F'~i,Tj 10-'300 6·72)

UNiTED STATES DEPAPTMnn 0;= THE II'HERIOR ~l A T I Oi~!;\ L PAR i< S E R V ICE

(Type all entries complete applicable sections)

E~NA~.\;7.·· .

'r;:;l Durham Tobacco J,i'actory (Amer:j can Tobacco Company) fND/OR HISTORIC:

~~i~_1_.7_~ __ T __ =~B_l~a_c~~_~~v_e_l_l ___ ~a_n~d~~C~o~m~D.~_~y~. ~~~~ _____________________________ ~ __ ~ ____ __

1'/ , r~;:~~ :-A-:-N-O

s-· -~~-~-,~~:-B~Eo""R-~--p-e-'-t~t""'l~' .-'-gr elf S t r e e t between (;a "'(:1

CIT y 0 R TO 'IV N : r"'::~-:-::~:::~,::-:-::~..,u-~D'-'I S~T:-'RLI..LC-T-,:8;::u..t-.Jrw;:e:.ce::.t'-.i:s'------~--l Fourth

~urh __ a_m _________________________________ .-____ ~~~~~~~ __ ~=-~~~~ 1

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p---L No r t h Ca ro 1 ina ~~~ __ ""'''''''''~--'-_--lI--:=-:'' __ ..L...:::D~L:.:.lL::.·..::l~ld.=lll~· __ ~_~-,-13. ·CLA~;SfFICAT!ON ,-.~~---. C A-T E--C-,O-R-y---·T OWN E R SH I P I ~ (Check One) --L iCJ DI,'dd LJl: 8,IIdln9 10 -P"t;0:--r~bl'O Anq,I,"I,n, ~ o Site 0 StructurelPdVO.. lOin P'oo",' JO

o Obi." 0 8o.h , 0 8elng Co",;d".d _ 0

I PR ESEN T U~ r::: (Check One or More AS Approprialg) -------

STATUS

Occupied

Unoccupi ed

Yes:

o Restricted

·.:··1 I

ACCESSIB~E TO THE PUBLIC

Preservation work 0 L!nres trktclcl I

in progress [Xl No

Ie Au,iculturol o GO'lern;n~nt II Pork o Transportation I CJ C1

Commercial

EducaHonal

IX]

o Industrial

Mi litary

j'vluseum

0 Private Residence

0 F?el igi ous

0 Scientific

o Other (Specify) = I

-~-- ->= J :,:-,,;-'--c--,-_~:.:..c~ .. _. _. _. :---: .. _ .• _ .••.. ::....:.:> •. : .. ->-·· .. ·-:-·;-~-~f~J--~

15 ; Iri -I

r-~P~.~O~~~._B01C ~1~O~9~1~ ______________ _

-I~ :1

CITY OR TuWN: c-TATE;--------p:-oo;;~ 11

. -------ld ._-=~_=_=_;_._;_c_'~---,--I-~l\:w..I.L.,!r.,-'t'_:'.b~cw=a -,:-rJ..Jo,-,-J i.n3-~_ .. _. _. ~-,-,--_ -.-~~~~

.. :i:l ' Dl@ .. ElJIL_">.

~:L9;:i~T I ON 0 F~E G.A ~ 1) ES c:R I PI J ON --~~~~~~~--~~~.~~~~~---~~~~-~~~-'-~-~~'"-~

-/COURTHOUSE:, REGISTRY OF DEEDS~ E-.-T-'-C-:---

I l Durham __ QQuntL-CourthoL""'l-'=s'-"e=--_____________________ ~ _____ -----------__ -+9 /5 T R £ :::: TAN D N U f,1 B E R : ~

I ~

. ___ --I PJ

o c z -1 -<

ICITY OR TOWN: I STATE I CODE S

~'lrham North Carolina ~j1---.--+---. Ii), ~:Ltf:::-Bl~[t(fATI9N fH EXISnNG.suRV EY S ..... .. . ... ,.:.:.>.:.,:; , L~ITLE~FSURVEY: ~~~~~~-~~-~--~~~-~~~~~~~~~~-~~-~ ~

, ----------------------------------.----------------+-~~ ~ IDATE OF SURVEY: [] Fe-derol 0 State 0 County 0 Local -.: 10

---~---- CZ ;oz I

IbEPOS.ITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: I

~ ~ r:1 C

G JJ U1

t~T',E:~ ::::'U><8' R ____ --------.1-15 WE ~OOE r--;- ~ ,~

_L..l_J

__ EXCELLENT

~GOOD

_FAIR

CONDITION

_DElE R lORA TE D

_ RUINS

_UNEXPOSED

CHECK ONE

_UNALTERED

LALTERED

CHECK ONE

X-ORIGINAL SITE

_MOVED DATE __ _

E THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The V.I. T. Black\';ell and COr.1!lany Eull Durham Pactory is a four-story, rcctanfular-shaged brick structure of Italianate desiu;n \'lith an interior court~ra:r'd and is located at the corner of Blackwell and West Pett~frew Streets in a co~~ercial­industrial section of do\'rntoVin Durhan, 11. C. At one tir..e, says Heimann, "the ~':orld' s larr,est tob2.cCO p12~nt, 11 the fac ili ty

