The Forest History Society is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of forest and conservation history. The society was established in 1946 and incorporated in 1955.
123-699: The Forest History Society headquarters in Durham , North Carolina , include the Alvin J. Huss Archives and the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser Library, which combine to provide a comprehensive compilation of materials related to the topic of forest history. The archives house large collections from several national organizations and companies such as the Society of American Foresters , the American Forest and Paper Association ,
246-673: A historically black university that is part of the University of North Carolina System . Together, the two universities make Durham one of the vertices of the Research Triangle area; central to this is the Research Triangle Park south of Durham, which encompasses an area of 11 square miles and is devoted to research facilities. On the Duke University campus are the neo-Gothic Duke Chapel and
369-428: A better future than "a new-fangled nonsense like a railroad" and refused to sell or lease land for a depot. In 1849, a North Carolina Railroad depot was established on a four-acre tract of land donated by Dr. Bartlett S. Durham ; the station was named after him in recognition of his gift. A U.S. post office was established there on April 26, 1853, now recognized as the city's official birthday. Durham Station, as it
492-642: A bill for the establishment of Durham County was ratified by the General Assembly, having been introduced by Caleb B.Green, creating Durham County from the eastern portion of Orange County and the western portion of Wake County . In 1911, parts of Cedar Fork Township of Wake County was transferred to Durham County and became Carr Township . The rapid growth and prosperity of the Bull Durham Tobacco Company, and Washington Duke 's W. Duke & Sons Tobacco Company, resulted in
615-439: A boutique hotel was built in this major renovation effort in downtown Durham. Skanska is responsible for managing this project. In 2014, it was announced that downtown Durham would be the site of a brand new 27 story high building, tentatively named "City Center Tower," but now called " One City Center ". Along with other new buildings in downtown Durham, it was under construction in 2018. Construction has already started, and
738-577: A central area containing buildings with special economic, political, and religious significance. Archaeologists refer to this area by the Greek term temenos or if fortified as a citadel . These spaces historically reflect and amplify the city's centrality and importance to its wider sphere of influence . Today cities have a city center or downtown , sometimes coincident with a central business district . Cities typically have public spaces where anyone can go. These include privately owned spaces open to
861-665: A central authority. The term can also refer either to the physical streets and buildings of the city or to the collection of people who dwell there and can be used in a general sense to mean urban rather than rural territory . National censuses use a variety of definitions – invoking factors such as population , population density , number of dwellings , economic function, and infrastructure – to classify populations as urban. Typical working definitions for small-city populations start at around 100,000 people. Common population definitions for an urban area (city or town) range between 1,500 and 50,000 people, with most U.S. states using
984-461: A central point. This form could evolve from successive growth over a long time, with concentric traces of town walls and citadels marking older city boundaries. In more recent history, such forms were supplemented by ring roads moving traffic around the outskirts of a town. Dutch cities such as Amsterdam and Haarlem are structured as a central square surrounded by concentric canals marking every expansion. In cities such as Moscow , this pattern
1107-552: A combination of these. Societies that live in cities are often called civilizations . The degree of urbanization is a modern metric to help define what comprises a city: "a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants in contiguous dense grid cells (>1,500 inhabitants per square kilometer)". This metric was "devised over years by the European Commission , OECD , World Bank and others, and endorsed in March [2021] by
1230-620: A continuous urban landscape called urban agglomeration , conurbation , or megalopolis (exemplified by the BosWash corridor of the Northeastern United States .) The emergence of cities from proto-urban settlements , such as Çatalhöyük , is a non-linear development that demonstrates the varied experiences of early urbanization . The cities of Jericho , Aleppo , Byblos , Faiyum , Yerevan , Athens , Matera , Damascus , and Argos are among those laying claim to
1353-430: A distinctive elite social class, but it should indeed be considered a city based on a functional redefinition of urban development. In particular, Jenné-Jeno featured settlement mounds arranged according to a horizontal, rather than vertical, power hierarchy, and served as a center of specialized production and exhibited functional interdependence with the surrounding hinterland. More recently, scholars have concluded that
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#17327804396501476-477: A grid plan with specialized districts used across the Hellenistic Mediterranean . The urban-type settlement extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of the city proper in a form of development sometimes described critically as urban sprawl . Decentralization and dispersal of city functions (commercial, industrial, residential, cultural, political) has transformed the very meaning of
1599-511: A key role in both the economy and government. Late antique cities in the East were also undergoing intense transformations, with increased political participation of the crowds and demographical fluctuations. Christian communities and their doctrinal differences increasingly shaped the urban fabric. The locus of power shifted to Constantinople and to the ascendant Islamic civilization with its major cities Baghdad , Cairo , and Córdoba . From
1722-569: A large library, archives, exhibit hall, and meeting room space. The building was designed by DTW Architects & Planners and built by CT Wilson Construction Company. The building's structure and interior feature wood products from throughout the United States. In 2023 Tania Munz succeeded Steven Anderson, becoming the fifth president of the Society. The Forest History Society publishes a magazine, Forest History Today , and co-publishes
1845-568: A major new development, the Durham Innovation District, was announced. The development will span 15 acres and comprise over 1.7 million square feet of office, residential, and retail space. On April 10, 2019, a gas explosion rocked Kaffeinate, a coffee shop in Bright Leaf Historic District . The blast destroyed a city block and killed Kong Lee, the owner, as well as injuring 25 others. Durham
