North Durham is one of Durham's earliest recognized suburbs. Before its development in the 1890s, the area was part of farms belong- ing to Jesse Geer, his son Fred C. Geer, and A.M. Rigsbee. The oldest surviving house in Durham may be the Geer Farmhouse now located at 326 East Trinity Avenue. Attorney James S. Manning and printer Henry E. Seeman...

Until the early 1920s, most of the land that comprises Forest Hills belonged to a few farmers who left much of the gen- tly rolling hills as forests and meadows. Scattered along the edges of the neighborhood are a few houses that survive as reminders of the area's early history. These homes were often very small- one room deep and one story high...