NC98

Wellons Village

05.22.59 Wellons Village, ~1960 (Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper) Wellons Village, the shopping center, was built in 1959 - Durham's second after Forest Hills Shopping Center, which was built in 1955. (I'm actually not sure when Loehmann' Plaza was built; Northgate was built in 1960, Lakewood was built in 1962 and South Square in 1975.) As the...

Doc Nichols House

04.07.12 Around the turn of the century, “Doc” Nichols built this large, two story Colonial Revival residence. The colossal front porch, ornamented by a roof balustrade, and other decorative details were added during the ownership of the Glover family, who bought the property from the Nichols’ estate in the 1940s. The 1990 owner, Anne Eakes...

5006 Wake Forest Highway

5002 Wake Forest Highway

Forest Drive-In

Aerial view, 1959

Joyland

Ever wonder why there is an area of Durham, out Highway 98 past US70, called "Joyland?" I did. Joyland got its name from the name of an orphanage proposed for the area by the North Carolina Children's Home Society in the early 20th century. Despite the confident "Being Built" on the rendering above, the orphanage never made it past the planning stages. The name, however, stuck.

Oak Grove

Oak Grove is one of the original townships of Durham County; along with Carr Township and Cedar Fork Township, it was originally part of Wake County, while the remaining townships (and bulk of Durham County was originally a part of Orange County. 1890s maps showing Oak Grove township.