1968-531: A minimum between 1,500 and 5,000 inhabitants. Some jurisdictions set no such minima. In the United Kingdom , city status is awarded by the Crown and then remains permanent. (Historically, the qualifying factor was the presence of a cathedral , resulting in some very small cities such as Wells , with a population of 12,000 as of 2018 , and St Davids , with a population of 1,841 as of 2011 .) According to
2091-573: A monopoly of the smoking and chewing tobacco business in the United States by 1900. In the early 1910s, the Federal Government forced a breakup of the Duke's business under the antitrust laws. The Dukes retained what became known as American Tobacco , a major corporation in its own right, with manufacturing based in Durham. American Tobacco's ubiquitous advertisements on radio shows beginning in
2214-439: A permanent and densely populated place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on non-agricultural tasks. Cities generally have extensive systems for housing , transportation , sanitation , utilities , land use , production of goods , and communication . Their density facilitates interaction between people, government organizations , and businesses , sometimes benefiting different parties in
2337-703: A privileged elite among towns having won self-governance from their local lord or having been granted self-governance by the emperor and being placed under his immediate protection. By 1480, these cities, as far as still part of the empire, became part of the Imperial Estates governing the empire with the emperor through the Imperial Diet . By the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities become powerful states, taking surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. In Italy, medieval communes developed into city-states including
2460-495: A rule cannot produce their own food and therefore must develop some relationship with a hinterland that sustains them. Only in special cases such as mining towns which play a vital role in long-distance trade, are cities disconnected from the countryside which feeds them. Thus, centrality within a productive region influences siting, as economic forces would, in theory, favor the creation of marketplaces in optimal mutually reachable locations. The vast majority of cities have
2583-549: A super-wealthy elite living in gated communities and large masses of people living in substandard housing with inadequate infrastructure and otherwise poor conditions. Cities around the world have expanded physically as they grow in population, with increases in their surface extent, with the creation of high-rise buildings for residential and commercial use, and with development underground. Urbanization can create rapid demand for water resources management , as formerly good sources of freshwater become overused and polluted, and
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#17327804396502706-423: A temple. A minority viewpoint considers that cities may have arisen without agriculture, due to alternative means of subsistence (fishing), to use as communal seasonal shelters, to their value as bases for defensive and offensive military organization, or to their inherent economic function. Cities played a crucial role in the establishment of political power over an area, and ancient leaders such as Alexander
2829-567: A workers' town associated with the pyramid of Senusret II , and the religious city Amarna built by Akhenaten and abandoned. These sites appear planned in a highly regimented and stratified fashion, with a minimalistic grid of rooms for the workers and increasingly more elaborate housing available for higher classes. In Mesopotamia, the civilization of Sumer , followed by Assyria and Babylon , gave rise to numerous cities, governed by kings and fostered multiple languages written in cuneiform . The Phoenician trading empire, flourishing around
2952-471: A world of intensifying globalization , all cities are to varying degrees also connected globally beyond these regions. This increased influence means that cities also have significant influences on global issues , such as sustainable development , climate change , and global health . Because of these major influences on global issues, the international community has prioritized investment in sustainable cities through Sustainable Development Goal 11 . Due to
3075-538: Is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County . Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County . With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 census , Durham is the fourth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 70th-most populous city in the United States. The city is located in the east-central part of the Piedmont region along
3198-405: Is a list of Durham's largest employers. City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agreed definition of the lower boundary for their size. In a narrower sense, a city can be defined as
3321-475: Is home to several recognized institutions of higher education, most notably Duke University and North Carolina Central University . Durham is also a national leader in health-related activities, which are focused on the Duke University Hospital and many private companies. Duke and its Duke University Health System are the largest employers in the city. North Carolina Central University is
3444-403: Is located in the east–central part of the Piedmont region at 35°59′19″N 78°54′26″W / 35.98861°N 78.90722°W / 35.98861; -78.90722 (35.99, -78.9). Like much of the region, its topography is generally flat with some rolling hills. As of 2022 the city had a total area of 116.19 square miles (300.9 km ), of which 115.36 square miles (298.8 km )
3567-517: Is still clearly visible. A system of rectilinear city streets and land plots, known as the grid plan , has been used for millennia in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The Indus Valley Civilization built Mohenjo-Daro , Harappa , and other cities on a grid pattern, using ancient principles described by Kautilya , and aligned with the compass points . The ancient Greek city of Priene exemplifies
3690-420: Is the most urban continent, with four-fifths of its population living in cities, including one-fifth of the population said to live in shantytowns ( favelas , poblaciones callampas , etc.). Batam , Indonesia , Mogadishu , Somalia , Xiamen , China , and Niamey , Niger , are considered among the world's fastest-growing cities, with annual growth rates of 5–8%. In general, the more developed countries of
3813-882: The American Forestry Association , the American Tree Farm System , and the Weyerhaeuser Company as well as many other smaller collections of national and international significance. Additionally, the Forest History Society maintains a publication program, publishing the Environmental History journal, Forest History Today magazine, an Issues Series, and environmental and conservation-focused monographs; an education program, to build understanding and appreciation of human interaction with
