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Key local figure

Carl T. Durham

Carl T. Durham (1892–1974) was born at White Cross in Orange County and worked as a pharmacist at Eubanks Drugstore in Chapel Hill. He served as a Chapel Hill alderman and county commissioner before representing the district in Congress for 22 years.

Source: Open Orange: Carl Durham

Also found in catalogs as Carl Thomas Durham.

1892–1974 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗

10 works about Carl T. Durham are indexed here, as is one work by Durham.

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Carl T. Durham, 1939
Carl T. Durham, 1939

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineEubanks Drug Store, Chapel Hill, 1897–19641897–1964 · 7 events · Clyde Eubanks, a Chapel Hill druggist since 1892, bought the drugstore when Dr. Roberson died in 1897. In 1901 he moved it into a new building he had put up, and in 1914 into another on his own lot about a hundred yards west. Carl Durham went to work at the store in 1913 and came back as a pharmacist after serving in the Navy Hospital Corps. In 1949 the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association gave Eubanks its Mortar and Pestle Award. He sold the property to North Carolina National Bank and in 1964, on the eve of his retirement at 93, was named Merchant of the Year. Ben Courts then took over the store. StorylineOrange County’s elections of 1936, 1938 and 19401936–1940 · 10 events · In the 1936 Democratic primary for governor Orange County stood by its native son, A. H. (Sandy) Graham, giving him 2,754 votes to 817 for Ralph McDonald and 230 for Clyde Hoey. In the July runoff the county went for Hoey, and B. J. Howard of Chapel Hill won the runoff for the state House. In 1938 Carl T. Durham became the Democratic nominee for Congress, the county executive committee voted 7 to 6 for Collier Cobb Jr. to take Durham's place on the commissioners ticket, and every Democrat on the county ticket won by a wide margin. In 1940 three Chapel Hill candidates entered the Democratic primary for the House, and the election board chose to re-list voters. StorylineHillsboro’s new post office, 1948–19591948–1959 · 13 events · In 1949 Hillsboro was chosen for the Sixth District's new federal post office building, and the post office moved into a new building in July 1958, after a dispute over the site. Tom Bivins, a World War II veteran appointed postmaster in 1948, opened seven offers of sites in 1950 and resigned for his health in 1956. Maude Brown then became acting postmaster, the first Republican appointee in the post since before the Roosevelt years. In 1957 the town board protested Fred Cates Jr.'s plan to build a post office beside the Eno River bridge and lease it to the government, but the Post Office Department accepted his offer. President Eisenhower nominated Brown postmaster in 1958 and 1959.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 64 dated events in the chronology →

During their lifetime

  1. Carl Durham begins work at Eubanks Drug Store in Chapel Hill Carl Durham, born in 1892 in the White Cross community of Orange County, went to work at Eubanks Drugstore in Chapel Hill in the summer of 1913. He qualified as a pharmacy apprentice by 1916, studied pharmacy at UNC, served in the Navy Hospital Corps in 1918 and came back to Eubanks as a pharmacist. Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: White Cross communitySearch the index · NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Durham, Carl Thomas (Warner Wells, 1986) · Also: Open Orange: Carl Durham
  2. Carl Durham serves on the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen While working as a pharmacist, Durham sat on the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen from 1921 to 1930 and on the Chapel Hill school board from 1924 to 1938. Place: Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Chapel Hill school boardSearch the index · NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Durham, Carl Thomas (Warner Wells, 1986) · Also: Open Orange: Carl Durham
  3. Chapel Hill's American Legion post elects Carl Durham commander Chapel Hill Post No. 6 of the American Legion elected Carl Durham commander and raised its annual dues to $5 to clear debts it had carried since its organization in 1919. At its supper on March 12 the post chose aid to disabled veterans of the district as its main work for the year. People: Carl T. Durham, Henry Roland Totten Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 8, 1923, p. 4
