History Beneath our Feet - Streets

* Denotes streets that no longer exist.

Click on the streets below to show additional details

Albemarle Street Originally named “Jones”, the street was renamed “Albemarle” in the early 1950s, probably to avoid confusion with Great Jones Street downtown.
Alston Avenue  appears as “a Neighborhood Road” on the Blount Map of Durham’s Station c. 1867, with an unidentified farmhouse at its junction with the Raleigh road. A 1910 Durham County map labels it “Austin Avenue.”
Banks Alley *, it is likely that the alley, which no longer exists, is named for the Banks family who were among the early African-American landowners in Durham.
Branch Place * Branch Place no longer exists, partially subsumed into the N.C. 147 right-of-way and partially by the Rick Hendrick automobile dealership on Pettigrew Street.
Brant Street  Formerly called Midway, the street appears on a 1907 map extending two blocks east from Fayetteville Road (now Fayetteville Street) into the present-day site of N.C. Central University.
Chess Place* , a short street in the Hayti area, Chess appears on a 1967 street map but disappeared during subsequent Durham Freeway construction.
Cole Street  A stub remains of Cole Street, though most of the street was overlaid by the Durham Freeway. It was built prior to 1925, when it appears on a city street map.
Colfax Street  appears on the 1913 Sanborn Map, running south from Pettigrew Street past the town limits. The name “Colfax” does not appear in county tax records of the period, or earlier.
Concord Street  is shown as “Swift Avenue” on a 1921 plat of “Merricksville,” west of the North Carolina College campus. The name was changed to “Concord” by 1925.
Cora Street * originally “Hughes Street,” Cora Street was opened before 1884 The first namesake may have been W.R. Hughes, a Durham tobacco manufacturer c. 1870-1881. The name had become “Cora” by the summer of 1893.
Cox Avenue  was opened before 1925, running northwest from Alston Avenue and dead-ending at a creek bottom past Grant Street. The stub west of Grant disappears from maps after 1967.
Cozart Street * Overlaid by the Durham Freeway, Cozart Street may have been named for a James Cozart, an African-American listed as a Durham Township landowner in 1875
Dunbar Street is shown on a 1911 plat of Stokesdale, an area west and north of the current North Carolina Central University campus owned by Mrs. A.H. Stokes. The name’s origin is unknown.
Duncan Street was opened prior to 1925 and its original location and extent have not changed.
Dunstan Avenue
The street is named for Calvin Dunston, whose name appears on a 1911 plat as owning a large lot at the corner of “Dunston” Avenue and Pine (now South Roxboro) streets.
Dupree Street  appears, as Lucille Street, on a 1911 plat. The name was changed some time after 1925 when Lucille was connected to a Dupree Street extending northwest from Alston Avenue
Dwight Street * does not exist.
Elm Street  is one of several streets that Julian Shakespeare Carr, a fancier of trees, shrubs and flowers, named when he developed Edgemont as worker housing for his Durham Hosiery Mill.
Fayetteville Street  was originally part of a Roxboro-to-Fayetteville road, in an early state system connecting county seats. It became a de facto Main Street in Hayti, Durham’s first African-American neighborhood.
Formosa Avenue first appears on a 1907 plat of “Hammond Property” owned by Brodie L. Duke; why the name was chosen is not known.
Fowler Avenue ‘s probable namesake is a Minerva Fowler, who is listed as a 19th-century property owner in the Hayti area.
George Street  was opened prior to 1925, when it is shown on a city street map extending past Lincoln Street on the present North Carolina Central University campus.
Glenn Street , see Gillette Street
Gould Street , closed and covered during 1970s urban renewal, was built before 1925 and ran from Pine (now South Roxboro Street) one block to Pickett (later Philmont) Street.
Henry Alley  appears on the 1907 Sanborn Map and remained until it was closed and covered over by the Durham Freeway in the late 1960s. A 1906 plat depicts a R.L.D. Henry lot on the alley’s east side.
Hickory Street  was opened prior to 1925, extending one block between Holt and Simmons. By 1951 it was extended another block north and a half block south, incorporating the former Goodwin Alley.
Hughes Street *
Jacob Street  appears as “Holt Street,” on a 1925 street map, extending between Colfax Street and Alston Avenue. The name was changed some time after 1967.
Lakewood Avenue  is named for Lakewood Park, an amusement park the Durham Traction Co. opened in 1902 at the southwest terminus of its streetcar line.
