Durham County Government slides and photographs

Durham City Schools and Durham County Schools merged in 1992 to become Durham Public Schools.

Old North Durham is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Durham. The location of the neighborhood was converted from farmland into one of Durham’s first suburbs in the late 1800s. A trolley line built in 1901 ran north from Main Street along Mangum Street, which spurred development in the area. It was a thriving area in Durham through the 1950s. Following integration in the 1950s and 1960s in Durham, East Trinity Street became one of the first areas in Durham where African-Americans bought homes and lived in primarily white neighborhoods. In the late 1960s Old North Durham experienced a social and economic decline similar to many other urban neighbohoods across the country as the population migrated from urban areas to outlying suburbs. However, during the late 1970s and early 1980s a major effort was undertaken to revitalize the neighborhood. With the creation of Durham Neighborhood Housing Services in 1981, neighborhood residents joined city officials, business, and banking leaders to secure the financial support for home improvements and renovations.