Experience the old South by visiting historic Stagville Plantation, Duke Homestead, and Bennett Place, with lunch on your own at Cracker Barrel. The Durham Day Tour is offered as a pre-conference event on Tuesday, 9 May 2017.
Durham is home to one of the largest plantations in the pre-Civil War South called Stagville. Comprising several thousand acres and home to nearly 900 enslaved persons during the pre-Civil War period, the land was owned by the Bennehan and Cameron families, successful entrepreneurs of their time. During your visit to Stagville, you can tour original structures of the Bennehan House, which was built in 1787; several two-story slave homes on land called Horton Grove; and The Great Barn. Stagville left behind not only a physical legacy but also a historical one: the lives of the families and the men and women who worked the farm were well documented and preserved and can be accessed through the UNC Southern Historical Collection and the North Carolina State Archives.
The Duke Homestead was home to Washington Duke who started the largest tobacco company in the nation. Called the American Tobacco Company, what started out as a barn-shop operation turned into one of the first tobacco processing factories built in downtown Durham. During your visit, you can see some of the original barn-like structures in which Duke cured, processed, and packed his tobacco. A reconstruction of the original log barn structure they first started working in is also on the property. A visit to Durham is not complete without paying tribute to the Duke family.
Bennett Place was the site of the largest surrender of Confederate soldiers ending the American Civil War on April 26, 1865. It was originally home to James and Nancy Bennett, but after the death of James Bennett in 1878, and the relocation of his family to Durham, shortly fell to ruin and was abandoned until it was restored by local preservationists in 1960. Visitors to Bennett Place can see the reconstructed farm, including the farmhouse, log kitchen, and smokehouse, and visit the museum and Civil War landmark.
Sign up for the Durham Day Tour when you register for the NGS 2017 conference. If you are already registered, you may revisit your registration page and add events. The Durham Day Tour will last all day and costs $65 per person. The bus will depart from and return to the convention center. Lunch will be on your own at Cracker Barrel.