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For more information about Preservation Durham,
please contact HPSD at (919)-682-3036 or
by email
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2003 Historic Bahama:
Durham's Country Crossroads
| Long before Dr. Bartlett Durham sold land to the railroad for a station, many families had settled in the northern part of what was then Orange County. The Umsteads, the Tilleys, the Mangums, the Parrishes, the Balls, the Harrises, the Crabtrees, the Dukes, the Bennehans, and the Camerons all farmed the rolling hills north of the Eno River. |
Tour graphics by Jeff Crawford |
The settlement at the heart of this community had several different names, but in 1891, a new name was created to acknowledge three prominent families, the Balls, the Harrises, and the Mangums, and so Bahama (buh-HAY-muh) was named.
Today, the homes that these families built in the 19th and early 20th centuries cluster around the Mount Bethel United Methodist Church at the Bahama crossroads and dot the winding country roads that lead into
the village. They harken back to the days when a front porch was a necessity of life, when neighbors gathered for impromptu sessions of music and dancing, when the pace of life in the country remained slow even while the city of Durham was growing fast with booming tobacco factories and cotton mills just ten miles to the south. |
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Some of Bahama's homes still belong to descendants of their builders. Others have been adopted by newcomers to Durham and Bahama. All have been lovingly preserved or renovated. HPSD is pleased to invite you to come out to enjoy a day in the country, to share the life of Bahama and its people, and to support the preservation of Durham's architecture and history. |
| April 29 Tour Introduction Program |
Preservation Durham's panel of long-time Bahama residents entertained an enthusiastic audience with stories about their lives in Durham's Country Crossroads on the Tuesday before the tour |
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Speakers at the Bahama Ruritan Club included (L to R) Shirley Jones Mallard, author of Bahama Heritage , the book that inspired the tour; tour homeowner and lifelong Bahama resident Alton Mangum; Gwen Rountree of the Little River Community Center; Dr. Marie Roberts, who practiced medicine in Bahama for over 40 years; and Merle Umstead Richey, daughter of Bahama native Gov. William Umstead. |
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During a break in the program, Dr. Roberts talked to Bob Martin, another tour homeowner. The renovators panel included (L to R) Dianne and John Bittikofer and Judy Crabtree. The Bittikofers showed slides of their house before and during the extensive renovations they carried out after purchasing the house in the 1970s. Mrs. Crabtree grew up in her house, which was built by her great-great-grandfather. The Marcus Tilley House, home of the Crabtrees, and the Adolphus Umstead House, home of the Bittikofers, are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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| Tour's Eve Celebration a Traditional Pig Pickin'! |
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Just 13 miles north of Main Street on Bahama Road, this picturesque rustic-style hall overlooks beautiful Lake Michie. The Bahama Woman's Club provided a traditional pig pickin' with all the fixings and delicious home-made cakes for dessert!
The party took advantage of the spring weather with tables set out on the lawn in front of the Lodge. Some partygoers enjoyed the pleasant screened porch on the lake side of the Lodge. |
Local blues legend John Dee Holeman and musician/historian Billy Stevens provided the entertainment. As storm clouds threatened, celebrants moved indoors, gathering around as Billy told stories of the birth of Piedmont blues around the tobacco warehouses of Durham and he and John Dee played and sang the tunes that created the style. 
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| Country Crossroads Pictures |
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Preservation Durham's 7th annual Old Durham Home Tour brought several hundred visitors ten miles north from downtown Durham to rural Bahama, Durham's Country Crossroads. Preservation Durham volunteers greeted tour-goers at each of the tour sites. Right, ticket-taker Victoria George welcomes a visitor to the Marcus Mangum House. Tour-goers were able to walk from house to house to see the four sites clustered at the Bahama crossroads.
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Homeowner James Bowling explains some of his renovations to visitors on the front porch of his 1912 house. Tour-goers were eager to see the extensive work he had done throughout the house.
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| Preservation Durham Education Coordinator Perry Pike and Executive Director John Compton take a turn at the tour headquarters tent at Mangum School. Preservation Durham provided shuttle buses to take tour-goers to the houses that were beyond walking distance from the Bahama crossroads. Tour-goers could get on and off the buses at the crossroads bus stop.
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| Tour-goers enjoyed entertainment provided by cloggers and gospel singers at Picture Perfect. This building is the former home of Parrish's Store, where for many years local musicians gathered weekly for sessions of picking and dancing.
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| Tour-goers were able to explore the unique interior of each house. The Lyon Roberts House (Left) built in 1918, has Arts and Crafts details. The Adolphus Umstead House still has many features original to the house, which was built in the mid-19th century and renovated by the present owners in the 1970s.
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One feature that almost all the tour houses share is a front porch. HPSD volunteers and homeowners extended a warm country welcome to tour-goers who enjoyed a pleasant day in the country at Durham's Country Crossroads. Clockwise from top left, the Marcus Mangum, Marcus Tilley, Betty Ann Tilley, and Adolphus Umstead Houses.
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| Archives and Tour Pictures |
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