  4. Chapel Hill observes National Defense Day with exercises at the post office About 100 people gathered at the post office at noon for Defense Day exercises arranged by Carl Durham, commander of the Chapel Hill American Legion post. The Boy Scouts' band played, Robert B. House of the state historical commission was the main speaker, Dean of Students Francis F. Bradshaw and Durham also spoke, E. R. Rankin presided and Rev. A. S. Lawrence led the devotions. House called the day the first intelligent application of the principle of universal service. People: R. B. House, Francis Foster Bradshaw, Alfred Stratton Lawrence, Carl T. Durham Place: Post office, Chapel Hill · Also named: E. R. RankinSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), September 18, 1924, p. 1
  5. Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor Roberson and chooses its first six-member board under a new charter Under a charter amendment passed by the 1925 legislature, Chapel Hill elected six aldermen instead of five, three for four years and three for two, on a printed official ballot. Only 76 voters came to the polls at the school on May 5, 1925; they re-elected W. S. Roberson mayor and chose Carl Durham, M. E. Hogan and Gustave M. Braune for four-year terms and R. D. W. Connor, C. L. Wills and B. S. Williams for two. People: W. S. Roberson, R. D. W. Connor, Gustave M. Braune, Milton E. Hogan, Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel Hill school (polling place), Chapel Hill · Also named: C. L. Wills, B. S. WilliamsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 7, 1925, p. 1
  6. Druggist Clyde Eubanks joins the Chapel Hill board of aldermen On August 12, 1926, the Chapel Hill aldermen elected druggist Clyde Eubanks to the board in place of Carl Durham, who had resigned after moving his home outside the town limits. The same week Eubanks became president of the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association. People: Clyde Eubanks, Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 13, 1926, p. 1
  7. University alumni in Chapel Hill organize a local association Chapel Hill's University alumni and alumnae organized a local association, electing Carl Durham president, R. D. W. Connor vice president, R. B. House secretary and E. M. Knox treasurer, and voted to give a January dinner for faculty members with 30 years of service. Some 340 former students lived in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. People: R. D. W. Connor, Carl T. Durham Place: Episcopal parish house, Chapel Hill · Also named: R. B. House, E. M. KnoxSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 10, 1926, p. 1
  8. Chapel Hill dairymen and a citizens' committee agree on a lower milk price At a joint meeting with the mayor's citizens' committee, the dairymen agreed to sell milk at 17 1/2 cents a quart, 60 cents a gallon and 10 cents a pint for three months. The committee, which noted that a town ordinance kept residents from owning cows, also urged a dairymen's association and a permanent milk commission. People: Dudley Dewitt Carroll, Carl T. Durham, S. A. Nathan Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 27, 1928, p. 1
  9. Chapel Hill's board of adjustment bars banners across Franklin Street On August 27, 1929, Chapel Hill's zoning board of adjustment refused permission for a banner across Franklin Street advertising a merchants' trade week and resolved unanimously against any banners across the street in future, for shows, reunions or any other occasion, as marring the look of the town. People: Dudley Dewitt Carroll, Louis Graves, Clarence Pickard, Carl T. Durham Place: Franklin Street, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 30, 1929, p. 1
  10. Carl Durham's diggers find Dr. Bartlett Durham's grave in southwestern Orange At the request of a Durham committee that wanted to honor the man the city was named for, Carl Durham, his uncle John Durham, and three Black diggers led by Tom Stone opened seven graves in the abandoned Snipes graveyard near the Haw River before finding Dr. Bartlett Durham's metal casket under a pine tree. They covered it again, and the Weekly reported that William F. Carr's committee of the Durham Rotary Club would plan a monument and ceremonies. Place: Snipes graveyard, southwestern Orange County near the Haw River · Also named: John Durham, Tom Stone, William F. Carr, Bartlett DurhamSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 20, 1929, p. 1