'was constructed in st2[eS between 137~ and 1903. It measures approxinately 90 by 115 feet and contains 94,000 souare feet of floor spac~.ll

'In '1874 1:!i11ian T. 31ac}.:'ilell and his. partners cons truc ted the north-facinr; r.l2.in blocl: on ~'Test Petti~reH Street and the attached east '!dinr frontin2~ Bl2.cl:~'tell Street, and in 13(:;0 they added the 1:.rc:stern \'!inf, to forr.~ a U-sha~1ecl struct~e. In 1903, 4 years &fter the A~erican ~obacco Corpnny assu2ed control, the sou thern '!,'linr: \,:2~S cons truc ted, [:i v inp, t he cui lei:i. n.?: its present confi[uration.

Accordins to the 1884 and 1893 S2nborn Insurance ~aps of the factory, the r:~3.in block housed COl~pa~1y otl."'ices, the c·aJ.es and shi~p~n7 depart~ent, Q tobacco storase facilit~, and packinc and lacelin[~ o}::)eY'ations. !;e2.r the center of t~is section Has an entr\9.nce to the em!)loyee park:in0 lot loc8.ted 2.n the inner court~rarQ. The east \,.1in2.; "las used for cuttinr:;, bolting, and dryinr- tobacco \'lhile, the v.rest "'Tinr: housed a cuttinc and ster.nning or=eration, a tobacco storace facility, and a sorti:l.n:, IJacl=j.ng, and finishing operation. By 1893 this latter winG's operations had been confined larrely tc ba~ and box ~anufacturin~. Behind the eaBt and l,.;.est \'Iin;~s ,',ere a box factory of fr2.r~e construction, a 55 foot bell tower, 2. lart:e st2.b1e, a paint shop, blacl':sl~ith and carpenter shops, a tobacco \·!2.rehouE'.e, :-nachine shops, a buildins housin~ a wide variety of firefightinr equirment, and nur:~erous other structures. Over the years, these structu2cS \'lere all torn dov.rn -3 s the Al:lericCln rrobacco Cor-:pan;v expand.ed the scope of its operations on the site.

Sometifue after American Tobacco took over the plant, the third and fourth stories were removed frOM t~e east wing and the. eastern half of the main block. Relatively recently, thi3 portion of' the building includinf the entire north facade has been CQV C ~'ed VIi th [old-pain ted aluP.1inlJr:1 s};,ea thin? The unc overed portions are white-pa:!.r.ted crick \'rhtcn is set in American bond. The s true ture 8i ts on 6· -foot-thick bri ~k founda tio~~s and has a partially raised full basement v:}~ich i8 set apart fror:: the four

(continued)

111' . .:J . _~J..u.} IG2.

I I I 1

! ! • { i

! I ' :

UiJJTED STATES DLPARTI\IENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

CONTI NUATION SHE ITEM NUMBER

FOR NPS USE ONLY

RECEIVED

DATE ENTERED

upper stories by a strinG course. The buildins is capped by a flat roof covered with rravcl and tar and has an overhan~inE metal cornjce ornamented with raised panels and a modillien course punctuated by curvilinear brackets which interrupt the paneled frieze.

The building's original exterior is best conveyed by the 12-bay-wide west wing. It is divided into four sections, each three bays wide with the first and third sections projectinc slightly. Divisions are emphasized by stuccoed Quoins. Windows in this section are set in crosseted stucco surrounds while windows in other sections are set in plain rounded arches. Windows throughout are of the four-over-four sash variety and have metal frases and ~ooden sills. Doorways ~enerally have rounded arches, and the only re~aining wooden doors have raised panels.

Inside, the structure has underfone little alteration with the e~certion of the first-floor section of the east winp and the eastern portion of the P.1~in block, \'Jhich have been modern­ized to serve as office space for the American Tobacco C02p2ny. Although all origi~al machinery has been re~oved, the character of the unaltered sections is conveyed by their ori~inal pine flooring, plastered walls, enclosed ~ooden stair~ays, six-panel wood doors, and exposed weoden ceiling joists restinr on wooden support posts. Support posts in the l87 b section are square shaped while those in the more recent sections are rounded.

Althou,sh the factory i.s no lOrlrer used for tobacco Ir;anu­facture, it rer.:ains in rood condition. In additJon to providinG space for the Durhan offices of the Ju-:;eric 2.11 Tobacco Conrany, it also houses a returned foods departnent and storage facility for obsolete machinery.

