Houses of Old Duke Forest

Rigsbee House, 1912 (Courtesy Keith Bowden)

Pictured, left-to-right: 1 Mary Tom Rigsbee; 2 Jesse Albert Rigsbee; 3 Carrie Rigsbee (in lap of Jesse); 4 Nellie Brogden (niece of Jenny Rigsbee); 5 Mabel Rigsbee; 6 Eugenia 'Jenny' Blalock Rigsbee; 7 Faye Rigsbee; 8 Norman Rigsbee (seated); 9 Jack Rigsbee (standing); 10 Boyd George Brogden (seated -- nephew of Jenny Rigsbee)

Rigsbee Barn, 1912 (Courtesy Keith Bowden)

Pictured, left-to-right: 1 Mabel Rigsbee; 2 Eugenia 'Jenny' Blalock Rigsbee; 3 Carrie Rigsbee; 4 Nancy Rigsbee; 5 Faye Rigsbee; 6 Nellie Brogden (niece of Jenny Rigsbee); 7 Mary Tom Rigsbee; 8 Boy on horseback; 9 Norman Rigsbee; 10 Jesse Albert Rigsbee; 11 Boyd George Brogden (nephew of Jenny Rigsbee); 12 Jack Rigsbee

Collectively, the Rigsbee family owned a huge amount of what would become Durham. Atlas Monroe Rigsbee, who owned much of Morehead HIll prior to selling it off to William Vickers, lived on the northwest corner of what is now East Chapel Hill Street and the eponymous Rigsbee Avenue. His farmstead stretched to the northeast, taking in much of Mangum St. and Cleveland Holloway. His brother, Thomas J Rigsbee (5/20/1846 - 3/23/1917), owned large tracts of land west of Durham. Both were sons of Jesse Rigsbee (6/22/1808 - 2/1/1881) and Mary Vickers Rigsbee. Given that there was another Jesse Rigsbee in eastern Orange County that served in the Revolutionary War, the Rigsbees have a very long tenure in these parts.

At what is now the intersection of Anderson Street and Duke University Road, Rigsbee Road continued westward along a path cutting diagonally across the current Duke University West Campus, intersecting with 751 at the current cross country trail and continuing westward. The TJ Rigsbee (Sr.) farmhouse and barn stood near the Duke football stadium on the present-day campus.

TJ Rigsbee had three wives, and only the third was still living when Murray Jones came calling as an agent of James B. Duke in 1924. I've written previously about the failed attempt to buy land between Trinity College and Watts Hospital to build Duke University, and William Preston Few's familiarity with the Rigsbee land. 

Jones paid 0,771 for 399.68 acres of land from the TJ Rigsbee estate. Rigsbee's estate made up the bulk of the original West Campus, but it was hardly the only land purchased by the Dukes for the university; Jones' many transactions stretch throughout 1925, and the original Duke University plat makes clear the number of parcels combined. I've overlaid this plat on Google Earth imagery - you can see the course of Rigsbee Road on this map.

Duke University plat, February 1925.

I wish the picture below was higher resolution. The 1929 photo shows the new west campus under construction in 1929 to the left. Rigsbee Road ~bisects the picture, and you can see the new course of Duke University Road snaking into the right foreground. The stadium area is evident near Rigsbee Road. This natural ravine was where the Rigsbee family kept their pigs. Although not sharp enough to be distinguishable, the buildings and roads of the old farmstead are visible just past the stadium.

1929 aerial, looking northeast.

(Courtesy Duke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection)

Trumbauer/Abele's rendering of Duke's West Campus.

(Courtesy Duke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection)

West Campus under construction.

(Courtesy Duke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection)

The site of the farmstead is now parking lot for the university.

Approximate site of the TJ Rigsbee House, 06.14.11

Approximate site of the TJ Rigsbee Farm, 06.14.11

The only remnant of the Rigsbee farm is the family cemetery, which sits on the southern side of one of the surface parking lots.

Graveyard entrance, 06.14.11

The family retained ownership of the graveyard when the Dukes/Trinity College purchased the site. It remains in the family (and maintained by the family) today.

06.14.11

There are four rough stones in the cemetery which are, per family history, linked to the unidentified bodies of Confederate soldiers.

A Rigsbee relative remembered that it was here that three Confederate soldiers were buried, their bodies having been found following one of the last skirmishes in the area. Only their soiled uniforms indicated they were soldiers. The Rigsbees washed the uniforms, redressed the bodies, and buried them in this family cemetery, saying, 'Hopefully, someone will do the same for our folks.'

