Durham is a colorful, creative, and entrepreneurial community of 262,715 that welcomes 6.31 million visitors each year.Durham occupies a prime location in the heart of North Carolina and is a nexus for learning, achievement, creativity, research, and industry.
► Quick Facts
Durham is home to Research Triangle Park, Duke and North Carolina Central universities, and many City of Medicine, USA, medical and weight management centers.
Airport: RDU International Airport, located 12.5 miles from downtown Durham
Number of Lodging Properties: Durham has 60 lodging facilities
Number of Guest Rooms: Durham has more than 7,000 guest rooms
► Size & Landscape
299-square mile single-city county
25 miles long, 16 miles wide and 28 miles from corner to corner and one of the most compact counties in North Carolina at one-half to one-third the land area of neighboring counties
Downtown Durham is .751 square miles and 14 x 12 blocks
98,000 acres of hardwood and evergreen forests including the only remaining old growth Piedmont bottomland forests
7,800 acres of cropland... hills and dales, meandering rivers and streams, several lakes
26 rare plant species and several rare species of birds and animals
► City of Medicine, USA
Durham is known as the City of Medicine, USA, with healthcare as a major industry including more than 300 medical and health-related companies and medical practices with a combined payroll that exceeds $1.5 billion annually.
► Major Corporate and Research Parks
Research Triangle Park: A 7,000-acre Southeast Durham-based, special county research and production district, encompassed by the city of Durham and served by Durham postal substation, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. More than 140 major research companies employing 39,000.
Treyburn: A 5,300-acre corporate park, country club and residential area in Northeast Durham. Companies like bioMérieux and Becton Dickinson and more than 100 families call Treyburn home.
► Meetings & Events
Durham has 300,000 net square feet of meeting space in major hotel convention centers, several conference facilities, and unique meeting venues including the Durham Civic Center Complex with 120,000 usable square feet.
► "Triangle" or "Research Triangle"
Use of the term “Triangle” or “Research Triangle”, was first coined to refer to an area anchored by three major universities: Duke University in Durham (and later North Carolina Central University), the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The three joined in the 1950’s to help create Research Triangle Park, centered in southeast Durham.Today, the term is used to refer to a five-county metropolitan statistic area or census laborshed, or a 3,000 square mile, six-county, 26-community planning region.
► Durham History at-a-Glance
Long before the Bull City was named for Dr. Bartlett Durham in the 1800's, the community was making history. Before Europeans arrived, two Native American tribes – the Eno and the Occaneechi, related to the Sioux – lived and farmed here. Durham is thought to be the site of an ancient Native American village named Adshusheer. The Great Indian Trading Path is traced through Durham, and Native Americans helped to mold Durham by establishing settlement sites, transportation routes, and environmentally-friendly patterns of natural resource use.
Europeans
In 1701, Durham's beauty was chronicled by the explorer John Lawson, who called the area "the flower of the Carolinas." During the mid-1700's, Scots, Irish, and English colonists settled on land granted to John Carteret, Earl of Granville, by King Charles I (for whom the Carolinas are named). Early settlers built gristmills, such as West Point, and worked the land.
Revolutionary War Prior to the American Revolution, frontiersmen in what is now Durham were involved in the "War of Regulators". According to legend, Loyalist militia cut Cornwallis Road through this area in 1771 to quell the rebellion. Later, William Johnston, a local shopkeeper and farmer, forged Revolutionary ammunition, served in the Provincial Capital Congress in 1775, and helped underwrite Daniel Boone's westward explorations.
Antebellum During the period between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, large plantations such as Hardscrabble, Cameron, and Leigh were established. 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 the Revolutionary War. In 1849, Dr. Bartlett Durham, for whom the city is named, provided land for a railroad station.
War Between the States
Due to a disagreement between plantation owners and farmers, North Carolina was the last state to secede from the Union. Durhamites fought in several North Carolina regiments. Seventeen days after Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox, Union General Sherman and Confederate General Johnston negotiated the largest surrender and the end of the Civil War at Bennett Place in Durham.
Click here and learn more about the history and architecture of Durham by consulting the Durham Bibliography compiled by staff of the Durham County Library.
► Climate
Latitude: 35° 52' N
Longitude: 78° 47' W
Elevation: Ft. Grnd 416, Baro 415
Time Zone: Eastern
Temperatures here are very pleasing, allowing for outdoor activities like golf almost year round. Seasonal temperatures fall into the following ranges:
Month
High
Low
Rain
F
C
F
C
per month
January
50
10.0
29
-1.7
3.48
February
52
11.1
30
-1.1
3.69
March
61
16.1
37
2.8
3.77
April
72
22.2
46
7.8
2.59
May
78
25.6
55
12.8
3.92
June
85
29.4
62
16.7
3.68
July
88
31.1
67
19.4
4.01
August
87
30.6
66
18.9
4.02
September
81
27.2
60
15.6
3.19
October
71
21.7
47
8.3
2.86
November
61
16.1
38
3.3
2.98
December
52
11.1
31
-0.6
3.24
Annual Average
69.8
21.0
47.3
8.5
3.5
F=Fahrenheit, C=Celsius
► Airport - Durham & Raleigh
“Raleigh-Durham” is the name of the airport that serves two distinct metropolitan statistical areas -one centered around Durham, NC, and another called Raleigh-Cary. The airport is co-owned by the cities of Durham and Raleigh, along with Durham and Wake counties. RDU is located at the western edge of Wake County, midway between the cities of Durham and Raleigh.
Please visit www.rdu.com, in order to see details for airlines and destinations served.
► Transportation in Durham
The City of Durham Department of Transportation is responsible for a broad range of transportation planning, operational and service functions. These include traffic and parking operations, transit service, and lead planning agency functions for the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC-MPO).
TAXI CAB.
Average cost of a cab from RDU International Airport to Downtown Durham, $29-$30
DURHAM AREA TRANSIT.
Average cost of riding a City bus, $1.00 and free for youth 12 & under and seniors
(transfers are free)
TRIANGLE TRANSIT
Triangle Transit has a distance-based fare system, where the farther you travel, the more you pay. Fares usually range from $1.50 to $2.00
Durham is a compact, 299-square-mile, single city-county of 246,924 residents characterized by hills, dales, meandering rivers, several lakes, and 98,000 acres of hardwood and evergreen forests.
For maps and guides please visit the official website of Durham Convention and Visitor Bureau: www.durham-nc.com/visitors/maps
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Research Triangle Park: A 7,000-acre Southeast Durham-based, special county research and production district, encompassed by the city of Durham and served by Durham postal substation, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. More than 140 major research companies employing 39,000.
War Between the States
“Raleigh-Durham” is the name of the airport that serves two distinct metropolitan statistical areas -one centered around Durham, NC, and another called Raleigh-Cary. The airport is co-owned by the cities of Durham and Raleigh, along with Durham and Wake counties. RDU is located at the western edge of Wake County, midway between the cities of Durham and Raleigh.