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3936-704: The Duke East Campus ). Durham's manufacturing fortunes declined during the mid-20th century. Textile mills began to close during the 1930s. Competition from other tobacco companies (as well as a decrease in smoking after the 1960s) reduced revenues from Durham's tobacco industry. In a far-sighted move in the late 1950s, Duke University, along with the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, persuaded
4059-641: The Eno River . Durham is the core of the four-county Durham–Chapel Hill metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 608,879 in 2023. The Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh–Durham–Cary, NC Combined Statistical Area , commonly known as the Research Triangle, which had an estimated population of 2,368,947 in 2023. A railway depot was established in 1849 on land donated by Bartlett S. Durham ,
4182-546: The Environmental History journal with the American Society for Environmental History . A regular Issues Series is also published by the Society on environmental topics of contemporary interest such as fire, wetlands, and forests. Featured books representing important scholarship in the fields of forest, conservation, and environmental history are also published. The Society provides further financial, editorial, and research assistance to other authors publishing books in
4305-610: The Nasher Museum of Art . Other notable sites in the city include the Museum of Life and Science , Durham Performing Arts Center , Carolina Theatre , and Duke Homestead and Tobacco Factory . Bennett Place commemorates the location where Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to William T. Sherman in the American Civil War. The city is served, along with Raleigh, by Raleigh–Durham International Airport . The Eno and
4428-644: The North Carolina General Assembly , on April 10, 1869. It was named for the man who provided the land on which the station was built, Dr. Bartlett Durham. At the time of its incorporation by the General Assembly, Durham was located in Orange County. The increase in business activity, land transfers etc., made the day long trip back and forth to the county seat in Hillsborough untenable, so twelve years later, on April 17, 1881,
4551-584: The Occoneechi , related to the Sioux and the Shakori , lived in the area and may have established a village named Adshusheer (or Ajusher) in the area which became Durham. The Occaneechi Path , a corridor of trading roads and trails, went through the area. Native Americans expanded the region by establishing settlements and commercial transportation routes. In 1701, English explorer John Lawson , documented
4674-603: The Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa . In Northern Europe, cities including Lübeck and Bruges formed the Hanseatic League for collective defense and commerce. Their power was later challenged and eclipsed by the Dutch commercial cities of Ghent , Ypres , and Amsterdam . Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of Sakai , which enjoyed considerable autonomy in late medieval Japan. In
4797-947: The United Nations ... largely for the purpose of international statistical comparison". The word city and the related civilization come from the Latin root civitas , originally meaning 'citizenship' or 'community member' and eventually coming to correspond with urbs , meaning 'city' in a more physical sense. The Roman civitas was closely linked with the Greek polis —another common root appearing in English words such as metropolis . In toponymic terminology, names of individual cities and towns are called astionyms (from Ancient Greek ἄστυ 'city or town' and ὄνομα 'name'). Urban geography deals both with cities in their larger context and with their internal structure. Cities are estimated to cover about 3% of
4920-505: The Uruk period . In the fourth and third millennium BC , complex civilizations flourished in the river valleys of Mesopotamia , India , China , and Egypt . Excavations in these areas have found the ruins of cities geared variously towards trade, politics, or religion. Some had large, dense populations , but others carried out urban activities in the realms of politics or religion without having large associated populations. Among
5043-730: The civilization of Djenne-Djenno was likely established by the Mande progenitors of the Bozo people . Their habitation of the site spanned the period from 3rd century BCE to 13th century CE. Archaeological evidence from Jenné-Jeno, specifically the presence of non-West African glass beads dated from the third century BCE to the fourth century CE, indicates that pre-Arabic trade contacts probably existed between Jenné-Jeno and North Africa. Additionally, other early urban centers in West Africa, dated to around 500 CE, include Awdaghust , Kumbi Saleh ,
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5166-472: The first sit-in of the civil rights movement in North Carolina , on June 23, 1957, Moore and six others assembled at the church to plan the protest. The young African Americans moved over to the segregated Royal Ice Cream Parlor and took up whites-only booths. When they refused to budge, the manager called the police who charged them with trespassing. Unlike the Greensboro Four , three years later,
5289-427: The government workers . (This arrangement contrasts with the more typically horizontal relationships in a tribe or village accomplishing common goals through informal agreements between neighbors, or the leadership of a chief.) The governments may be based on heredity, religion, military power, work systems such as canal-building, food distribution, land-ownership, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, finance, or
5412-538: The knowledge economy . A new smart city paradigm, supported by institutions such as the RAND Corporation and IBM , is bringing computerized surveillance , data analysis, and governance to bear on cities and city dwellers. Some companies are building brand-new master-planned cities from scratch on greenfield sites. Urbanization is the process of migration from rural to urban areas, driven by various political, economic, and cultural factors. Until
5535-564: The service economy and public-private partnerships , with concomitant gentrification , uneven revitalization efforts , and selective cultural development. Under the Great Leap Forward and subsequent five-year plans continuing today, China has undergone concomitant urbanization and industrialization and become the world's leading manufacturer . Amidst these economic changes, high technology and instantaneous telecommunication enable select cities to become centers of
5658-535: The " Global North " remain more urbanized than the less developed countries of the " Global South "—but the difference continues to shrink because urbanization is happening faster in the latter group. Asia is home to by far the greatest absolute number of city-dwellers: over two billion and counting. The UN predicts an additional 2.5 billion city dwellers (and 300 million fewer country dwellers) worldwide by 2050, with 90% of urban population expansion occurring in Asia and Africa. Megacities , cities with populations in
