Newsletter, October 2026

Fall is finally here! Now that it’s a bit more comfortable outside there’s no better time to get out and about to enjoy some local history. Our team is gearing up for a season full of events and programs. So, grab a pumpkin-flavored beverage and come hang out with Preservation Durham this Fall!

If you’ve not yet had a chance to experience Hymns for Salted Bones: A Re-Membering of Hayti Walking tour, then you’ll definitely want to register for one of the upcoming tours. Whistle Stop Tours, Hayti Promise CDC, and Preservation Durham have come together to offer an immersive experience along the Fayetteville Street Corridor. This crucial part of the Hayti Community was home to many of Durham’s movers and shakers. The performance highlights residences, businesses, and people who were instrumental in the development and fabric of Hayti. Participants will be guided through an immersive experience centering around community testimonies brought to life through performance art. Together we will preserve dignity, confront loss, embrace belonging, and invite collective responsibility. Tours will be going out on select Saturdays in October and November.

October features two more opportunities to explore Durham’s history from fresh perspectives. First up is the Harkrader Home Tour—a special treat for fans of our annual spring Home Tour. In partnership with NC Modernist, we’ll showcase six passive-solar homes designed by Richard Harkrader and built by New Morning Construction, the company founded by Richard and Lonna Harkrader. Each home was designed for greater energy efficiency and sustainability while complementing its natural surroundings.

Ready to embrace the Halloween season? Kick it off with a Halloween Cemetery Tour of historic Maplewood Cemetery, Durham’s oldest municipally owned cemetery. As you explore, a local historian will share true stories of murder, mayhem, and misfortune, of Durham’s dearly departed.

We’ll wrap up the event season with a bang, our annual Awards Ceremony and Preservation Party! Each year, we honor outstanding preservation work in our community, and this year’s ceremony will recognize nine award winners whose thoughtful projects have gone above and beyond. Join us at The Rickhouse Durham on November 17, from 5:30pm-7:30pm for drinks, appetizers, an auction featuring can’t-miss items, and an evening celebrating Durham’s preservation achievements!

Here are the amazing award winners who will be celebrated:

Jesse Gerstl for prioritizing preservation through his local businesses, Soif and Delafia.
Carol Anderson for 43 years of Vaguely Reminiscent, a business that helped revitalize and preserve Ninth Street and was a hub for community activism and gathering.
The Booker T Spicely Committee for their mission in sharing the life and history of Pfc. Booker T Spicely through a wide array of educational programming.
The owners and designers of Delancy Tavern for their fantastic job in preserving the historic Weeks Motor Company/Hutchins Auto Supply building.
Kelsey Graywill for Hyperlocal Dispatch, a zine collective that shares the history, and advocates for, the preservation of Durham’s built environment, community, and stories.
Cadence Construction for their dedication to intentional restoration and renovation of historic properties in Durham.
Amos Cooper Jr. for his incredible work in preserving 104 W Parrish St, an important cornerstone along Durham’s historic Black Wall Street.
Rochelle Araujo for her careful and impressive restoration of 911 S. Duke St.
Pier and Curtain Home Restoration LLC for their wonderful and purposeful restoration of 210 E Trinity St.

Phew, that’s a full lineup! We’re busy planning these events and tours while continuing our essential work of advocating for Durham’s historic landscape. This work is possible only because of our members’ ongoing support. If you’re a sustaining member, thank you for making this work possible! If you’re considering becoming a member, join today and enjoy our exciting lineup of Fall events!

Caitlin Avinger

Executive Director

Emorywood Estates National Register Nomination Unanimously Approved

Durham’s Historic Preservation Commission unanimously voted to approve the Emorywood Estates National Register Nomination on September 1, 2026. The nomination will be reviewed at the October 8, 2026, meeting of the NC National Register Advisory Committee. If recommended, the NC State Historic Preservation Office will send the nomination to the National Park Service.

“The Emorywood Estates subdivision is a mid-1960s curvilinear and cul-de-sac street, limited access development located southeast of downtown Durham, North Carolina. The proposed district measures approximately 103 acres with 139 houses, a park and two walls. One hundred and nine are contributing, while thirty houses are non-contributing. There is one contributing site, a community park, and two non-contributing structures—the new entrance signs. Emorywood Estates is completely residential and composed of single-family homes. The subdivision’s layout follows the Federal Housing Administration’s guidelines, originating in the 1930s, that recommended curvilinear streets and cul-de-sacs. It does not have sidewalks. The subdivision is heavily wooded. Some houses occupy multiple lots. Ranch houses are the predominant form and style. Split level and split foyer houses are also present, and a small number of contemporary-style homes are in the district. The houses have a uniform setback and are oriented toward the street. Each house has a curb cut.”

~ Emorywood Estates National Register Form

2026 Preservation Party & Annual Awards

Tuesday November 17th, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Preservation Durham Awards recognize those who have taken significant care in preserving Durham’s built environment and those who have creatively and innovatively engaged with, transformed, and disseminated Durham’s rich history. The awards seek to broaden our preservation community by celebrating what preservation looks like across Durham County. Congratulations to our nine award winners!