  11. Mayor's milk committee recommends cheaper milk, and dairies cut the price A citizens' committee named by Mayor Zeb Council and chaired by D. D. Carroll heard the dairymen and recommended 12 1/2 cents a quart for raw and pasteurized milk. The aldermen thanked it but set no price, and the Durham Road Dairy and several smaller dairies cut their prices from February 1. People: Dudley Dewitt Carroll, Zeb P. Council, Carl T. Durham Place: Town manager's office and board of aldermen, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, February 12, 1932, p. 1
  12. The Chapel Hill school board drops six teachers and the school secretary Soon after Superintendent Hoyle resigned, the board, chaired by W. S. Roberson, told six teachers and the secretary they would not be re-elected, after a committee inquiry into the school; no economy was involved, as the next budget kept the same pay scale. The Weekly reported that many parents thought the notices came too late and too suddenly for the teachers to find other places. People: W. S. Roberson, R. E. Coker, Edgar Wallace Knight, Eric A. Abernethy, Milton E. Hogan, Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel Hill schoolSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 27, 1932, p. 1
Show all 63 dated events
  1. Carl Durham serves on the Orange County Board of Commissioners Durham was appointed to the Orange County Board of Commissioners in April 1933 to succeed R. A. Eubanks, who had resigned to become Chapel Hill postmaster, and served until 1938, when he was elected to Congress. In 1935 he proposed and secured $22,000 in federal aid for a rural electrification line in the Calvander-Orange Grove area, and in 1937 he was elected a UNC trustee. Place: Orange County · Also named: R. A. EubanksSearch the index · NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Durham, Carl Thomas (Warner Wells, 1986) · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, May 11, 1934, p. 1; Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952; Open Orange: Carl Durham; Chapel Hill Weekly, November 11, 1932, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, April 21, 1933, p. 2; Chapel Hill Weekly, April 7, 1933, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, June 23, 1933, p. 1
  2. Chapel Hill aldermen bar new apartment houses from the Residence A zones Amending the 1928 zoning ordinance, the aldermen forbade building or converting apartment houses in the Residence A zones, except that an owner living in a house might add one more family unit. Neighbors had objected at a hearing two days earlier to a plan to turn the former Acacia house at Franklin and Boundary streets into apartments, which the old wording allowed. People: Louis Graves, Carl T. Durham Place: Town Hall, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 19, 1933, p. 1
  3. Orange County commissioners cut every real estate assessment by 25 percent After the 1933 legislature adjourned, the Orange County commissioners ordered a flat 25 percent cut in all real estate valuations. With personal property assessments also falling, the county accountant expected the county's total assessed value to drop to about $14 million from $17,164,349 in 1932, and at a special session on June 19 the board heard owners' appeals and granted about $2,000 more in reductions. People: Gilbert W. Ray, Carl T. Durham Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 7, 1933, p. 1
  4. Orange County drops its contract jailer and puts a deputy sheriff in charge of the jail The county commissioners ended the system of paying the jailer a monthly sum plus a daily fee for boarding each prisoner, which they thought encouraged poor feeding, and gave a salaried deputy sheriff charge of the jail, with the county accountant buying the food. Jail spending for 1933-34 came to $1,675 of the $3,750 budgeted. People: Gilbert W. Ray, W. P. Berry, John Hodge Hanner, Carl T. Durham Place: County jail, HillsboroughSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 13, 1934, p. 1
