National Register of Historic Places

Stagville

Durham, Durham County, North Carolina
Listed
May 24, 1973
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
73001338

About this property

Stagville Plantation is located in Durham County, North Carolina. With buildings constructed from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century, Stagville was part of one of the largest plantation complexes in the American South. The entire complex was owned by the Bennehan, Mantack and Cameron families; it comprised roughly 30,000 acres (120 km2) and was home to almost 900 enslaved African Americans in 1860. The remains of Historic Stagville consist of 71 acres (290,000 m2), in three tracts, and provides a unique look at North Carolina's history and general infrastructure in the antebellum South. Among structures on the Stagville site are several historic houses and barns, including the original Bennehan House and some of the original slave quarters, which were in an area known as Horton Grove. The Bennehan House, built 1787 with a large addition in 1799, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973; Horton Grove, an area of two-story slave residences built in 1850, was listed in 1978. The slave residences are well preserved and are the only two-story slave quarters remaining in North Carolina. Significant archaeological finds around the quarters have given archaeologists and historians a glimpse into the lives of the many enslaved people who lived and worked at Stagville and throughout the Bennehan-Cameron holdings. In 1976, Liggett and Meyers Tobacco Company, which had owned and worked the land for decades, donated some of the acreage to the state of North Carolina, which now operates the property as Historic Stagville State Historic Site, a historic house museum, which belongs to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Location

Durham, Durham County, North Carolina
36.11707, -79.83754

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Stagville

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Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Spotlight
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Points of Interest
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Nearby Historic Sites

Hoskins House Historic District
Listed
1.7 mi
Carter, Wilbur and Martha, House
Industrial
2.1 mi
Guilford College Historic District (Boundary Decrease)
Civil War
2.4 mi
Willis, James H. and Anne B., House
Industrial
2.5 mi
Greensboro Senior High School
Pre Contact
2.5 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Guilford Court House
1781Revolutionary War
2 mi
Action at Guilford Courthouse — Approach Skirmish (1781)
1781Revolutionary War
2.1 mi
Battle of Cox's Mill
1781Revolutionary War
2.3 mi
Battle of Guilford Court House Mar 15 1781
1781Revolutionary War
3.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Stagville listed on the National Register?

Stagville was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Stagville?

Stagville is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Stagville?

The period of significance for Stagville is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Stagville?

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