Join us on Tuesday, 11/17/26 from 5:30pm-7:30pm at the Rickhouse to celebrate the award winners. The Rickhouse at 609 Foster Street was built in 1938 as a tobacco prizery and warehouse for the RJ Reynolds Company. Free event open to the public, with appetizers and drinks. Suggested $50 donation/group of attendees. The silent auction will feature items from local favorites, including Eastcut Sandwich, Seraphine, Boricua Soul, Alley Twenty-Six, Unleashed Mutts, Museum of Life & Science, Neomonde, Cloche Coffee, Bright Black Candles, and Gibson Girl Vintage.

Photos courtesy Brand Fortner from September 26th tour.

Preservation Durham and Hayti Promise CDC are partnering with Whistle Stop Tours to host a theatrical tour of six homes along the historic Fayetteville Street Corridor, funded through the ARPA grant as part of the Fayetteville Street Corridor Project. The Fayetteville Street Corridor was a crucial part of the Hayti Community, home to many movers and shakers in Durham. Featured along this tour are the Dr. Leroy Swift Office and Residence, the Harriet Tubman YWCA, the Dr. Joseph N. Mills House, the F.K. "Movie King" and Parepa Watkins House, the Page and Sons Grocery Store, and the Scarborough House. Prepare for an immersive storytelling experience centering community testimonies brought to life through performance art.

Tours are 2:00pm-3:30pm on the following Saturdays:

10/3, 10/17, 11/7, 11/14, 11/21

NC Modernist and Preservation Durham are delighted to present the Harkrader Home Tour. From 1972-2000, Richard and Lonna Harkrader founded, owned and operated New Morning Construction and New Morning Realty, two businesses that built numerous passive solar, energy efficient homes and apartments with a unique architectural style in and around the Morehead Hill neighborhood of Durham.

We’ll showcase six passive-solar homes designed by Richard Harkrader and built by New Morning Construction. Each home was designed for greater energy efficiency and sustainability while complementing its natural surroundings. If you’d like to volunteer as a docent for the tour, please sign up HERE. Volunteers help for half the tour, and get a ticket to enjoy the other half of the tour.

What's a Durham Shorthorn? Who lived on the hilltops and who lived in the creek bottoms? Where were Durham's three municipal incinerators located? Who saved Trinity College from bankruptcy? What do the Blue Ridge Parkway, the National Cathedral and Duke’s West Campus all have in common? What does the invention of English Mustard in 1720 have to do with Durham?

Who stopped Duke from building a Barnes & Noble down the street from the Regulator Bookshop? Where did Madonna take early dance lessons? Who dedicated the Muhammad Ali Gymnasium in Durham? What does a Saturday morning press conference in 1964, with locked doors in the largest federal auditorium in DC, have to do with the Bill City?

Come along and find out! Saturday, October 25th at 10am, the two hour walking tour starts at Ninth & Green. Local street historian John Schelp will lead the tour through Old West, Watts-Hillandale, Walltown and across East Campus.

Co-hosted by the Museum of Durham History, Preservation Durham, and the Sierra Club. Parking on nearby streets. No four-legged friends please. Peel off anytime. Free, no registration needed. See more photos from John: @postcardsfromdurham

Celebrate the macabre and strange with Preservation Durham in Historic Maplewood Cemetery this Halloween! Join one of our special Halloween tours on Saturday, October 31. Tours at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Come hear startling, mysterious, and often touching stories about Durhamites who entered the dreary regions of the dead through murder, mayhem, and misfortune - like the young man who was killed by a lion or the society leader who fell from a great height. Then there are the stories of the gunfight over the piano, the girl killed by the elevator, and the young fellow who didn't look both ways at the train station. All these and more will be revealed during a lovely walk through Durham's peaceful Maplewood Cemetery.

Presenting Partner

Preservation Partner

George Watts Hill Circle

Preservation Friends

Built around 1923, 1503 Fayetteville Street has a hip-roofed front porch supported by tapered wood posts on brick piers. The low gable over the entrance is accessed by a brick stairway with brick knee walls. Sarah and Ira Evans were the original owners from 1924-1925. Ira was from Granville NC, and worked as an embalmer and taxi driver.

Dr. John Walter Vincent Cordice and Pearl Cordice were the longest owners of the home, starting in 1925. Dr. Cordice was born in St. Vincent, West Indies, where he received his primary education and studied pharmacy. He attended Howard University’s medical school, graduating as the honor graduate in 1911. Dr. Cordice eventually started practicing medicine in Greensboro, NC, where he met Pearl Hollingsworth, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana.

Dr. Cordice was stationed in Aurora, NC, during WWI as a member of the US Public Health Service. Facing an influenza outbreak, Dr. Cordice was “...the only doctor in a 200-mile radius of dying people.” During this time, Dr. Cordice trained Pearl as a nurse and anesthetist. In Aurora, the Cordices worked together to help the community, delivering babies, performing surgeries, and providing general medical help. The family then moved to Durham for Dr. Cordice to work at Lincoln Hospital where he served as the chief of surgical staff, and ran his own private practice. The Cordices had four children and were very active in the community. Pearl earned her master’s degree in education from North Carolina College in 1944 and taught at W.G. Pearson Elementary, later directing the Mount Vernon Baptist Day Care Center.

