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Durham County History. As early as colonial days, the area known as Durham County was important to North Carolina history. English, Scots and Irish settled along the waterways of the present northeast corner of the county on land given to the Earl of Granville by the British Crown.
1872. By the 1870s, Durham’s growth had created a pressing need for a town cemetery. In 1872, land was purchased to the west of the town limits to establish Maplewood Cemetery, the first public cemetery in Durham. Prior to the establishment of the cemetery, Durham residents had been buried in church cemeteries.
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Described by an early explorer as the “flower of the Carolinas”, Durham is a central Piedmont county that was annexed from Orange and Wake counties in 1881. Driven by the tobacco industry in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Durham County was the city of the affluent American Tobacco Company.
- Durham History
- Native Americans
- Europeans
- Revolutionary War
- Antebellum
- War Between The States
- Tobacco & Mills
- Education
- African-American Enterprise
- Civil Rights
The Bull City: A Short History of Durham, North Carolina compiled by Lynn Richardson, local history librarian, Durham County Library, and adapted from Durham County: A History of Durham County, North Carolina by Jean Anderson.
Long before the Bull City was named for Dr. Bartlett Durham in the 1800’s, the community was making history. Before Europeans arrived, two Native American tribes – the Eno and the Occaneechi, related to the Sioux – lived and farmed here. Durham is thought to be the site of an ancient Native American village named Adshusheer. The Great Indian Tradin...
In 1701, Durham’s beauty was chronicled by the explorer John Lawson, who called the area “the flower of the Carolinas.” During the mid-1700’s, Scots, Irish, and English colonists settled on land granted to John Carteret, Earl of Granville, by King Charles I (for whom the Carolinas are named). Early settlers built gristmills, such as West Point, and...
Prior to the American Revolution, frontiersmen in what is now Durham were involved in the “War of Regulators.” According to legend, Loyalist militia cut Cornwallis Road through this area in 1771 to quell the rebellion. Later, William Johnston, a local shopkeeper and farmer, forged Revolutionary ammunition, served in the Provincial Capital Congress ...
During the period between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, large plantations such as Hardscrabble, Cameron, and Leigh were established. By 1860, Stagville Plantation lay at the center of one of the largest plantation holdings in the South. African slaves were brought to labor on these farms and plantations, and slave quarters became the hearth of ...
Due to a disagreement between plantation owners and farmers, North Carolina was the last state to secede from the Union. Durhamites fought in several North Carolina regiments. Seventeen days after Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox, Union General Sherman and Confederate General Johnston negotiated the largest surrender and the end of the Civil ...
After the ceasefire in Durham, Yankee and Rebel troops celebrated together and discovered Brightleaf tobacco–with a taste that led to the ultimate success of Washington Duke and his family and spawned one of the world’s largest corporations (which included American Tobacco, Liggett & Myers, R.J. Reynolds, and P. Lorillard). Tobacco soon inspired ot...
In 1892, Trinity College moved from Randolph County to Durham. Washington Duke and Julian Carr donated money and land to facilitate the move. Following a $40 million donation by Washington Duke’s son, James Buchanan Duke, Trinity College was renamed Duke University in 1924. In 1910, Dr. James E. Shepard founded North Carolina Central University, th...
After the Civil War, the African American economy progressed through a combination of vocational training, jobs, land ownership, business ownership, and community leadership. In 1898, John Merrick founded North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, which today is the largest and oldest African American owned life insurance company in the nation. ...
The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, organized in 1935 by C.C. Spaulding and Dr. James E. Shepard, has been cited nationally for its role in the sit-in movements of the 1950’s-60’s. The committee also has used its voting strength to pursue social and economic rights for African-Americans and other ethnic groups. In the late 1950’s, ...
Flax and hemp are important in the economy of backcountry farms. April–June: George Washington visits several North Carolina towns on his southern tour. July 2: The Cherokee sign the Treaty of Holston, by which they cede a 100-mile tract of land in exchange for goods and an annuity of $1,000. 1792.
Durham opens the first tax-supported library in North Carolina. Warren C. Coleman opens the nation’s first African American–owned and –operated textile mill in Concord. July 24: The North Carolina Banker’s Association forms in Morehead City.
Most popular is a touch screen timeline of the city’s history dating back to the 1600s. The timeline makes Durham’s history feel real, letting you visualize what life was like for Durham residents then and now. With that, the museum plays a crucial role in collecting Durham’s history and shaping how the community views its future.
