Morehead house - early 20th century. Eugene Morehead came to Durham in 1878, having grown up in Greensboro - in the Blandwood mansion of his father, former North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead. Little history is available as to Morehead's pursuits prior to coming to Durham, although Boyd noted that he was "one of the promoters of the Cape...

Looking northeast from Proctor and S. Duke - site of the old George Watts home / Durham Academy, 01.01.08 Eugene Morehead and George Watts were pioneers in the area that would become Morehead Hill when they built their houses on the western side of Lee (later Duke) St. in 1880. As the activity in the neighborhood increased, WT Blackwell sought to...

~1903 (Colonial Southern Homes by Barrett, Charles W.) Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/colonialsouthern00barr The Lyon-Williams house was built in 1902-03 for George L. Lyon. The Saturday, March 22, 1902, Charlotte Observer reported: "Mr. George L. Lyon has given the contract for the erection of a beautiful home on Morehead avenue to Mr...

Looking west-northwest at the Blue Cross Blue Shield building, January 2008. The gap between the oak trees was the driveway entrance to Harwood Hall.

108-110 South Church St. was the Savoy Hotel, later the Royall Hotel, later the Durham Hotel There were two buildings on the west side of South Church St. 108-110 S. Church St. is to the left, with the single story portion at the rear. In 1923, Rex Dry Cleaning was located at 108, and Butler's Auto Service Station was located at 110 In 1934: Vacant...

During the early 20th century, the large, elaborate dwellings in the 300 and 400 blocks of East Main St. (the two blocks between Roxboro and Dillard St.) were progressively torn down to make way for commercial and institutional structures. One of these structures was the Presley J. Mangum house, built in the 1880s. Mangum was Durham's first postmaster. PJ Mangum house, 1898 (Courtesy The Herald-Sun)

Looking south at the Central Filling Station, late 1920s. (From "Images of America: Durham" by Stephen Massengill) JR Day house, looking southeast from Roxboro and East Main Streets, 1895 The James R Day house took up most of the southern 300 block of East Main St. As labeled on the Sanborn map below, it was even noted as "Central Hotel." I haven't...

JR Day house, looking southeast from Roxboro and East Main Streets, 1895 The James R Day house took up most of the southern 300 block of East Main St. As labeled on the Sanborn map below, it was even noted as "Central Hotel." I haven't read any other reference to this, and the label is absent in subsequent years. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of the...

In 1879 EJ Parrish (the first man to auction tobacco in Durham) built a tobacco warehouse on the southeast corner of Mangum St. and the eponymous Parrish St. (Courtesy Durham County Library) No records exist of the exact location of the warehouse, but I do know that it was on the "western portion of the site", which would imply that the above view is from Mangum St. The Conestoga wagons were used to haul the tobacco to the warehouse for auction.

Looking southeast from East Main St., ~1910. (Courtesy Durham County Library) The southwest corner of Roxoboro and East Main St. initially was the location of a home, although I don't know the original inhabitant. This house was still in place when the first courthouse was built immediately to its west. Looking southeast from East Main St., 1880s...