5781-539: The "functional definition", a city is not distinguished by size alone, but also by the role it plays within a larger political context. Cities serve as administrative, commercial, religious, and cultural hubs for their larger surrounding areas. The presence of a literate elite is often associated with cities because of the cultural diversities present in a city. A typical city has professional administrators , regulations, and some form of taxation (food and other necessities or means to trade for them) to support
5904-532: The 18th century), Ile-Ifẹ̀ (70,000 to 105,000 inhabitants in the 14th and 15th centuries), Niani (50,000 inhabitants in 1400 AD) and Timbuktu (100,000 inhabitants in 1450 AD). In the West, nation-states became the dominant unit of political organization following the Peace of Westphalia in the seventeenth century. Western Europe's larger capitals (London and Paris) benefited from the growth of commerce following
6027-420: The 18th century, an equilibrium existed between the rural agricultural population and towns featuring markets and small-scale manufacturing. With the agricultural and industrial revolutions urban population began its unprecedented growth, both through migration and demographic expansion . In England , the proportion of the population living in cities jumped from 17% in 1801 to 72% in 1891. In 1900, 15% of
6150-458: The 1930s and television shows up to 1970 was the nation's image of Durham until Duke University supplanted it in the late 20th century. Prevented from further investment in the tobacco industry, the Dukes turned to the then new industry of electric power generation, which they had been investing in since the early 1890s. Duke Power (now Duke Energy) brought in electricity from hydroelectric dams in
6273-683: The 1970s and 1980s, with the construction of multiple housing developments in the southern part of the city, nearest Research Triangle Park , and the beginnings of downtown revitalization. In 1975, the St. Joseph's Historical Foundation at the Hayti Heritage Center was incorporated to "preserve the heritage of the old Hayti community, and to promote the understanding of and appreciation for the African American experience and African Americans' contributions to world culture." In 1987,
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#17327804396506396-521: The 2019 U.S. census data estimate, had grown to 278,993, making it the 50th-fastest-growing city in the US, and the 2nd-fastest-growing city in North Carolina, behind Cary but ahead of Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro. As of the 2020 census , there were 283,506 people, 114,726 households, and 64,982 families residing in the city. As of the 2022 American Community Survey estimates, there were 291,844 people and 124,536 households. The population density
6519-718: The 30th and 18th centuries BC. Mesoamerica saw the rise of early urbanism in several cultural regions, beginning with the Olmec and spreading to the Preclassic Maya , the Zapotec of Oaxaca, and Teotihuacan in central Mexico. Later cultures such as the Aztec , Andean civilizations , Mayan , Mississippians , and Pueblo peoples drew on these earlier urban traditions. Many of their ancient cities continue to be inhabited, including major metropolitan cities such as Mexico City , in
6642-750: The 9th through the end of the 12th century, Constantinople , the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire , was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe, with a population approaching 1 million. The Ottoman Empire gradually gained control over many cities in the Mediterranean area, including Constantinople in 1453 . In the Holy Roman Empire , beginning in the 12th century, free imperial cities such as Nuremberg , Strasbourg , Frankfurt , Basel , Zürich , and Nijmegen became
6765-613: The American Tobacco Campus, home to successful small software firms including Red Hat , was selected by Google to host its launch of the Google Glass Road show in October 2013. The district is also slated for expansion featuring 158,000 square feet of offices, retail, residential or hotel space The Durham County Justice Center , a major addition to downtown Durham, was completed in early 2013. Many of
6888-552: The American Tobacco Factory in Durham closed, leading to an economic downturn and a decline in the city's reputation. A new downtown baseball stadium was constructed for the Durham Bulls in 1994. The Durham Performing Arts Center now ranks in the top ten in theater ticket sales in the US according to Pollstar magazine. Many famous people have performed there including B.B. King and Willie Nelson . After
7011-566: The Andes, the first urban centers developed in the Norte Chico civilization , Chavin and Moche cultures, followed by major cities in the Huari , Chimu , and Inca cultures. The Norte Chico civilization included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru . It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, flourishing between
7134-704: The Atlantic near Wilmington . A small portion of the city is in Wake County . Durham is located 10 miles northeast of Chapel Hill , 21 miles northwest of Raleigh , 50 miles east of Greensboro , 121 miles northeast of Charlotte and 134 miles southwest of Richmond, Virginia . The climate of Durham is humid subtropical ( Cfa according to the Köppen classification system), with hot and humid summers, cool winters, and warm to mild spring and autumn. Durham receives abundant precipitation, with thunderstorms common in
7257-460: The City of Durham. Much of the early city architecture , both commercial and residential, dates from the period of 1890–1930. Durham recorded its worst fire in history on March 23, 1914. The multimillion-dollar blaze destroyed a large portion of the downtown business district. The fire department's water source failed during the blaze, prompting voters to establish a city-owned water system in place of
7380-529: The Great founded and created them with zeal. Jericho and Çatalhöyük , dated to the eighth millennium BC , are among the earliest proto-cities known to archaeologists. However, the Mesopotamian city of Uruk from the mid-fourth millennium BC (ancient Iraq) is considered by most archaeologists to be the first true city, innovating many characteristics for cities to follow, with its name attributed to
7503-658: The Hayti district for the construction of the Durham Freeway during the late 1960s. The freeway construction resulted in losses to other historic neighborhoods, including Morehead Hill, West End, and West Durham. Combined with large-scale demolition using Urban Renewal funds, Durham suffered significant losses to its historic architectural base. In 1970, the Census Bureau reported city's population as 38.8% black and 60.8% white. Durham's growth began to rekindle during
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#17327804396507626-448: The North Carolina Legislature to purchase a large tract of sparsely settled land in southern Durham County and create the nation's first "science park" for industry. Cheap land and a steady supply of trained workers from the local universities made the Research Triangle Park an enormous success which, along with the expansion resulting from the clinical and scientific advances of Duke Medical Center and Duke University, more than made up for