Confederate burials, 06.14.11

Rigsbee Cemetery, 06.14.11

Many thanks to Rigsbee descendants Johnny Rigsbee and Keith Bowden for educating me on the history of the site and their family

TJ Rigsbee's great-grandson, Johnny Rigsbee and great-great grandson, Keith Bowden

Mal Turner Place. First house along eastern spur of Forest Road b/t old Rigsbee and Cornwallis, June 1940

The geography of southwest Durham in the area of Duke Forest and the southwest portion of Duke's west campus has changed considerably since the early, despite its relatively 'undisturbed' appearance due to large scale ownership by Duke. Although Duke Forest (the forest, not the neighborhood) is a wooded area with some occasional incursions by the back of a subdivision, it was a sparsely settled and farmed rural area in the early 20th century, punctuated by rural housing at regular intervals.

Rigsbee Road, looking southwest from 751

(Courtesy Library of Congress)

Some of this pattern is still evident along Old Erwin Road, infilled with 1950s and later housing, churches, etc., and increasingly, large subdivisions with the single entry point off of Old Erwin. Vestiges of the old patterns remain though - Rigsbee Road (this section later referred to as "Old Rigsbee") led from 751, intersected with Forest Road, and continued on to Erwin (now 'Old Erwin') although it appears that this was at times referred to as Rigsbee. Erwin continued on a more direct path from 'Old Erwin' to the wide Erwin Road that connects 9th street with 751. the new Erwin Road path was constructed in 1949 with the expansion of Duke Medical Center - particularly the Nurse's Dormitory and the VA Hospital 

The orange is the path of Rigsbee from 751 to its intersection with the former Forest Road, highlighted in pink. The former continuation of Rigsbee is now called "Lemur Lane", as is the former Forest Road leading south to Cornwallis. Part of the former path of Erwin Road is shown in blue. After the 15-501 bypass was built in the 1950s, Rigsbee Road was severed. Extensively catalogued by Duke Forest management in the 1930s, many of the houses along Rigsbee and Forest were lost - I don't know whether there was a program of demolition after Duke acquired the land. Most of the houses in this area are below, from the Duke Forest Collection.

Gainey House - In NW corner of intersection of Pinecrest and Chapel Hill Roads, June 1940

The geography of southwest Durham in the area of Duke Forest and the southwest portion of Duke's west campus has changed considerably since the early, despite its relatively 'undisturbed' appearance due to large scale ownership by Duke. Although Duke Forest (the forest, not the neighborhood) is a wooded area with some occasional incursions by the back of a subdivision, it was a sparsely settled and farmed rural area in the early 20th century, punctuated by rural housing at regular intervals.  Rigsbee Road, looking southwest from 751 (Courtesy Library of Congress) Some of this pattern is still evident along Old Erwin Road, infilled with 1950s and later housing, churches, etc., and increasingly, large subdivisions with the single entry point off of Old Erwin. Vestiges of the old patterns remain though - Rigsbee Road (this section later referred to as "Old Rigsbee") led from 751, intersected with Forest Road, and continued on to Erwin (now 'Old Erwin') although it appears that this was at times referred to as Rigsbee. Erwin continued on a more direct path from 'Old Erwin' to the wide Erwin Road that connects 9th street with 751. the new Erwin Road path was constructed in 1949 with the expansion of Duke Medical Center - particularly the Nurse's Dormitory and the VA Hospital The orange is the path of Rigsbee from 751 to its intersection with the former Forest Road, highlighted in pink. The former continuation of Rigsbee is now called "Lemur Lane", as is the former Forest Road leading south to Cornwallis. Part of the former path of Erwin Road is shown in blue. After the 15-501 bypass was built in the 1950s, Rigsbee Road was severed. Extensively catalogued by Duke Forest management in the 1930s, many of the houses along Rigsbee and Forest were lost - I don't know whether there was a program of demolition after Duke acquired the land. Most of the houses in this area are below, from the Duke Forest Collection.

Log Cabin - In NE corner at intersection of NC 751 and Chapel Hill Rd.

The geography of southwest Durham in the area of Duke Forest and the southwest portion of Duke's west campus has changed considerably since the early, despite its relatively 'undisturbed' appearance due to large scale ownership by Duke. Although Duke Forest (the forest, not the neighborhood) is a wooded area with some occasional incursions by the back of a subdivision, it was a sparsely settled and farmed rural area in the early 20th century, punctuated by rural housing at regular intervals.

