Private Tour Options

Preservation Durham is excited to offer private tours all year round! While we have multiple annual tours like our cemetery tour and Cocktails and Cornices, our private tour options allow much more flexibility in tour themes and timing. 

Private Group Tour Offerings:

1. Civil Rights Walking Tour: This tour tells the story of the civil rights movement in Durham. This exciting tour focuses on many of the sites in downtown Durham that were important during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, including the Durham County Courthouse, the Durham Arts Council (the former site of Durham High School and City Hall), and the Kress and Woolworth buildings, sites of sit-in protests. Learn about the contributions of ordinary Durham residents to the struggle for equality, as well as local leaders like Floyd McKissick and national leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., who brought America’s attention to the campaign for civil rights in the Bull City.
2. Durham Architecture Walking Tour: Learn how the city has transformed itself from a rough-and tumble manufacturing center to a city of advanced technology and medicine. Our tour guides describe the history of many of the landmark buildings that make up the Downtown Historic District. Featured on the tour are the 1915 First National Bank, the 1921 Mechanics and Farmers Bank building, and the 1933 Snow Building. Built by the successful entrepreneurs of early 20th century Durham, buildings downtown were created by nationally known architects, as well as local architects. There are examples of many popular 20th century styles, including Art Deco, Italianate, Neo-Classical, and post-World War II modern.
3. Tobacco History Heritage Tour:  Join us as we explore Durham’s tobacco heritage. Durham was one of the most important centers of cigarette manufacturing, and buildings dating from 1869 to 1948 are the background for the story of the many people who worked in the tobacco industry  Our enthusiastic and well-informed tour guides will lead you through the history of the tobacco industry as they use oral histories and photographs to illustrate the history of tobacco and the people who used tobacco products throughout the world. The tour includes descriptions of life in the factories and at home for the thousands of workers who made the Bull City one of the biggest industrial centers of the South.

Cemetery Tour Offerings:

Our current private tour offerings for cemetery tours all take place at Maplewood Cemetery, with a larger annual cemetery tour that includes numerous cemeteries in the fall.

1. Murder Mayhem Misfortune - Stories of people who died in gruesome or unhappy circumstances.
2. Segregation and Equity In Durham– Tell the stories of the Fitzgerald and Henderson families, the Geer, Beechwood, and Hebrew cemeteries, and segregation. While this tour includes discussions of numerous cemeteries, it will be held at the Maplewood Cemetery.
3. Durham Politics- This tour focuses on Durham politics during Reconstruction and fusion, and discusses themes of white supremacy
4. Remarkable Women – This tells the stories of some remarkable women, hence the title, who are buried at Maplewood Cemetery.
5. Old Maplewood Survey Tour - This tour covers the oldest part of the cemetery in an hour and a half.

Pricing:

Our private tour options require a $200 minimum with a price of $15/per person. This money is used to support our volunteers with an honorarium and to ensure Preservation Durham can continue to grow our programming capabilities.

For more information or inquiries in signing-up for a private tour, reach out to Julia Lasure, Preservation Durham's Programs and Membership Coordinator, at jlasure@preservationdurham.org