Snapshots of Old West Durham
This is a growing archive of shots submitted by residents of the neighborhood.
Visit it often!
Carolina Avenue Bradford Pear trees provide an eyeful of blooms each
March. 
Every day is Bastille Day on Carolina Ave.!
Owl on Virgie Street, near South Ellerbe Natural Area.
Photo courtesy of Jean-Christian Rostagni.
These are homes and landmarks on Edith, Virgie, and Carolina. [If you see a photo that looks really good, chances are it was taken by kind Richard Goldberg of New York.]
During the Prohibition, this house (at the corner of Virgie and Green) was one of the most popular destinations in all of West Durham. In the back yard were two doors. One was prominent and led nowhere. A second was small and mostly hidden. Visitors would pass through the smaller door to enter a large room filled with floor-to-ceiling cabinets -- each with a small padlock. Inside the private cabinets was a collection of favorite spirits. According to long-time residents, White Lightning was the brew of choice. Consumption only allowed off-site. One resident recalls a scandalous morning in the 1930s when a body was found in the creek across the street. Scared the neighborhood kids half to death. Turns out he was OK -- just an avid consumer of local moonshine. Today, a coalition of supporters is seeking to establish the South Ellerbe Creek Natural Area along the old creek.
Simple, basically unaltered pyramid houses on (Edith, between Knox and Green).
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In 1900, five rooms cost $435 Builders, could you put up a five-room house for $435? How about contracting to build 50 houses for less than $18,000? Here are excerpts of an April, 1900 contract found at the Durham County Court House, between Andrew C. Mitchell and Golden Belt Manufacturing Co. of Durham: Mitchell agreed to build 50 houses and fifty privies on land owned by, and near, the Golden Belt Manufacturing Co. The houses "are to conform to the general design, finish, quality of work and hardware used to those certain four-room houses belonging to Erwin Cotton Mills Co. at West Durham." In other words, Golden Belt told Mitchell to build 50 houses just like those over at Erwin Mills. Twelve of the houses were to have three rooms each and Mitchell said he would build them for $265 each. Twenty-six houses were to have four rooms each and cost Golden belt $345 each. Twelve were to have five rooms each and cost $435 each. The privies were to have two seats each and shingles. The cost was $4 apiece. Mitchell agreed to put two coats of paint on the outside, but no paint on the inside. The contract read, "Houses to be completed to lock and key. Houses to be finished in good workmanlike manner and chimneys not to smoke." (source: The Erwin Chatter, mill company newsletter) |
If anyone else has pictures of other OWD homes or landmarks, email me and either attach the scans, or arrange to drop off the pictures to me and I'll scan them and put them on the site.
Thanks,
Tom Clark, webmaster