  5. Orange County Democrats renominate Sheriff Sloan and back Owen Robertson for the state senate In the June 2 primary Owen S. Robertson of Hillsboro led the state senate race in Orange with 1,872 votes to 1,329 for John Sprunt Hill and 1,310 for T. S. Neal; Hill and Robertson won the district nominations. Sheriff W. T. Sloan beat Frank Cole 1,531 to 1,149, B. J. Howard was nominated for the House over L. J. Phipps 1,219 to 1,132, and W. P. Berry, Carl T. Durham and John H. Hanner were nominated for county commissioner. Register of Deeds S. W. Andrews fell short of a majority, and a runoff with A. S. Cheek was expected on June 30. People: John Sprunt Hill, Carl T. Durham, Samuel Weldon Andrews, William T. Sloan, W. P. Berry, B. J. Howard, Owen S. Robertson Place: Orange County precincts · Also named: A. S. Cheek, John H. Hanner, L. J. PhippsSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), June 7, 1934, p. 1
  6. The park below the University Lake dam opens as a public recreation ground The state board of health had closed the picnic ground below the dam for want of sanitary facilities. With $250 from the Chapel Hill Movie Guild, private gifts and Emergency Relief labor, the town built two bath-houses and a septic tank and hired a caretaker-lifeguard, and the University turned the three-acre park over to the town for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. People: Brodie Thompson, George H. Lawrence, Peter L. Burch, Carl T. Durham Place: Park below the University Lake dam, near CarrboroThe Chapel Hill Weekly, June 22, 1934, p. 1
  7. Orange County commissioners order a study of power lines for farm homes After the success of the Civil Works power line to Calvander, the commissioners asked farm agent Don Matheson, county accountant G. W. Ray and relief administrator George H. Lawrence to study a network of rural power lines with D. S. Weaver of State College. The officials ruled out a Public Works loan, judging that so few customers could not carry the debt, and hoped for direct federal aid. People: George H. Lawrence, Gilbert W. Ray, W. P. Berry, John Hodge Hanner, Henry S. Hogan, Carl T. Durham, Don S. Matheson Place: County commissioners' meeting, Hillsborough · Also named: D. S. WeaverThe Chapel Hill Weekly, July 6, 1934, p. 1
  8. Orange County commissioners cut the tax rate to 78 cents and restore officials' salaries The commissioners lowered the county tax rate from 87 to 78 cents and restored the 10 per cent cut made in county officers' salaries two years before. The Weekly credited savings on the jail and court and a rise of about $200,000 in assessments. People: Gilbert W. Ray, W. P. Berry, John Hodge Hanner, Carl T. Durham Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 10, 1934, p. 1
  9. Democrats sweep Orange County in the 1934 general election Orange County voters returned the full Democratic ticket on November 6, 1934: W. T. Sloan as sheriff, A. W. Kenion as clerk, S. W. Andrews as register of deeds, G. G. Bivens as treasurer, B. J. Howard to the state House, and Carl Durham, John Hanner and W. P. Berry as commissioners, while Owen Robertson (2,099) and John Sprunt Hill (1,962) beat the Republican R. P. Hackney (1,189) for the district's two Senate seats. In the Chapel Hill precinct the Democrats ran about 570 votes to the Republicans' 100. People: John Sprunt Hill, Samuel Weldon Andrews, Owen S. Robertson, William T. Sloan, W. P. Berry, John Hodge Hanner, B. J. Howard, Alonzo W. Kenion, Carl T. Durham Place: Orange County precincts · Also named: G. G. Bivens, Owen Robertson · Also mentions: Chapel Hill precinctSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 9, 1934, p. 1
  10. Chapel Hill committee declines a state historical marker opposite the campus A committee of Mayor John M. Foushee, Aldermen Clyde Eubanks and R. J. M. Hobbs, and planning commission members Carl Durham and Louis Graves voted unanimously to decline the State Historical Commission's offer of an aluminum highway marker on Franklin Street naming the University as the first state university to open its doors. After marking out the sign's size, three and a half by three feet, on the bank's directors' table, they judged it too large for the front of the campus. People: Clyde Eubanks, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Louis Graves, John M. Foushee, Carl T. Durham Place: Board room of the Bank of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Franklin StreetSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 22, 1935, p. 1
  11. Orange County war veterans organize at Hillsboro to back Sandy Graham for governor On Friday, May 22, 1936 twenty-five World War veterans met in the courthouse at Hillsboro, with L. J. Phipps presiding, to organize the county's veterans for Lieutenant Governor A. H. Graham of Hillsboro in the Democratic primary for governor. Carl Durham of Chapel Hill and H. G. Coleman of Hillsboro were named to head the campaign in the southern and northern parts of the county. People: Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, Luther James Phipps, Carl T. Durham Place: Orange County courthouse, Hillsboro · Also named: H. G. ColemanSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 29, 1936, p. 1
