the nation’s first state-supported liberal arts college for black students. The college became North Carolina Central University in 1969. Now, the university has over 8,000 students enrolled, with 83 degrees with 146 concentrations. It is also a member of the NCAA Division I Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. It has 14 NCAA Division I sports in the MEAC.
SCARBOROUGH HOUSE
- 1406 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707
- Stop ID: 5816
The Scarborough House was built by John C. Scarborough in 1916. Scarborough was influenced to open his own funeral home for Blacks, after noticing there were no Black-owned funeral homes. Scarborough operated Durham’s only black funeral home until the late 1910s. He became one of the first directors of the Mechanic and Farmers Bank, served on the board of trustees of St. Joseph’s A.M.E. Church, was the secretary of Lincoln Hospital’s board of directors in the late 1910's, the secretary of the Krexine Chemical Company in the 20's and the vice president of Bankers Fire Insurance Company, in the 30's.
STOKESDALE HISTORIC DISTRICT
- Fayetteville, Umstead, Lawson, Moline, Concord, and Dunstan Streets, Durham, NC
- Stop ID: 5701
As tobacco and other industries grew in Durham post -Civil War and during the late 19th century, so did the population of the county and city. Because of segregation, Blacks gathered in small enclaves that were close to manufacturing centers and low-lying areas at the edge of town. As the population increased, Black settlers expanded along Fayetteville Street; this was the beginning of the largest Black community in Durham. Because they could not rely on fair and prosperous business within the inner city, the Blacks in the area formed their own alliances, businesses and places of worship. The Stokesdale district served as a base for the creation of prominent black businesses like the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, Lincoln Hospital, National Negro Business League, People’s Saving and Loan Association and the Fraternal Bank and Trust Company. This district also served as the home of prominent business leaders like Dr. James E. Shepard and Dr. Charles H. Shepard, brothers, who founded North Carolina Central University. John Merrick, who helped build Shaw University and formed the NC Mutual Insurance Company, Dr. Aaron Moore, Dr. Charles Clinton Spaulding, and Richard Lewis McDougald.
DURHAM COUNTY LIBRARY, STANFORD L. WARREN BRANCH
- 1201 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707
- Stop ID: 5907
The Stanford L. Warren Library was created by Dr. Aaron Moore, Durham’s first Black physician. He was an avid reader and noticing that there was a lack wholesome books for the Black youth of Durham, he set out in 1913 to create a library. The library was originally located in the basement of White Rock Baptist Church and held 799 donated books. In 1916, Dr. Moore partnered with John Merrick and established the Durham Colored Library. The library relied on community donations during its first few years, but started receiving funds from Durham County in 1918. In the first twenty-five years the library created many activities for the Black youth in the Durham communities, including Saturday Morning Movie Hour, Book Review Forums, Story Telling Institutes, a Library Corner for the Blind its first bookmobile to expand library services to all Black residents in Durham. In 1966, it was recommended that the Stanford L. Warren Library be merged with another white library within Durham. The board of the Stanford Library agreed on several conditions, one of those being to keep the name of the Stanford L. Warren Library. Today the library still serves the community.
HISTORIC WOOLWORTH'S COUNTER
- 1801 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707
- Stop ID: 5215
The F.W. Woolworth Company was known for its creation of stores that sold merchandise at cheaper fixed prices and allowed customers to handle and select items within the store without the help of sales managers. The Woolworth Store located in Greensboro was the location of the first student sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement, when four students from North Carolina A&T sat down and ordered coffee, knowing that, according to law, they were not allowed to sit at the white counter and be served. This same sit-down took place in Durham on Feb. 8, 1960. The protest was organized by the NAACP Chapter at North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central University). The store closed the counter after the protest and the store closed as a whole in 1994. Today the counter sits in the James E. Shepard Memorial Library, located on North Carolina Central’s campus.
LINCOLN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER INC.
- 1301 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707
- Stop ID: 5549
Dr. Aaron Moore founded Lincoln Hospital as the first hospital for the Black community. Since mid-September 1971, its replacement, the Lincoln Community Health Center has served as a preventive and primary health care facility to the Durham County. The health center was founded by the first Black board-certified surgeon in North Carolina, Dr. Charles Watts. Dr. Watts founded the facility after Lincoln Hospital closed and he realized his patients would still need a facility for their primary health care needs. The Lincoln Community Health Center is accredited and certified as a Primary Care Medical Home by the Joint Commission. They offer services such as pediatrics, family and adult medicine, behavioral health, etc.
JOHN MERRICK
- 3300 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5841
John Merrick founded and served for twenty years as president of what became the nation’s largest black-owned business. After the civil war he became a bricklayer and moved to Raleigh where he worked on the Shaw University campus. In 1880 he moved to Durham, opening a barbershop. He counted among his customers some of Durham’s most prominent men, of both races. On October 20, 1898, Merrick and six fellow investors met in the office of Dr. Aaron Moore to organize the North Carolina Mutual and Providence Association. The company spawned allied businesses, among them Mechanics and Farmers Bank, a hosiery mill, a real estate company, a drugstore, and publications. The firm helped earn Durham its national reputation as “Black Wall Street” and the “Capital of the Black Middle Class.” Merrick was buried in Violet Cemetery, which he established and named for his mother. After Beechwood Cemetery was opened in 1926, his remains were reinterred there. His grave is 85 yards northwest from the marker.