GPO 892 455

P!

c'ERIOD (Check One or More AS AppropriJle)

o Pre-Columbian:

o 15th Century

LJ 16 th Cc·ntury

o 17thCentllry

SPE.:CIFIC A fE.:(S) (If Appticabte and Known)

ARE.:AS OF SIGNI FICANCE (Check One or More El3 Appropriafe)

Abor iginal

o Prehistoric

o Historic

o Agriculture

G{! Architecture

DArt

~ Commerce

o Conservation

STATEMENT 0;:' SIGNIFICANCE

0 E duca ti all

0 Engi neeri ng

0 Industry

0 Invention

n Landscape

Archi lecture

0 Literature

o i'.1iiitary

o Music

18th Century

Xl )9rh Century

o Political

o Religion/Phi-

losophy

o Science

CJ Seu Iplura

o Sociol/Humon-

i larion

o Theater

o Transportation

[J 20th Century

o Urbon Planning

o Other (Speci [y)

Th~ E"'J.ll Durhan Tobacco Factory 'vas completed by 1875 b~7 H _ T.

..

Blackv7ell and Company, the first successful tobacco manufacturing company in North Carolina It is DurhamYs most important landmark to the city's raison d'etre, the manufacture of tobacco, and one of the most important monuments of the state's primary industry. Built at the height of the success of their "Bull Durham" smoking tobacco, the factory was a '11e11-planned functional structure with a pretentiously stylish exterior ~ >:vith crossetted window surrounds, quoined corners, and ornate bracketed eaves.

Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco was originally manufactured by John Ruffin Green in the little settlement of Durham!s Station, a stop on the North Carolina Railroad. The reputation of Green's quality granulated smoking tobacco was spread throughout the northern states by Union soldiers who had sampled it "lhile in Durham T,lhen General Jose.ph E. Johns ton surrendered to General \.Jilliam T. Sherman. The plundering of Green r s fac tory \,ms a blessing in disguise, and Green t s tobacco, \vhich he Helm2d th2 1I0r iginal Genuine Durham Smoking Tobacco lf and illustrated 1;ITith a s-Lde vie\l[ of a IlDurham BuIll! (inspired, it is said, by the bullYs head on the jars of Colman 1 s Nustard, manufactured in Durham, England) became extremely popular. In 1869, just before his death in 1870, Green took into partner­ship ~villiam T. Blackwell, a tobacco peddler. In 1871 Black1;"ell purchased Green's tobacco factory, including the IITobacco Factory lot. containing five acres and all the buildings thereunto with the fixtures, machinery" and the !Itrade mark" for $10,292, and continued the business. The Tobacco Plant on February 14, 1872, stated that II we have no hesitation in saying that at present, its /~ic7 the most popular brand of smoking tobacco in the United States.!! I~1873 Blac.kwell took into partner­ship Julian S. Carr and James R. Day, and the firm became kno'NTl as H. T. Blackwell and Company. The new' factory 'vas probably begun soon after, and must have just been finished in April, 1875, when it vTaS reported that it was II '''ithout doubt the finest building of the kind in the United States" and that "Double sized portraits of all the partners are to be placed out on the walls. II

J~lian S. Carr conducted the first great tobacco advertising campaign, and bUllt the Durham Bull into a world-famous symbol. The bull ornCLTIlented no~ only the facade of the ~\[. T. Blacb'Tell and Company fac tory, but ~vas palnted by teams of sign painters, throughout the United States 1 and once I even appeared On the pyramids of Egypt. Jules Korner from_Ker~~r8Vil~~~

~.---------------------------.-.------------------~------------.-----------

Form 10-3000 (July 1969)

UNITED STATES DePARTMENT OF THE li'nERIOR 1'1 A TIOrL\l PARK SERYI CE

(Continuation Sheet)

STATE

North Carolina COUi'lTY

Durham FOR 1'1PS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER DATE'

(Number all entries)

8.

North Carolina, "I;"ho called himself "Reuben Rink," designed these bulls and supervised the campaign. Carr did not stop simply with the image of the bull. In the Greensboro Patriot in 1876 is an account oI the Iactory's famous sLeam bull whistle:

Blacb'7ell, the Durham tobacco manufac.turer, has had construc ted for his factory an instrument after the style of the Calliope "I;IThich imi ta tes the bellowing of the bull \·7i th all its variat ions to a dot. It can be heard for miles, and as it sometimes exercises quite early in the morning, the effect on strangers \-'Tho are not aware of the existence of an artificial bellower is remarkable. They think Durham has the longest winded and strongest lunged bovines in America and Blackwell enjoys it.