  12. S. A. Nathan wins a place on the Orange County Board of Commissioners ticket In the Democratic primary Nathan finished second of six candidates for the three county commissioner places, behind Carl T. Durham. People: S. A. Nathan, Carl T. Durham Place: Orange CountySearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 12, 1936, p. 1 (county returns)
  13. Orange County commissioners burn the 1923 school funding bonds At their monthly meeting in Hillsborough the county commissioners adopted a resolution and burned, in the fireplace of their meeting room, the whole $66,000 issue of 1923 school funding bonds, which the county had bought in piece by piece ahead of their 1943 maturity. No one applied for relief at the meeting except for a few clothes for needy schoolchildren, which Commissioner Carl Durham took as a sign that conditions were improving. People: Carl T. Durham Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 9, 1936, p. 1
  14. Orange County gives Roosevelt and the Democratic ticket large majorities Orange County voted 3,489 to 1,506 for Franklin D. Roosevelt over Alf Landon and elected the whole Democratic county ticket, among them S. W. Andrews as register of deeds and John H. Hanner, Carl T. Durham and Dr. S. A. Nathan as county commissioners. The new board met in Hillsborough on December 7, re-elected Hanner chairman and named A. H. Graham county attorney; Nathan took the seat of W. P. Berry. People: Carl T. Durham, S. A. Nathan, Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, Samuel Weldon Andrews, W. P. Berry, John Hodge Hanner Place: Orange County precincts; court house, Hillsborough · Also named: Franklin D. RooseveltSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 6, 1936, p. 1
  15. Duke Power agrees to bring electricity to Caldwell School The Duke Power Company decided in February 1937 to build a line to Caldwell School, the last rural consolidated school in Orange County without electricity; in 1933 none had been on a power line. The county then had about 140 miles of rural lines built or authorized, serving more than 500 families, and Duke Power had agreed to build the whole 30-mile system proposed for a cooperative between Hillsboro and Chapel Hill and around White Cross, not just its better miles. People: Don S. Matheson, Carl T. Durham Place: Caldwell School, Little River TownshipThe Chapel Hill Weekly, February 12, 1937, p. 1
  16. Orange County commissioners hold off on a liquor-store election With the new county-option law passed and Durham County moving to vote on liquor stores, the Orange County commissioners did not take up the question at their March meeting; commissioners Carl Durham and S. A. Nathan said there was no public demand for an election yet, though one might come if Durham and Alamance opened stores. People: S. A. Nathan, John Hodge Hanner, Carl T. Durham Place: Orange County Courthouse, HillsboroughThe Chapel Hill Weekly, March 5, 1937, p. 1
  17. The legislature elects Carl T. Durham a University trustee The General Assembly named Carl T. Durham of Chapel Hill, a county commissioner, member of the Chapel Hill school board and pharmacist with the Eubanks Drug Company, among the University trustees it elected in March 1937. A lifelong Orange County resident, he had studied in the University pharmacy school and served in the Army hospital corps in the World War. Place: Raleigh; Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Chapel Hill school board, University pharmacy schoolSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 19, 1937, p. 1
  18. Orange commissioners raise the county tax rate to 95 cents to meet Social Security costs The county commissioners set the 1937 rate at 95 cents per $100, up 7 cents; the Weekly reported the whole increase was the levy for the county's share of the new Social Security payments to the aged, dependent children and the blind. With Chapel Hill's $1.65, town residents paid a combined $2.60. People: S. A. Nathan, John Hodge Hanner, Carl T. Durham Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 20, 1937, p. 1