Rigsbee Road, looking southwest from 751 (Courtesy Library of Congress)

Some of this pattern is still evident along Old Erwin Road, infilled with 1950s and later housing, churches, etc., and increasingly, large subdivisions with the single entry point off of Old Erwin. Vestiges of the old patterns remain though - Rigsbee Road (this section later referred to as "Old Rigsbee") led from 751, intersected with Forest Road, and continued on to Erwin (now 'Old Erwin') although it appears that this was at times referred to as Rigsbee. Erwin continued on a more direct path from 'Old Erwin' to the wide Erwin Road that connects 9th street with 751. the new Erwin Road path was constructed in 1949 with the expansion of Duke Medical Center - particularly the Nurse's Dormitory and the VA Hospital The orange is the path of Rigsbee from 751 to its intersection with the former Forest Road, highlighted in pink.

The former continuation of Rigsbee is now called "Lemur Lane", as is the former Forest Road leading south to Cornwallis. Part of the former path of Erwin Road is shown in blue. After the 15-501 bypass was built in the 1950s, Rigsbee Road was severed. Extensively catalogued by Duke Forest management in the 1930s, many of the houses along Rigsbee and Forest were lost - I don't know whether there was a program of demolition after Duke acquired the land. Most of the houses in this area are below, from the Duke Forest Collection

The geography of southwest Durham in the area of Duke Forest and the southwest portion of Duke's west campus has changed considerably since the early, despite its relatively 'undisturbed' appearance due to large scale ownership by Duke. Although Duke Forest (the forest, not the neighborhood) is a wooded area with some occasional incursions by the back of a subdivision, it was a sparsely settled and farmed rural area in the early 20th century, punctuated by rural housing at regular intervals.

Bessie Paschall house - about 300 yds north of Cornwallis 

The geography of southwest Durham in the area of Duke Forest and the southwest portion of Duke's west campus has changed considerably since the early, despite its relatively 'undisturbed' appearance due to large scale ownership by Duke. Although Duke Forest (the forest, not the neighborhood) is a wooded area with some occasional incursions by the back of a subdivision, it was a sparsely settled and farmed rural area in the early 20th century, punctuated by rural housing at regular intervals.

JT Burroughs Place - First house along Forest Road b/t old Rigsbee and Cornwallis 

The orange is the path of Rigsbee from 751 to its intersection with the former Forest Road, highlighted in pink. The former continuation of Rigsbee is now called "Lemur Lane", as is the former Forest Road leading south to Cornwallis. Part of the former path of Erwin Road is shown in blue. After the 15-501 bypass was built in the 1950s, Rigsbee Road was severed. Extensively catalogued by Duke Forest management in the 1930s, many of the houses along Rigsbee and Forest were lost - I don't know whether there was a program of demolition after Duke acquired the land. 

Emma Pickett Place - In SW corner of intersection of NC 751 and Pickett 

WL Foushee #1 - Along Rigsbee Road Sw of Cornwallis. Near End of Durham Division 

(geolocation unconfirmed.)

WL Foushee #2 - Last house along eastern spur of Forest Road b/t Rigsbee Rd and Cornwallis 

Clayton Place - On US 70, near main gate to Quarry, June 1940

JH Shepherd Place #2 - In NE corner at intersection of Rigsbee and Cornwallis Rd. First house from Cornwallis 

(Courtesy Duke Forest Collection)

JH Shepherd Place #1 - Along Rigsbee Rd b/t Mud Creek and Cornwallis. Second house from Cornwallis 

Hunt House - Along old Rigsbee Rd - b/t 751 and Rigsbee 

Mann House - 2820 Chapel Hill Rd., about 100 yards west of Chapel Hill Road. 

Overby House - Second House along Forest Rd opposite Duke baseball field, in arboretum area. 

Fulford Place - b/t old Rigsbee Rd and 751 about 200 yds NW of Gate #1 

Elmer Burroughs House - about 100 yds south of old Rigsbee Rd just west of its intersection with 751 

JQ Davis Place - First House along Forest Rd opposite Duke baseball field. In arboretum area. 

Bellevue House - On Forest Rd about 100 yards west of Erwin Road 

Bud Smith Cabin - On Forest Road b/t Rigsbee and Cornwallis