North Durham County Byway

Overview

Durham County, famous for being the home of the Research Triangle Park, Duke University, and North Carolina Central University, is also known for its beautiful countryside, waterways, and historic plantation farmlands. On the byway, motorists can explore Durham County’s history as well as its forests, lakes, and rivers. Soon after the byway begins, travelers will encounter the historic plantations of Fairntosh and Stagville, once owned by the prominent Cameron and Bennehan families. Today, a variety of preservation and African-American history studies are conducted at Stagville, a state historic site that was once among the largest plantation holdings in the South. As you travel on US 501, catch a glimpse of Quail Roost, which was organized as a hunt club in 1875 by influential Durhamites. It became one of the nation’s leading stables and dairy farms and is now the training stable and home of both Duke University’s equestrian team and the Rougemont Red Mountain Hounds Hunt Club. As you continue to weave in and out of the rolling terrain and farmland, absorb the images of rural life that the byway embodies.