Exploring the Duke Homestead State Historic Site in Durham, NC
This summer, we enjoyed a wonderful weekend in Durham, North Carolina exploring many historic sites. One highlight was our visit to the Duke Homestead State Historic Site, former home of Washington Duke and his family. The site is open year round for visitors to explore the museum and property with several preserved structures.
Washington Duke, a farmer and former prisoner of the Civil War, returned to his homestead (the property was given to him by his first wife’s, Mary Clinton, family) after being released and decided to begin manufacturing smoking tobacco. His family lived on (what became) the 300 acre property from 1853 until 1874. Duke’s popularity quickly grew, and within a few years G. Duke & Sons was the largest smoking tobacco company in the world, in large part because of his invention of the Bonsack’s cigarette making machine. Duke moved his factories from his homestead to larger spaces throughout the Durham area.Through the first half of the 20th century, the south’s economy thrived with many companies producing textiles that helped with the production of tobacco products. In 1924, Washington Duke’s youngest son, Buck, endowed (what was then) Trinity College with a substantial fund; the school later became Duke University.
Today, the historic site is open to visitors to learn about mid 19th century farming life and tobacco production. The 5,000+ square foot Tobacco Museum has several exhibits highlighting various elements of farm and tobacco production, and visitors are encouraged to tour the property and see some of the remaining structures.
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Highlights of the Duke Homestead:
- Watch the Legacy of the Golden Leaf 17 minute documentary, which tells the story of the Duke family and the history of the Durham area (inside the Visitor Center, offered twice an hour)
- Take a guided tour or walk the quarter mile site trail (it’s packed down gravel and fine for stroller but not even pavement) to see the factories, smokehouse, wellhouse, grape arbor, and springhouse. Some buildings are open to the public without guided tours on select days- check with the Visitor Center staff for updated information.
- Explore the Tobacco Museum, with exhibits featuring everything from machines to biographies and anecdotes about members of the Duke family. There are large displays of farming machines and tools dating back to the mid 19th century, collections of spittoons and cigarette vending machines, maps of tobacco producing areas in America, and film clips of interviews with tobacco farmers and historians.
- Check the calendar for seasonal special programs and events, like Field and Factory: Tobacco Laborer’s Walk, Family Farm Animal Day, Harvest Day, and Christmas by Candlelight.
Looking for other adventures in the Durham area? See our feature of the Museum of Life and Science and our post of FREE things to do in Durham.