Preservation Durham protects the Dr. J.W.V. and Pearl Cordice House with an easement.

2316 West Club Blvd is a story-and-a-half, end-gable, minimal Tudor cottage. The front elevation is dominated by a steep-roofed (90 degree) gable projection. The front entry in the center of the house has double sash windows arranged symmetrically on either side. A similar set of windows is positioned in the upper gable creating regulating lines that mirror the roof line.

Per his obituary and the entries in the Durham city directories, John Calvin Kluttz came to Durham from Cabarrus County. He was a real estate broker, investor, and builder. For a time, he was also a manager at Erwin Mills in West Durham. John and his first wife, Sarah Anna Broadway Kluttz had nine children together before Sarah died in 1915. In 1926, the Kluttz family resided at 1005 Eighth Street (now Iredell Street), before moving into the new house on West Club Boulevard.

John built the subject house in 1927 as a speculative venture, but then decided to move his large family there. John married Bessie Breedlove in 1929.

Many members of the Kluttz family and their spouses lived in the home until 1996. Elma and Ethel Kluttz were twins who graduated from Trinity College in 1924. Katherine Lavinia Kluttz was one year their junior and among the first students to graduate from the new Duke University. The three sisters all had careers as teachers.

Local events and news from us and our partners in preservation you may be interested in.

Queer History of Durham Tour: Downtown Edition, Friday October 2nd. SOLD OUT. View more upcoming events with the LGBTQ Center of Durham.
Vintage Baseball Day on Saturday, October 3rd, starting at 11am. Enjoy a day of vintage baseball played at the Historic Durham Athletic Park. Duke Homestead welcomes all people to participate and honor the struggles and achievements of the many players over the past century who brought us the Durham baseball culture we know today. Players will wear historic uniforms, follow historic gameplay, and use historic equipment.
Move-A-Bull City on Sunday, October 4th, 12pm-4pm, is Durham’s largest open streets celebration. We’re clearing out the cars and opening up 1.2 miles of Blackwell, Corcoran, and Foster streets for people power. Walk, bike, roll, dance, skip, or boot scoot your way through downtown. Enjoy activities including arts, music, food, wellness, and fitness experiences all along the corridor.
Miracle Road: The Story of Research Triangle Park. Book talk with Mack Paul at Quail Ridge Books (4209 Lassiter Mill Rd, Raleigh) on Wednesday, October 7th at 6:30pm.
Harkrader Home Tour on Saturday, October 10th, 9am-3pm. The Harkrader Home Tour is in partnership with NC Modernist and will feature six passive solar, energy efficient homes.
Durham Big Sweep 2026: Every October, groups from across Durham volunteer to pick up litter in their local neighborhoods, parks, and streams. This is Durham's largest litter cleanup event of the year, coordinated by Keep Durham Beautiful, City of Durham Stormwater Division, and Durham County Soil & Water Conservation District, with help from many other partners.
Bull City BOOs Fest on Saturday, October 17th, 4pm-11pm. Join The MAKRS Society for the 5th annual Halloween Festival at Durham Central Park! Our Halloween Festival features Halloween performances, live DJ’s, breweries, food trucks, performances, activities and more.
Trinity Park Home Tour Sunday, October 18th, 12pm-5pm. Since the mid-1970s, the Trinity Park Home Tour has been a beloved tradition, opening up unique, historic, urban homes for everyone to visit and enjoy. Visit 8 homes and 2 public spaces!
Annual Neighborhoods Walk with John Schelp on Sunday, October 25th from 10am-12pm. Two hour walking tour starts at Ninth & Green Street.
Maplewood Cemetery Halloween Tour on Saturday, October 31st, 11am & 1:30pm. Join us for our Murder, Mayhem, and Misfortune tour of Maplewood Cemetery to begin your Halloween fun!
Preservation Durham Annual Awards Ceremony and Preservation Party. Tuesday, November 17th, 5:30pm-7:30pm, The Rickhouse at 609 Foster St. Free with suggested $50 donation/group. Come celebrate our 2026 award winners for their great work in preserving Durham’s history.
Preservation Durham stands in strong opposition to the proposed rewriting of Section 106. Contact Governor Josh Stein, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, Senator Thom Tillis, and Senator Ted Budd to oppose the weakening of the National Historic Preservation Act.
AMERICAN PICKERS is a documentary series that explores the fascinating world of antique “picking” on The History Channel. The hit show follows skilled pickers in the business, as they hunt for America’s most valuable antiques. As they hit the back roads from coast to coast, the Pickers are on a mission to recycle and rescue forgotten relics. The American Pickers TV Show is looking for leads and would love to explore your hidden treasure. If you or someone you know has a unique item, story to tell, and is ready to sell...we would love to hear from you! (The Pickers DO NOT pick stores, flea markets, malls, auction businesses, museums, or anything open to the public). If interested, please send your name, phone number, location, and description of the collection with photos to: americanpickers@cineflix.com or call (646) 493-2184.

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