Plan an after-hours visit to the Hub this Friday to explore the world of a one-room schoolhouse, the historically significant Russell School, located in northern Durham County. Hear about efforts to restore and maintain this last local survivor of the Rosenwald School Initiative, which brought formal education… Read More
Ms. Ervin, right, at the dedication of the Ervin History Grove Dozens of well-wishers turned out for Lucille Ervin’s 108th birthday party at the site of her special present: a History Grove in her honor on the grounds of St. Mark AME Zion Church. The Ervin Grove… Read More
From 1860 to 1940, Durham expanded from whistle-stop hamlet to bustling city of 60,000+. Learn what went into that growth in the Hub’s newest Durham A-Z exhibit, G is for Geography and Growth. Ridges, railroads, business, wealth and culture … these are some of the factors that formed the neighborhoods… Read More
In the mid-1990s Durham’s Hispanic population was about 2,000 people. Since then, the population has grown to more than 38,000, about 14 percent of the city’s population, according to the 2010 U.S Census. The growth of the Hispanic population has changed Durham economically, culturally, and socially. Today there are… Read More
This summer, the Historic Russell School will present its first museum exhibition at the History Hub, June 9- December 31. The exhibition will coincide with the National Rosenwald Schools Conference, which is in Durham this June. The exhibition will tell the story of the Rosenwald schools, with particular… Read More
Cover of Pig Pickin’ Carolina Style, by Davco Productions, published in 1980. It is one of the many fun covers to be found on the cookbooks in the Durham County Library’s North Carolina Collection. In Bob Garner’s Book of Barbecue, he says that “if you were… Read More
Men and women from a West Durham Baptist Church Sunday School class enjoy barbecue in a backyard in Brookstown, ca. 1940. Much of Brookstown, including the West Durham Baptist Church, was demolished by the construction of the Durham Freeway. Photograph by Wiley Bowling, donated by Clara Bowling. Read More
“Cornbread and beans And those good old collard greens Keep your skillet good and greasy all the time, time, time Skillet good and greasy all the time” … Read More
Maize, or corn, has been grown in North Carolina for thousands of years. Native Americans, who baked bread by open fires, shared this method with European settlers and enslaved African Americans. Enslaved people were given cornmeal as a regular ration. Cornbread and hush puppies have remained a constant on dinner… Read More