The factory became lithe shrine of all pilgrims to Durham," and Bull Durham became a definite part of the American scene. It is said that a standard part of a co,,]boy I s costume ~vas the tag from a sack of Bull Durham hanging from his shirt pocket.

I The grmvth of W. T. Blackwell and Company from some dozen employees

in 1869 to about 900 in 1884 paralleled the dramatic growth of the city of I Durham, and together with the rise of James B. Duke's cigarette factory made

Durham one of the foremost tobacco manufacturing centers in the United States. In 1882 Blackwell sold his interest, but the firm continued to prosper. Bull Durham's strongest rival was James B. Duke, I;vho formed the American Tobacco Company in 1890. In 1899 in the process of forming his tobacco empire, Duke bought Black.well! s Durham Tobacco Company. This trus t "l;vas dissolved by the famous United States Supreme Court decision of 1911. In 1913 the American Tobacco Company, greatly reduced in size but still strong, shifted production of its major brand, Sovereign, from New York to its Durham plant--the old W. T. Blackwell and Company factory. Here their most popular brand, IILucky Strike,l' has been manufactured since its introduction in 1916. The company also continued to produce Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco, 1;'lhich 1;"as still so popular during Horld Har I that it was t;"ithdrm,m from the horne market so that the entire output could be sent to United States soldiers in France. The factory complex has grot;vn, but the offices of the American Tobacco Company are located in the original factory building, and Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco, packaged in the characteristic drawstring bag, is still marketed by the company.

uPO 921-724

architectural description by Ruth Little Stokes, survey specialist

Durham County Records, Durham County Courthouse, Durham, North Carolina, Office of the Register of Deeds (Subgroups: Deeds, Wills)

Durham County Records, Division of Archives and History, Raleigh) North Carolina (Subgroups: Deeds, Wills).

Durham Tobacco Plant (newspaper published weekly in l870s and l880s); on microfilm in Division of Archives and History.

Greensboro Patriot, on microfilm in Division of Archives and History.

~.~ .. -... ~-. -.. -.. - . .. ..:...... ..:.. .·co r lY'CEOGRAPHICAL DATA .•...•.•... . .•..• ···.>i· ..... Gee"""" ~ RCCTM'GLC LbCAT"'G THE PPooEPTV

LATITUDE AND l0NGITUDE COORDINATES

CORNER LATITUDE -------.~--------------------1_--

LONGITUDE

NW Nt

SE SW

Degrees Minutes Seconds o

o

9

Degrees Minutes Seconds

o

o

o

o

APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINAT_E_D __ P_R_O_P __ E_R_T_Y __ : ____ 5~~a~~s~ __ ~ ________________________________ ~~~ iLIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPII'IG STATE OR COUNT'( BOUNDARIES

STATE: CODE COUNTY CODE

STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE

NAMe: AND TITLE:

Survey and Planning Unit ORGANIZATION -Frr-

Division of Arch':..::i~v~e~s-=::a~n~d_H~is':::-.t.::.:o~r=-YL-_____________ ~~J 974-STREET AN[-J NUM8ER:

the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na­

tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law

89-(65), I hereuy nominate this property for inclusion

in the Ndtional Register and certify that it has been

pvaluated according to the c-iteria and procedu res set

forth by the National Park ServIce. The recommended

level of significance of this nomination is:

Sta te £J Local 0

Name --=-_______________________ -l-____ _

Thornton W. Mitchell

I her~by certify that this property is included in the

National Register.

Director, Office of ArcheoIOlJy and His/oric Preservation

ATTEST:

.:; u.s. GO'lER:-lMENT P.iINTlfIG OFFI-::E 1973-729-147/1442 3-1

m rn

o

Form 10-:'000 (July 1969)

(Number all entries)

9.

Ui'lITED STA TES DEPARTMENT OF THE IwrER/OR NATlmlAL PARK SERVICE

RM

(Continuation Sheet)

STATE

North Carolina COUNTY

Durham FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER DATE

North Carolina and Tobacco. Published by The Tobacco Institute, Washington, D, C., 1971.

Orange County Records, Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough, North Carolina, Office of the Register of Deeds (Subgroups Deeds, Wills).

Orange Connty Rer.oros, Di.visi.on of Archi_ves ,qnd History~ Raleigh~ No!::'th Carolina (Subgroups: Deeds, Wills),

Robert, Joseph C. The Story of Tobacco in ~merica. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949.

Sanborn Insurance Map of Durham 1884. Copy in the North Carolina CoJl~cti0n, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C.

Tilley, Nannie May. The Bright-Tobacco Industry, 1860-1929. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1948

GPO 921·724

w. T. Blackwell and C~mpany Bull Durham T~bacco Fact~ry 201 West Pettigrew Stre~t Durham, N~rth Car~lina

Prepared gy: Ralph J. Christian AASLH December, 1976

NOT TO SCALE

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