Bird's Eye view looking west the Erwin Field at Broad and West Main Streets, ~1940. (Courtesy Durham County Library / North Carolina Collection) One of the early community assets created by the Erwin Cotton Mills and its principal, William Erwin, was the Erwin field, which hosted the Erwin Auditorium baseball team.

Bulls at the East Durham Ballpark, 1913. From "Baseball's Hometown Teams: The Story of the Minor Leagues" by Bruce Chadwick

Per the Old West Durham website, Reuben Hibberd, a local florist and lay preacher, began holding cottage prayer meetings and "Sunday Sings" in West Durham homes in 1893. Hibberd would often bring a small portable organ with him. As interest increased in Hibberd's meetings, the Sunday School was moved to a grandstand in the nearby Erwin Ballfield. During an 1894 revival in the grandstand, the West Durham Methodist Church was chartered.

~1940 (Library of Congress) 01.07.71 (Courtesy Herald-Sun) 2006 - (Courtesy Gary Kueber) 2006 - (Courtesy Gary Kueber) 500 East Main block. Looking southeast, 2006. (Courtesy Gary Kueber) 2007 (Gary Kueber) I tried like crazy to save this building. When the county decided to build a giant surface parking lot on this block, I pleaded with them to...

The previous two posts have examined the history and land use of the northeast and southeast corners of East Main St. and Dillard St. Today's post examines the southwest corner of this intersection, the site of the current health department. (Looking south) Here is the satellite view from Google of this corner, with most of the relevant past and...

The previous two posts have examined the history and land use of the northeast and southeast corners of East Main St. and Dillard St. Today's post examines the southwest corner of this intersection, the site of the current health department, and future site of the Human Services Complex (Looking south) Here is the satellite view from Google of this...

The house at the southwest corner of South Dillard and East Main was the home of Dr. A. G. Carr. Carr House, looking southwest from the corner of Dillard and East Main, February 28, 1898. (Photo found in a trunk in the attic of the Lipscomb House)