BEECHWOOD CEMETERY
- 3300 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5841
Beechwood Cemetery contains the graves of many of Durham’s Black business and community leaders, including John Merrick, founder of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, and C.C. Spaulding, General Manager & President of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, and Dr. James E. Shepard, founder and President of National Religious Training School which became NCCU. Located next to White Rock Baptist Church. Opened in the 1930s after Geer Cemetery closed. Several graves were moved from the old cemetery to Beechwood at that time.
WHITE ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH
- 3400 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5841
This church was known as the “First Baptist Church”. In 1881 the church's first building was completed and the church was renamed to “White Rock Baptist Church” because of the large white flint rock in the front of the church. White Rock has provided services to the community such as: as a play program for children in the community, a nursey school for low income families, a health clinic and a training program for Black employees of the Recreation Department. It served as a meeting place for the first Black Boy Scout Troop, Troop 55 in Durham, the Tobacco Labor Unions, created softball leagues and decreased juvenile delinquency. The church was threatened by urban renewal and the construction of the Durham Freeway when it was located at 62 Fayetteville St. and was destroyed in 1967. The church was relocated to 3400 Fayetteville Street. While the church was being built, the congregation worshipped at the B.N. Duke Auditorium on North Carolina Central University and St. Joseph’s AME Church. The church opened in October 1971.
Route 6 Historic Sites
DUKE UNIVERSITY
- 2127 Campus Drive, Durham, NC 27707
- Stop ID: 6441
In 1892, Trinity College moved to Durham with the endowment and construction cost paid by wealthy tobacco moguls Julian S. Carr and Washington Duke. In December of 1924, Washington Duke’s son, James Buchanan Duke founded the Duke Endowment, a $40 million trust fund to support college and hospitals in North and South Carolina and to fund the construction for the new urban campus. In response to these actions, Trinity College was renamed Duke University. Now, Duke has 15,192 students enrolled and offers more than 70 degrees. Duke is a member of the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference. It has 27 teams who compete in the ACC.
DUKE MEMORIAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
- 504 West Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5507
Methodists from Durham noticed the rapid growth of the city of Durham and believed that new churches needed to be established in order to serve the up and coming east and west sides of Durham. In 1885, a couple of members from Durham Methodist church, including Washington Duke and J.H. Southgate planned for a West End Church. With the moving of Trinity College from Randolph County to Durham in 1892, the congregation grew rapidly over eight years.
MAPLEWOOD CEMETERY
- 1621 Duke University Road, Durham, NC 27701
- Stop ID: 5286
Maplewood Cemetery was created in 1872. Originally, it was an empty field west of the Durham City limits. Before this cemetery, many people were buried in their church’s yard. With the creation of this cemetery, many people were exhumed from the churchyard and given a proper burial in the cemetery. During the 20th century, the cemetery expanded along Duke University Road. Due to demolition, there are only a few houses that have names that appear on headstones, but the old part of the cemetery still stands today.
SARAH P. DUKE GARDENS
- 420 Anderson St, Durham, NC 27708, Durham, NC 27705
- Stop ID: 5480
In the early 1920s, Duke University’s planners intended to turn the area where the Sarah P. Duke Gardens are currently located into a lake. Funds for this project ran short and the idea was abandoned. The gardens then officially began in 1934, when a faculty member at the Duke Medical School persuaded Sarah P. Duke to give $20,000 to finance the planting of flowers in the debris-filled ravine. By 1935, over 100 flower beds consisting of 40,000 irises, 25,000 daffodils, 10,000 small bulbs and assorted annuals graced the lawns. Unfortunately, the heavy rains of that summer and a flooding stream completely washed away the original gardens. Dr. Hanes convinced Sarah P. Duke’s daughter, Mary Duke Biddle, to finance a new garden on higher ground as a memorial to her mother.
MARY LOU WILLIAMS CENTER FOR BLACK CULTURE
- 404 Chapel Drive, Durham, NC 27708
- Stop ID: 5480
The Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture was named after Mary Lou Williams, who was a humanitarian, pianist, composer, and teacher. She was considered an innovator and artist that was recognized by artist like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. She was one of the first jazz artist to perform at Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. She is the first women in the United States to create a recording label, called Mary’s Label. She was also Duke University’s first Artist in Residence and the first recipient of the Trinity Award for her Service to the University. The center was established in 1983 at Duke University. The Mary Lou Williams Center was created to acknowledge and show appreciation to culture, people, and history of Blacks.
THE ORGINAL CHINMEY OF THE BENNETT HOUSE
- 4409 Bennet Memorial Road, Durham, NC 27705
- Stop ID: 6557
The original Bennett House, which burned on October 12, 1921, faced east on the old Hillsborough Road. The structure consisted of one room downstairs and a small room over it. This is the site where Generals Johnston and Sherman held their conferences and signed the terms of their agreements.
BENNETT PLACE STATE HISTORIC SITE
- 4409 Bennet Memorial Road, Durham, NC 27705
- Stop ID: 6557
In early April of 1865, Union General William T Sherman met Confederate General Joseph E Johnston off of Hillsborough Road in Durham at Bennett Place. The terms of surrender negotiated at this site, spared North Carolina the destruction experienced by its neighboring states; the economy of the entire state and development of Durham were boosted when Union troops in the area were introduced to bright leaf tobacco.