7749-407: The Revolutionary War. Durham's location is a result of the needs of the 19th century railroad industry. The wood-burning steam locomotives of the time had to stop frequently for wood and water and the new North Carolina Railroad needed a depot between the settled towns of Raleigh and Hillsborough. The residents of what is now downtown Durham thought their businesses catering to livestock drivers had
7872-421: The Royal Seven were arrested and ultimately found guilty of trespassing. The six-month-long sit-in at a Woolworth 's counter in Greensboro, North Carolina , captured the nation's attention. Within a week, students from North Carolina College at Durham and Duke University staged a sit-in in Durham. About a week later, Martin Luther King Jr. met Moore in Durham, where King coined his famous rallying cry "Fill up
7995-437: The Society incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization under the new name "Forest History Foundation." The name was changed to "Forest History Society" four years later in 1959. The organization left Minnesota in 1964, moving first to the Yale University campus in 1964, and then to the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1969. Harold K. "Pete" Steen became the Society's third executive director in 1978. In 1984
8118-414: The Society was moved to its current home in Durham, North Carolina, establishing an affiliation with Duke University and the Nicholas School of the Environment . In 1997 Steven Anderson succeeded Pete Steen, becoming the fourth president of the Society. In 1996, a partnership was formed between the Forest History Society and the American Society for Environmental History . This relationship helped widen
8241-475: The ancient capital of Ghana, and Maranda , a center located on a trade route between Egypt and Gao. The dissolution of the Roman Empire in the West was connected with profound changes in urban fabric of western Europe. In places where Roman administration quickly weakened urbanism went through a profound crisis, even if it continued to remain an important symbolic factor. In regions like Italy or Spain cities diminished in size but nevertheless continued to play
8364-437: The antebellum period. By 1860, Stagville Plantation lay at the center of one of the largest plantation holdings in the South. African slaves were brought to labor on these farms and plantations, and slave quarters became the hearth of distinctively Southern cultural traditions involving crafts, social relations, life rituals, music, and dance. There were free African-Americans in the area as well, including several who fought in
8487-445: The area and would later call it "the flower of the Carolinas". Lawson claimed that Ajusher was situated 14 miles (23 km) from Occaneechi Town. In the mid-1700s, Scots, Irish, and English colonists settled on land granted to George Carteret by King Charles I , a grant that had by then been inherited by his great-grandson John . Early settlers built settlements as well as farms and mills, like West Point Mill . Frontiersmen in
8610-411: The area, prior to the American Revolutionary War , participated in the Regulator Movement . Loyalist militia used Cornwallis Road to cut through the area in 1771 to quell the rebellion. William Johnston, a local a farmer and shopkeeper, made munitions for the Continental Army , served in the Provincial Congress in 1775, and financially supported Daniel Boone on his westward explorations. Prior to
8733-463: The arrival of the railroad, the area now known as Durham was the eastern part of present-day Orange County and was almost entirely agricultural, with a few businesses catering to travelers (particularly livestock drivers) along the Hillsborough Road. This road, eventually followed by US Route 70, was the major east–west route in North Carolina from colonial times until the construction of interstate highways. Steady population growth and an intersection with
8856-464: The athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political life of the polis. Rome was the first city that surpassed one million inhabitants. Under the authority of its empire , Rome transformed and founded many cities ( Colonia ), and with them brought its principles of urban architecture, design, and society. In the ancient Americas , early urban traditions developed in the Andes and Mesoamerica . In
8979-407: The benefit of mitigating the urban heat island effect, especially in cities that are in warmer climates. These spaces prevent carbon imbalances, extreme habitat losses, electricity and water consumption, and human health risks. The urban structure generally follows one or more basic patterns: geomorphic, radial, concentric, rectilinear, and curvilinear. The physical environment generally constrains
9102-511: The building will be at the corner of Main St. and Corcoran St. It will be directly across from Durham's current tallest building, but once completed, will be the new tallest building in downtown Durham and the 4th largest building in the Triangle. Originally scheduled for a 2016 opening, the building was then expected to open in May 2018. This is an ambitious, $ 80 million project. In October 2014,
9225-982: The decline of Durham's tobacco and textile industries. As a result of its substantial African-American community, including many activists, a prominent civil rights movement developed in Durham. Multiple sit-ins were held, and Martin Luther King Jr. , visited the city during the struggle for equal rights. The Durham Committee on Negro Affairs, organized in 1935 by C.C. Spaulding, Louis Austin, Conrad Pearson, and James E. Shepard , has been cited nationally for its role in fighting for black voting rights. The committee also has used its voting strength to pursue social and economic rights for African-Americans and other ethnic groups. In 1957, Douglas E. Moore , minister of Durham's Asbury Temple Methodist Church, along with other religious and community leaders, pioneered sit-ins throughout North Carolina to protest discrimination at lunch counters that served only whites. Widely credited as
9348-519: The departure of the tobacco industry, large-scale renovations of the historic factories into offices, condominiums, and restaurants began to reshape downtown. While these efforts continue, the large majority of Durham's residential and retail growth since 1990 has been along the I-40 corridor in southern Durham County. Major employers in Durham are Duke University and Duke Medical Center (39,000 employees, 14,000 students), about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of
9471-542: The early Old World cities, Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley civilization in present-day Pakistan , existing from about 2600 BC, was one of the largest, with a population of 50,000 or more and a sophisticated sanitation system . China's planned cities were constructed according to sacred principles to act as celestial microcosms . The Ancient Egyptian cities known physically by archaeologists are not extensive. They include (known by their Arab names) El Lahun ,
