Where did their stories go? As I have studied the men that were known to be the founding fathers of Durham, I began to wonder about the women that loomed in the shadows. We live in a different time where women can shine brightly, but in the late 1800’s, women in Durham were only knownContinue reading “Hidden Women”
Tag Archives: Duke
1893 in Durham
The year is 1893 in Durham, North Carolina. Julian Shakespeare Carr is the president of the William T. Blackwell Company. This company, with its playful bull painted on the sides of buildings all over the United States, has dominated the industry since the early 1870’s. But there is shift in the winds. Just across theContinue reading “1893 in Durham”
History in the Present
Stepping back into history has been a journey unlike anything I have ever experienced. For the last two years I have made the thirty minute car ride to Duke University where the four hundred boxes of the Richard Harvey Wright archives are stored. Before entering the Rubenstein Library, I must walk past Duke Chapel, oneContinue reading “History in the Present”
A Step into the Past
Let’s take a trip into the past. It’s 1931 and Richard Harvey Wright has died. His two nephews, Richard Harvey Jr. and Thomas Davenport were running the Wright’s Automatic Machinery Company. They decided to move the manufacturing company to Durham where they purchased the Yarborough Hosiery Mills Building for $12,000. Given it was in theContinue reading “A Step into the Past”
In Quest of the Man
As I stand in the mausoleum, reading the names of my ancestors, a bit of nostalgia flushes over me. A feeling of when I realized that I am a part of an incredible history. Each name etched upon the white marble has a story, but of them all, Richard Harvey Wright’s story screams the loudest. Continue reading “In Quest of the Man”