Lawson Street  appears as “Thomas Street” on a 1907 plat of Brodie L. Duke’s land that includes the future site of N.C. Central University.
Lincoln Street  is presumably named for President Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Street appears, paralleling Fayetteville Street, on a 1912 plat of Mrs. A.H. Stokes’s property.
Linwood Avenue  Opened by 1925, Linwood Avenue had reached its present-day extent. Its namesake is unknown.
Macklin Street  Named for landowner George W. Macklin, Macklin Street first appears on the 1913 Sanborn map.
Massey Avenue , constructed prior to 1925, may have been named for Rufus Massey, a major landowner in southeastern Durham in the early 20th century.
McCoy Street * appears on the 1913 Sanborn Map as an unnamed alley extending a few yards north from the dead end of Branch Alley.
Mebane Street * was constructed prior to 1913, appearing as a full-width street between Fowler and St. Joseph and continuing as a single lane two blocks farther north to Ray Alley.
Merrick Street  was named for African-American entrepreneur John Merrick, one of the developers of the Stokesdale Historic District through which the street runs.
Mobile Street  (Mobile Avenue) was built before 1913, when it appeared on the Sanborn Insurance map, running three blocks west from Fayetteville Street in central Hayti.
Moline Street  On a 1911 plat, Moline appears as Doctor Moore Street; by the mid-1930s the name had been changed to Moline but the name’s source is unknown.
Moore Street  a possible namesake is Willis Moore, an 1887 trustee of the Colored Missionary (later White Rock) Baptist Church.
Mt. Vernon Street (Mount Vernon Avenue) shared its name with the first Mount Vernon Baptist Church, to which it provided access from Ramsey Street. The street was closed and built over during downtown urban renewal in the 1970s.
Murphy Street  appears on a 1925 city map, running two blocks south from Pettigrew to Cole Street. The southern block was closed by the Durham Freeway, while the northern block remains in its original site.
Nelson Street  Most of Nelson Street was built before 1925 and retains its original configuration. A curving extension to the west, which meets Cecil Street, was opened in the 1940s.
Oriole Street , an Oriole Street appears on 1907 and 1923 plats of land at and north of the present NCCU campus, but the street was apparently never actually built.
Pekoe Avenue
Pickett Street , not to be confused with Pickett Road in west-central Durham, Pickett Street appears on the 1913 Sanborn Insurance map in central Hayti, but had disappeared by 1925.
Piedmont Avenue  was built prior to 1913, when it appears on the Sanborn Insurance Map extending west from Fayetteville Street past the town limits.
Poplar Street , presumably named for the common poplar tree, Poplar Street was opened by 1887, when it is shown on the Branson’s Directory map running between McMannen (later South Mangum) and Ramsey.
Price Avenue  Developed prior to 1925, the original Price Avenue ran between Lincoln and Fayetteville streets.
Proctor Street  had opened prior to 1887, running west from Pine (later South Roxboro) beyond the town limits. Its namesake is J.S. Proctor, a landowner in the area.
Ray Place , originally “Ray Alley,” the street paralleled Mobile Avenue and was open by 1913. The name most likely is from Johnson and Elizabeth Ray, who settled in Hayti soon after the Civil War.
Sawyer (Mason) Street , renamed “Sawyer Street” some time after 1951, Mason was built prior to 1913 and remains in its original location.
Sherman Street , See Simmons Street
Simmons Street , probably named for landowner Alfred Simmons, appears as “Sherman Street” on a 1912 plat of Mrs. A.H. Stokes’s property on Fayetteville Street. By 1925, the name had been changed.
Spaulding Street  is named for C.C. Spaulding, manager and later president of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. It appears on a 1912 plat of “Stokesdale” property belonging to a Mrs. A.H. Stokes.
Umstead Street  was built prior to 1913 as the Hayti area grew with Durham’s expanding African American population. It is named for J.N. Umstead, landowner whose tobacco field the street crossed.
Whitted Street * Opened in the 1890s, Whitted Street’s likely namesake was James A. Whitted, principal of Durham’s first graded school for African American children. Its route became part of the Fayette Place apartment complex opened in 1968.
Wolf Den Street * A “Wolf Den Street,” taking its name for a local tradition, appears on a 1911 plat of Merrick, Moore, Spalding [sic] Co. land in the Dunstan (a.k.a. Stokesdale) neighborhood near NCCU. However, it was never built.