  19. Orange Democrats nominate Carl Durham, J. Ed Laws and Ben F. Wilson for county commissioners In a primary fought between two informal slates, Ben F. Wilson (2,213), Carl T. Durham (2,201) and J. Ed Laws (2,071) won the three Democratic nominations for the Orange County board, defeating incumbent Dr. S. A. Nathan (1,492), Robert O. Forrest (1,360), T. J. Wilkerson (1,040) and James H. Whitted (186). People: Carl T. Durham, S. A. Nathan, Ben F. Wilson, Robert O. Forrest Place: Orange County · Also named: J. Ed Laws, T. J. WilkersonSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 10, 1938, p. 1
  20. The county Democratic committee names Collier Cobb Jr. to replace Carl Durham on the commissioners ticket After Carl T. Durham was chosen as the Democratic nominee for Congress, the Orange County Democratic executive committee met in the court house at Hillsboro and picked Collier Cobb Jr. of Chapel Hill to take his place as a candidate for county commissioner. With 13 of its 15 precinct members present and county chairman A. H. Graham presiding, it voted 7 to 6 for Cobb over R. E. Hughes, a Cedar Grove farmer, a closer contest than Cobb's supporters had expected, the Weekly said. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, Carl T. Durham Place: Court house, Hillsboro · Also named: R. E. HughesSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 4, 1938, p. 1
  21. Chapel Hill pharmacist Carl T. Durham is elected to Congress from the Sixth District Durham, who had been named the Sixth District nominee, won the general election over write-in candidate Oscar G. Barker, and Chapel Hill voters gave him 703 votes to Barker's 57. He went on to serve 22 years in the House and retired in 1961. Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Oscar G. BarkerSearch the index · The Daily Tar Heel, November 9, 1938, p. 1
  22. R. J. M. Hobbs leaves the Chapel Hill school board and J. Temple Gobbel joins it The trustees of the Chapel Hill schools elected J. Temple Gobbel on March 31 to fill out the unexpired term of Congressman Carl Durham, and at their April meeting reluctantly accepted the resignation of R. J. M. Hobbs. Under the new school law requiring annual reappointment, they unanimously reappointed superintendent Allison W. Honeycutt. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Carl T. Durham, R. E. Coker, Allison W. Honeycutt Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: J. Temple Gobbel · Also mentions: Chapel Hill schoolsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 7, 1939, p. 1
  23. William S. Hogan is appointed Chapel Hill postmaster President Roosevelt appointed Hogan, assistant postmaster, to succeed Robert A. Eubanks on the nomination of Congressman Carl Durham, and the Senate confirmed him. Durham waived an examination because Hogan had served in the office about twenty years. People: William S. Hogan, Robert A. Eubanks, Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly via DigitalNC: Appointment of Hogan Confirmed By U. S. Senate (August 11, 1939)
  24. Chapel Hill branch of the Women's International League writes Congressman Durham against repealing the arms embargo On September 19, 1939, the executive committee of the Chapel Hill branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom authorized a letter, signed by legislative chairman Dorothy Bonnell, urging Congressman Carl Durham to keep the arms embargo, put basic war materials on a cash-and-carry basis and hold war trade to peacetime levels. The letter answered Durham's statement that 95 percent of the people he had talked with favored repeal. People: Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Dorothy BonnellSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, September 22, 1939, p. 2
  25. Orange Democrats choose John W. Umstead Jr. for the state House and keep their county commissioners In the Democratic primary John W. Umstead Jr. won the nomination for the House with 2,085 votes to 993 for Roland McClamroch and 418 for Raymond Stainback, losing only the South Chapel Hill precinct. Commissioners Collier Cobb Jr., J. Edd Laws and Ben F. Wilson were renominated over Dr. S. A. Nathan, and Orange gave Congressman Carl Durham 2,991 votes to 422 for his three opponents. People: Collier Cobb Jr., S. A. Nathan, Carl T. Durham, Roland P. McClamroch, John W. Umstead Jr., Ben F. Wilson Place: Orange County · Also named: Roland McClamroch, Raymond Stainback, J. Edd LawsSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 31, 1940, p. 1
