When the Civil War began in 1861, Durham’s population was less than a thousand, with only a few dozen people living near or around Durham Station. Most of the population in the area lived on farms and raised their own food to survive. Farmers had also grown tobacco for generations. The Piedmont area of North Carolina consisted of soil made mostly of clay, and even though it lacked the nutrients for most crops, it was perfect for growing tobacco.
In 1858, Wesley Wright from Virginia and Thomas Morris opened up a tobacco manufacturing company near the Durham Station. Wright concocted a flavoring formula that gave the tobacco a unique taste. They named their brand Best Spanish Flavored Durham Smoking Tobacco. At that time, no one would know how this tobacco would impact the small hamlet of Durham.
In the late 1850’s and early 1860’s, people living in and around Durham were not united in their views concerning seceding from the United States. Most of the farmers were poor, barely able to make ends meet, but were being forced to pay taxes to a government that appeared oblivious to their needs. Even though they were angry about the lopsided attention being given to the North, many didn’t believe a war would solve their problems.
The majority of the farmers, in and around Durham did not own slaves, given they were poor and didn’t have the financial income to afford them. But at the beginning of the Civil War, there was one plantation to the north of Durham that covered over thirty thousand acres and owned up to nineteen hundred slaves.
What was this plantation and how did the owner influence Durham’s involvement in the Civil War?
Find out in my next blog.