The name Bull Durham is said to come from the bull that appears in British Colman's Mustard beer, which Mr. Blackwell mistakenly believed to have been brewed. The surname Durham is a residential name, originally taken from the city of Durham, in the north-east of England. This toponym comes from Old English dun, which means hill.
Another source states that the name is derived from Saxon Bun and Holm, a town in a forest. The change from -n- to -r- is the result of Norman confusion (see Shrewsbury). As a breed of short-horned cattle, in 1810, it was so named because it was raised there. Durham public schools are administered by Durham Public Schools, the eighth largest school district in North Carolina.
It is the county seat and contains the headquarters of Durham County Council, the unitary authority that governs the district of Durham County. The merger of Durham City Schools (several inner-city neighborhoods) and Durham County schools in the early 1990s generated controversy. The old district that covered Durham was Durham and Framwelgate, which was reformed by the Municipal Companies Act 1835. The Durham Dragons, a women's quick-throw softball team, played at Durham Athletic Park from 1998 to 2000. The city that grew up there was known as Durhamville, Durham Station and Durham's before its name was shortened to Durham. The Elvet Bridge leads to the Elvet area of the city, to Durham Prison and to the south; the Prebends Bridge is smaller and allows access from the Bailey to the south of Durham.
The church built by the monks lasted only a century, since it was replaced by the current Durham Cathedral after the Norman conquest; together with Durham Castle, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. North Durham University Hospital and HM Durham Prison are also close to the city center. The green area's facilities and landscape features include Raintonpark Wood, the Belmont Viaduct, the Ramside Hall, the Durham City golf course, the River Wear, Browney and Deerness basins and the botanic gardens of the Durham University. The Wear River offers more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of paddling river, and extends from the Durham University Boat Club pier in Maiden Castle in the east to the dam next to the Durham School Boat Club pier in the west.
The Durham Art Walk features a variety of artists who meet each year on the streets of Durham to offer a large exhibition of works. In less than a week, students from North Carolina College in Durham and Duke University organized a sit-in in Durham.