  26. Orange County gives the Democrats sweeping majorities in the 1940 general election Orange County voted Roosevelt over Willkie 3,671 to 1,100 and returned Carl Durham to Congress, John W. Umstead Jr. to the legislature, and Democrats Collier Cobb, Wilson and Laws to the county board, each with about 3,700 votes against fewer than 800 for the Republicans. The Weekly called the majorities the largest the party had ever piled up in the county. People: Collier Cobb Jr., Carl T. Durham, John W. Umstead Jr. Place: Orange County · Also named: Collier CobbSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 8, 1940, p. 1
  27. President Roosevelt approves a WPA grant for the Negro Community Center in Chapel Hill Congressman Carl Durham learned that President Roosevelt had signed approval of a $12,300 WPA grant for the Negro Community Center, to be built on five acres of the old Craig place bought with $1,500 from a group of citizens. Black masons, carpenters and other skilled workers offered labor in place of money, and Charles Craig drew the plans. People: Carl T. Durham, Joseph Hyde Pratt, Charles C. Craig Place: Old Craig place, northwest Chapel Hill · Also named: Charles CraigThe Chapel Hill Weekly, November 15, 1940, p. 1
  28. National Munitions plant in Carrboro reaches full payroll-deduction bond buying State payroll-savings chairman Charles H. Robertson was notified on Thanksgiving Day that every employee of the National Munitions Corporation plant in Carrboro had signed up for bond deductions, with ten percent of total wages going into War Bonds, and the Treasury sent the plant its Certificate of Award. People: Charles H. Robertson, Carl T. Durham, W. E. Thompson Place: National Munitions Corporation plant (Mill No. 7), CarrboroThe Chapel Hill Weekly, December 4, 1942, p. 1
  29. Federal Works Agency grants Chapel Hill $2,700 for wartime recreation The Federal Works Agency approved a Lanham Act grant of $2,700 to keep up Chapel Hill's recreation services, chiefly the Service Center for men in uniform in the old Methodist church, from April 17 to November 30. The Recreation Commission later named Mrs. R. H. Wettach director of recreation. People: Harold D. Meyer, Carl T. Durham Place: Service Center, old Methodist church, Chapel Hill · Also named: Mrs. R. H. WettachThe Chapel Hill Weekly, April 9, 1943, p. 5
  30. Orange County gives Carl T. Durham a large majority in his runoff for Congress In the Sixth District's second Democratic primary, Orange County voted 2,657 to 483 for Congressman Carl T. Durham of Chapel Hill over E. Earle Rives of Greensboro, a county margin larger than his 1,798-vote lead across the district. Caldwell precinct voted 124 to 1. People: Collier Cobb Jr. Place: Orange County · Also named: E. Earle RivesSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 27, 1946, p. 1
  31. Orange County Democrats sweep the 1946 general election In a vote of about 2,500, Democrats won every county office: Sheriff S. T. Latta beat Luther Parker 1,892 to 845, John W. Umstead beat J. R. Evans for the House 1,881 to 697, and Collier Cobb Jr., Ben F. Wilson and H. G. Laws were elected commissioners. Coroner H. J. Walker led the ticket with 2,018 votes and James Webb of Hillsboro was elected state senator. People: Houston J. Walker, Collier Cobb Jr., Carl T. Durham, Edwin M. Lynch, Ben F. Wilson, Samuel T. Latta Jr., Hubert G. Laws Place: Orange County precincts · Also named: S. T. Latta, John W. Umstead, James Webb, J. Ed Laws, J. R. Evans, Luther ParkerSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 7, 1946, p. 1
  32. Chapel Hill dedicates its new bus station Several hundred people attended the formal dedication of Chapel Hill's new bus station, with talks by Senator William B. Umstead, Representative Carl T. Durham, University President Frank P. Graham, Lt. Gov. L. Y. Ballentine and others. Mayor R. W. Madry accepted the station for the town and said Chapel Hill, at about 15,000 people, now ranked as a small city. People: William B. Umstead, Carl T. Durham, Frank Porter Graham, Robert W. Madry Place: Bus station, West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: L. Y. BallentineSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 24, 1947, p. 8
  33. Black farm families of Orange County begin a long-time planning program at the court house County Negro agent M. C. Burt and home agent S. L. Lawson held the first meeting of a long-time planning program for the county's Black farm families at the court house, with charts on land use and livestock and a report that 19 Black-owned homes in the county were valued under $300; Congressman Carl T. Durham and state highway chairman A. H. Graham spoke. People: Carl T. Durham, Moses Cimuel Burt Place: Orange County courthouse, Hillsboro · Also named: S. L. Lawson, A. H. GrahamSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 8, 1948, p. 1