9594-671: The efficiency of transportation and the smaller land consumption , dense cities hold the potential to have a smaller ecological footprint per inhabitant than more sparsely populated areas. Therefore, compact cities are often referred to as a crucial element in fighting climate change. However, this concentration can also have some significant negative consequences, such as forming urban heat islands , concentrating pollution , and stressing water supplies and other resources. A city can be distinguished from other human settlements by its relatively great size, but also by its functions and its special symbolic status , which may be conferred by
9717-484: The emergence of an Atlantic trade. However, most towns remained small. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the old Roman city concept was extensively used. Cities were founded in the middle of the newly conquered territories and were bound to several laws regarding administration, finances, and urbanism. The growth of the modern industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization and
9840-812: The first millennium AD, the Khmer capital of Angkor in Cambodia grew into the most extensive preindustrial settlement in the world by area, covering over 1,000 km and possibly supporting up to one million people. West Africa already had cities before the Common Era , but the consolidation of Trans-Saharan trade in the Middle Ages multiplied the number of cities in the region, as well as making some of them very populous, notably Gao (72,000 inhabitants in 800 AD), Oyo-Ile (50,000 inhabitants in 1400 AD, and may have reached up to 140,000 inhabitants in
9963-440: The form in which a city is built. If located on a mountainside, urban structures may rely on terraces and winding roads. It may be adapted to its means of subsistence (e.g. agriculture or fishing). And it may be set up for optimal defense given the surrounding landscape. Beyond these "geomorphic" features, cities can develop internal patterns, due to natural growth or to city planning . In a radial structure, main roads converge on
10086-458: The historic tobacco buildings elsewhere in the city have been converted into loft-style apartment complexes. The downtown corridor along West Main St. has seen significant redevelopment including bars, entertainment venues, art studios, and co-working spaces, in addition to shopping and dining in nearby Brightleaf Square , another former tobacco warehouse in the Bright Leaf Historic District . Other current and future projects include expansion of
10209-469: The jails," during a speech at White Rock Baptist Church. Advocating non-violent confrontation with segregation laws for the first time, King said, "Let us not fear going to jail. If the officials threaten to arrest us for standing up for our rights, we must answer by saying that we are willing and prepared to fill up the jails of the South." This community was not enough to prevent the demolition of portions of
10332-472: The land surface of the Earth. Town siting has varied through history according to natural, technological, economic, and military contexts. Access to water has long been a major factor in city placement and growth, and despite exceptions enabled by the advent of rail transport in the nineteenth century, through the present most of the world's urban population lives near the coast or on a river. Urban areas as
10455-419: The late 19th and early 20th century encouraged the then-growing textile industry to locate just outside Durham. The early electrification of Durham was also a large incentive. Drawing a labor force from the economic demise of single-family farms in the region at the time, these textile mills doubled the population of Durham. These areas were known as East Durham and West Durham until they were eventually annexed by
10578-475: The longest continual inhabitation . Cities, characterized by population density , symbolic function, and urban planning , have existed for thousands of years. In the conventional view, civilization and the city were both followed by the development of agriculture , which enabled the production of surplus food and thus a social division of labor (with concomitant social stratification ) and trade . Early cities often featured granaries , sometimes within
10701-478: The mild flavor of the area's Brightleaf tobacco , which was considered more pleasant to smoke or chew than was available back home after the war. Some began sending letters to Durham to get more. The community of Durham Station grew slowly before the Civil War, but expanded rapidly following the war. Much of this growth attributed to the establishment of a thriving tobacco industry. Veterans returned home after
10824-497: The multi-millions, have proliferated into the dozens, arising especially in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Economic globalization fuels the growth of these cities, as new torrents of foreign capital arrange for rapid industrialization, as well as the relocation of major businesses from Europe and North America, attracting immigrants from near and far. A deep gulf divides the rich and poor in these cities, which usually contain
10947-857: The namesake of the city. Following the American Civil War , the community of Durham Station expanded rapidly, in part due to the tobacco industry . The town was incorporated by act of the North Carolina General Assembly , in April 1869. The establishment of Durham County was ratified by the General Assembly 12 years later, in 1881. It became known as the founding place and headquarters of the American Tobacco Company . Textile and electric power industries also played an important role. While these industries have declined, Durham underwent revitalization and population growth to become an educational, medical, and research center. Durham
11070-405: The nation's first publicly supported liberal arts college for African-Americans. In 1924, James Buchanan Duke established a philanthropic foundation in honor of his father Washington Duke to support Trinity College in Durham. The college changed its name to Duke University and built a large campus and hospital a mile west of Trinity College (the original site of Trinity College is now known as
11193-444: The natural world; and a liaison function between scholars, policymakers, and landowners. The Society also works to promote and reward academic scholarship in the fields of forest, conservation, and environmental history. In 1946, a small group of historians and forest industry executives came together to form an organization dedicated to preserving the documentary forest heritage of North America. The "Forest Products History Foundation"
11316-621: The open-space surrounding the American Tobacco Trail , new hotels and apartment complexes, a $ 6.35-million facelift of Durham City Hall, and ongoing redevelopment of the Duke University Central Campus. In 2013, 21c Museum Hotels announced plans to fully renovate the Hill Building . The renovations added a contemporary art museum and upscale restaurant to the historic building. Additionally,
