302 Pekoe - Stanford L. Warren -Turner- Harrison House

Recent photo
Lot Size:  0.153 acre
Zoning:  R-5
Square Feet: ~2200

    This house was recently moved from its original location on Brant Street to make way for the expansion of North Carolina Central University, the first state-supported liberal Arts school for African Americans in the United States.  This home plays a notable role in African American history in Durham.  First it is located in an area know as the home to some of the most influential individuals of Durham’s Black Wall Street and educational community. It has also housed some very notable occupants.

    In the 1930s, Stanford L Warren, a prominent African-American physician, co-founder of the Lincoln Hospital and supporter of the construction of the Durham Colored Library, which now bears his name, built this Tudor style house.  Dr. Warren moved here from the other side of town to be near his newly wed daughter, Mrs. Selena Wheeler, who still lives in the neighborhood.

    The three-bedroom, two-bath house was also home to Albert Turner, the Dean of the North Carolina College School of Law who enlarged the department and saw its accreditation by the American Bar Association.  Albert Turner lived here until he had a new home built on nearby Nelson Street.

    Until the house was threatened with demolition the Harrison family, the occupants with the longest tenure 42 years, called 409 Brant Street home.  Mr. Harrison was an executive with Mechanics and Farmers Bank, based out of Durham.  His story echoes the story of many that came to Durham.  His business teacher in Nash County Training School, Eva McLaughin, was from Durham and she encouraged all of her students to go to North Carolina College.  Durham was the outstanding place for African Americans with Parrish Street, known throughout the country as Black Wall Street.  Mr. Harrison says, “It was quite something to be working in a black institution.  I am very proud of that fact.”  Mr. Harrison was with Mechanics and Farmers Bank from 1953-1990.

    The house has been moved and is now placed squarely on its new brick foundation with a fresh coat of paint.  The house will need to be reconnected to services and have some minor interior repairs made to restore its glory.  The house is seeking an owner to respect its history at its new home at the corner of Otis and Pekoe.

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