Durham received the nickname “Bull City” in the late 19th century when the Blackwell Tobacco Company called its product “Bull Durham Tobacco”. Durham was known as a banking and tobacco hub, and while both industries have continued to flourish, the city has also attracted many other industries to our area. Long before Bull City was named after Dr. Bartlett Snipes Durham in the 19th century, the community already I was making history.
Before the arrival of the Europeans, two Native American tribes, the Eno and the Occaneechi, related to the Sioux, lived and farmed here. Durham is believed to be the site of an old Native American village called Adshusheer. The great Indian trade route runs through Durham, and Native Americans helped shape Durham by establishing environmentally friendly settlement sites, transportation routes, and natural resource use patterns. The city's identity as a tobacco powerhouse emerged after the Civil War, when Washington, Duke and the American Tobacco Company converted Durham into a national center for tobacco production and distribution.
As the tobacco industry prospered, so did Durham's economy, leading to the growth of other industries, including textiles and banking. At the beginning of the 20th century, Durham was known as the City of Bulls and became a place of prosperity and opportunity. In the 1950s and 1960s, what is now the world's largest university research park, which gives its name to the vast Triangle region, was excavated in the pine forests of Durham to become a special tax district in Durham County. The company was purchased by the Durham Traction Company in 1902, and then by the Durham Public Service Company in 1921. The Durham Art Walk features a variety of artists who meet each year for a large exhibition of works on the streets of Durham.
The merger of Durham City Schools (several inner-city neighborhoods) and Durham County schools in the early 1990s generated controversy. In less than a week, students from North Carolina College in Durham and Duke University organized a sit-in in Durham. Durham Public Schools are administered by Durham Public Schools, the eighth largest school district in North Carolina. The Durham Dragons, a women's quick-throw softball team, played at Durham Athletic Park from 1998 to 2000.