11439-491: The original downtown area, and companies in the Research Triangle Park (49,000 employees), about 10 miles (16 km) southeast. These centers are connected by the Durham Freeway ( NC 147 ). In recent years the city of Durham has stepped up revitalization of its downtown and undergone an economic and cultural renaissance of sorts. Partnering with developers from around the world, the city continues to promote
11562-415: The other towns of central and western North Carolina, making even more money than they ever made from tobacco. Duke Power also had a significant business in local franchises for public transit (buses and trolleys) before local government took over this responsibility in the mid- to late 20th century. Duke Power ran Durham's public bus system (now GoDurham ) until 1991. The success of the tobacco industry in
11685-403: The population. Of the 124,536 households, 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.2% had seniors 65 years or older living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 8.4% were couples cohabitating, 20.2% had a male householder with no partner present, and 35.1% had a female householder with no partner present. The median household size
11808-637: The private systems that had served the city since 1887. Durham quickly developed a black community, the center of which was an area known as Hayti , (pronounced HAY-tie), just south of the center of town, where some of the most prominent and successful black-owned businesses in the country during the early 20th century were established. These businesses — the best known of which are North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and Mechanics & Farmers Bank — were centered on Parrish St., which would come to be known as "Black Wall Street". In 1910, Dr. James E. Shepard founded North Carolina Central University ,
11931-573: The process, such as improving the efficiency of goods and service distribution. Historically, city dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization , more than half of the world population now lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for global sustainability . Present-day cities usually form the core of larger metropolitan areas and urban areas —creating numerous commuters traveling toward city centres for employment, entertainment, and education. However, in
12054-500: The public as well as forms of public land such as public domain and the commons . Western philosophy since the time of the Greek agora has considered physical public space as the substrate of the symbolic public sphere . Public art adorns (or disfigures) public spaces. Parks and other natural sites within cities provide residents with relief from the hardness and regularity of typical built environments . Urban green spaces are another component of public space that provides
12177-556: The rapid growth of the city of Durham. Throughout the Gilded Age and into the early twentieth century, Durham industrialists, including George Washington Watts , John Sprunt Hill , and Julian S. Carr , built large mansions such as Somerset Villa , Harwood Hall , the John Sprunt Hill House , and Greystone Manor . Washington Duke was a good businessman, but his sons were brilliant and established what amounted to
12300-725: The redevelopment of many of its former tobacco districts, projects supplemented by the earlier construction of the Durham Performing Arts Center and new Durham Bulls Athletic Park . The American Tobacco Historic District , adjacent to both the athletic park and performing arts center, is one such project, having successfully lured a number of restaurants, entertainment venues, and office space geared toward hi-tech entrepreneurs, investors, and startups. Many other companies have purchased and renovated historic buildings, such as Measurement Incorporated and Capitol Broadcasting Company . The American Underground section of
12423-476: The region. The number of days of inland flooding within the Piedmont is also expected to increase, which puts Durham at higher risk of future flooding. High-intensity short-duration storms are predicted to grow in frequency to upwards of 9 days a year by 2100. Inland flooding is anticipated to have a greater impact on the elderly and other at-risk groups. Durham's population, as of July 1, 2019 and according to
12546-810: The rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas. England led the way as London became the capital of a world empire and cities across the country grew in locations strategic for manufacturing . In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the introduction of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centers began to emerge, fueling migration from rural to city areas. Some industrialized cities were confronted with health challenges associated with overcrowding , occupational hazards of industry, contaminated water and air, poor sanitation , and communicable diseases such as typhoid and cholera . Factories and slums emerged as regular features of
12669-401: The road connecting Roxboro and Fayetteville made the area near this site suitable for a US Post Office. Roxboro, Fayetteville and Hillsborough Roads remain major thoroughfares in Durham, although they no longer exactly follow their early 19th century rights-of-way. Large plantations, Hardscrabble , Fairntosh , Lipscomb , Walnut Hall , Patterson , and Leigh among them, were established in
12792-698: The same location as Tenochtitlan ; while ancient continuously inhabited Pueblos are near modern urban areas in New Mexico , such as Acoma Pueblo near the Albuquerque metropolitan area and Taos Pueblo near Taos ; while others like Lima are located nearby ancient Peruvian sites such as Pachacamac . From 1600 BC, Dhar Tichitt , in the south of present-day Mauritania , presented characteristics suggestive of an incipient form of urbanism. The second place to show urban characteristics in West Africa
12915-681: The scope of the Society's mission beyond the boundaries of forest and conservation history to include subjects related to the broader field of environmental history. In 2015 the Forest History Society produced the award-winning documentary film America's First Forest: Carl Schenck and the Asheville Experiment about the history and legacy of Carl A. Schenck and the Biltmore Forest School . The Society moved into its current headquarters building in 2019. The 16,750-square-foot facility in Durham, North Carolina, features
13038-518: The subject area of environmental history. The honorary title of "Fellow of the Forest History Society" is bestowed on persons who have provided many years of outstanding leadership and service to the Society or many years of outstanding sustained contributions to the research, writing, or teaching of forest, conservation, or environmental history. This honor is the Society's highest award. Notable fellows include: Durham, North Carolina Durham ( / ˈ d ɜːr ə m / DURR -əm )
13161-436: The summer and high temperatures from 80 to 100 degrees F. The region sees an average of 7 inches (180 mm) of snow per year, with any snowfall usually melting within a few days. The Durham area consistently ranks in the top 10 most challenging places to live with seasonal allergies. Climate change is expected to increase the number of days of extreme precipitation in Durham as well as moderately increase temperature within
