Preservation Durham offers free walking and bike tours that introduce downtown Durham’s history and architecture.

Feel free to donate or join us in our efforts to tell Durham's story and preserve Durham's uniqueness!

All tours depart and return to Major the Bull at 211 W Parrish St.

Preservation Durham’s enthusiastic and well-informed volunteer tour guides will lead you through the history of the tobacco industry as they tell many tales from Durham’s past, using oral histories and photographs to illustrate the history of tobacco and the people who supplied tobacco products known throughout the world. The tour includes descriptions of life in the factories and at home for the thousands of workers who made the Bull City one of the biggest industrial cities in the South as well as those who, like guitarist John Dee Holeman, trekked to Durham’s tobacco auctions to play the blues.

“The tour touches on life in the work force, market days in Durham’s auction warehouses, the development of the cigarette and how that brought Durham into the global arena, and transformation of Durham’s identity from a city of tobacco to a city of medicine.” – Cynthia Satterfield, one of several researchers who prepared the program.

TOURS AND THE WEATHER
Tours may be cancelled on short notice due to extreme heat or inclement weather.
Tours will be shortened to one hour on days when the temperature is above 90° or below 50°. Please take the weather into account when planning to join a tour. In hot weather, wear a hat and sunscreen and bring a bottle of water. In cold weather, bundle up and bring a cup of hot coffee! For walking tours always wear comfortable shoes.

Tours are also available by appointment for private and school groups. These tours may be customized and a fee does apply. Please contact the office to arrange at info@preservationdurham.org.

Our tours are lead by our fantastic volunteer tour guides – everyday folks who like meeting new people and learning about Durham history.