13284-441: The term and has challenged geographers seeking to classify territories according to an urban-rural binary. Metropolitan areas include suburbs and exurbs organized around the needs of commuters , and sometimes edge cities characterized by a degree of economic and political independence. (In the US these are grouped into metropolitan statistical areas for purposes of demography and marketing .) Some cities are now part of
13407-412: The turn of the first millennium BC , encompassed numerous cities extending from Tyre , Cydon , and Byblos to Carthage and Cádiz . In the following centuries, independent city-states of Greece , especially Athens , developed the polis , an association of male landowning citizens who collectively constituted the city. The agora , meaning "gathering place" or "assembly", was the center of
13530-446: The urban landscape. In the second half of the 20th century, deindustrialization (or " economic restructuring ") in the West led to poverty , homelessness , and urban decay in formerly prosperous cities. America's "Steel Belt" became a " Rust Belt " and cities such as Detroit , Michigan, and Gary, Indiana began to shrink , contrary to the global trend of massive urban expansion. Such cities have shifted with varying success into
13653-589: The volume of sewage begins to exceed manageable levels. The local government of cities takes different forms including prominently the municipality (especially in England , in the United States , India , and other British colonies ; legally, the municipal corporation ; municipio in Spain and Portugal , and, along with municipalidad , in most former parts of the Spanish and Portuguese empires) and
13776-555: The war with an interest in acquiring more of the tobacco they had sampled in North Carolina. Numerous orders were mailed to John Ruffin Green's tobacco company requesting more of the Durham tobacco. W.T. Blackwell partnered with Green and renamed the company as the " Bull Durham Tobacco Factory ". The name "Bull Durham" is said to have been taken from the bull on the British Colman's Mustard, which Mr. Blackwell mistakenly believed
13899-525: The west. After the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865, Gen. Johnston sought surrender terms, which were negotiated on April 17, 18 and 26 at Bennett Place , the small farm of James and Nancy Bennett, located halfway between the army's lines about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Durham Station. As both armies passed through Durham, Hillsborough, and surrounding Piedmont communities, they enjoyed
14022-415: The western mountains of North Carolina through the newly invented technology of high voltage power lines. At this time (1910–1920), the few towns and cities in North Carolina that had electricity depended on local "powerhouses". These were large, noisy, and smoky coal-fired plants located next to the railroad tracks. Duke Power quickly took over the electricity franchises in these towns and then electrified all
14145-523: The world's population lived in cities. The cultural appeal of cities also plays a role in attracting residents. Urbanization rapidly spread across Europe and the Americas and since the 1950s has taken hold in Asia and Africa as well. The Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs reported in 2014 that for the first time, more than half of the world population lives in cities. Latin America
14268-543: Was Dia , in present-day Mali , from 800 BC. Both Dhar Tichitt and Dia were founded by the same people: the Soninke , who would later also found the Ghana Empire . Another ancient site, Jenné-Jeno , in what is today Mali , has been dated to the third century BCE. According to Roderick and Susan McIntosh, Jenné-Jeno did not fit into traditional Western conceptions of urbanity as it lacked monumental architecture and
14391-783: Was $ 46,082. Out of the 282,061 people with a determined poverty status, 11.2% were below the poverty line . Further, 17.7% of minors and 7.3% of seniors were below the poverty line. In the survey, residents self-identified with various ethnic ancestries. People of English descent made up 9.3% of the population of the town, followed by German at 7.7%, Irish at 6.8%, Italian at 3.0%, American at 3.0%, Sub-Saharan African at 2.6%, Polish at 2.0%, Scottish at 1.9%, French at 1.4%, Scotch-Irish at 1.3%, Caribbean (excluding Hispanics) at 0.9%, Dutch at 0.8%, Norwegian at 0.8%, Swedish at 0.8%, Russian at 0.7%, and Welsh at 0.6%. Duke University and Duke University Health System are Durham's largest employers. Below
14514-427: Was 2,499.6 inhabitants per square mile (965.1/km ). There were 134,423 housing units at an average density of 1,151.3 per square mile (444.5/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 41.1% White, 34.7% Black or African American, 9.9% some other race, 6.7% Asian, and 0.6% Native American or Alaskan Native, with 7.1% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 14.1% of
14637-452: Was 2.26 and the median family size was 3.00. The age distribution was 19.7% under 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.4 males. The median income for a household was $ 78,105, with family households having a median income of $ 90,521 and non-family households $ 60,203. The per capita income
14760-520: Was founded, and began as a program of the Minnesota Historical Society . Rodney Loehr , a member of the history faculty at the University of Minnesota, was appointed as the founding director. Over the following decade, archival source materials were collected, an oral history interview program was created, and a scholarly quarterly journal began publication. In 1955, under second executive director Elwood Rondeau "Woody" Maunder,
14883-535: Was known for its first 20 years, was a depot for the occasional passenger or express package until early April 1865, when the Federal Army commanded by Major General William T. Sherman occupied the nearby state capital of Raleigh during the American Civil War. The last formidable Confederate Army in the South, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston , was headquartered in Greensboro 50 miles (80 km) to
15006-627: Was land and 0.82 square miles (2.1 km ) (0.71%) was water. The soil is predominantly clay, making it poor for agriculture. The Eno River , a tributary of the Neuse River , passes through the northern part of Durham, along with several other small creeks. The center of Durham is on a ridge that forms the divide between the Neuse River watershed, flowing east to Pamlico Sound , and the Cape Fear River watershed, flowing south to
15129-417: Was manufactured in Durham , England. Mustard known as Durham Mustard was originally produced in Durham , England, by Mrs Clements and later by Ainsley during the eighteenth century. However, production of the original Durham Mustard has now been passed into the hands of Colman's of Norwich , England. As Durham Station's population rapidly increased, the station became a town and was incorporated by act of
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