  34. R. O. Forrest becomes chairman of the Orange County Democratic executive committee The Orange County Democratic convention, held in the Hillsboro courthouse on May 15, 1948, and among the party's best attended in years, named R. O. Forrest, chairman of the county board of elections, as county party chairman, with county attorney J. Dumont Eskridge as secretary and Mrs. Charles Stanford as vice chairman. Carl T. Durham and A. H. (Sandy) Graham spoke. People: Carl T. Durham, Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, Robert O. Forrest Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: J. Dumont Eskridge, Mrs. Charles StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 20, 1948, p. 1
  35. The REA approves a $132,000 loan for Piedmont Electric's lines and a new headquarters By June 17, 1948, the Rural Electrification Administration had approved a $132,000 loan to the Piedmont Electric Membership Corporation of Hillsboro for a new headquarters and warehouse, a substation and the remaining lines of its 200-mile 'H' project. The cooperative, organized in 1938, had 550 miles of line serving 1,850 rural members and planned 900 miles serving 3,000. People: Carl T. Durham Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Piedmont Electric Membership CorporationSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 17, 1948, p. 1
  36. The U.S. Public Health Service gives final approval to a 318-bed hospital at Chapel Hill Representative Carl T. Durham announced that the U.S. Public Health Service had given final approval to the proposed 318-bed hospital at Chapel Hill. Federal aid of $1,500,000 was to come in three installments toward an estimated cost of $5,290,000. People: Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel HillThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 10, 1949, p. 1
  37. Druggist Clyde Eubanks receives the state pharmacists' Mortar and Pestle Award The North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association gave its annual Mortar and Pestle Award to Clyde Eubanks, a Chapel Hill druggist since 1892 who had served 25 years as alderman and was president of the Bank of Chapel Hill. Chancellor R. B. House, Congressman Carl T. Durham and Mayor R. W. Madry spoke in tribute at the University's pharmacy school. People: Clyde Eubanks, R. B. House, Carl T. Durham, Robert W. Madry Place: University pharmacy school, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Bank of Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 17, 1949, p. 1
  38. Governor Kerr Scott tours northeastern Orange to see rural progress Governor W. Kerr Scott spent about three and a half hours in Orange County, speaking to some 200 people at the newly finished New Sharon Methodist Church, inspecting the nearly complete Schley Grange hall and farm conservation work, and ending at barbecue suppers at Pleasant Green and St. Mary's. He denied charges that he was setting country against town and said he wanted rural living to equal town living. People: W. Kerr Scott, Carl T. Durham, John W. Umstead Jr., Charles S. Hubbard Place: New Sharon Methodist Church and Schley Grange Hall, northeastern Orange CountySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 22, 1949, p. 1
  39. Hillsboro is picked for the Sixth District's new federal post office building Under the new Public Buildings Act, which allowed one federal building in each congressional district that fiscal year, the Post Office Department and the General Services Administration chose Hillsboro over Elon College and Gibsonville on population and postal receipts, and Congressman Carl T. Durham approved the choice. People: Carl T. Durham Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 17, 1949, p. 1
  40. Orange Democrats hold their election rally at Schley Grange Hall, with Willis Smith on the platform Orange County Democrats held their pre-election barbecue rally at the Schley Grange Hall, where William B. Umstead of Durham praised the county's government and the party's record, and Senate nominee Willis Smith, who had beaten Orange County's Frank P. Graham in the spring primary, appeared and was introduced as an old friend. The paper judged Smith's welcome cooler than Congressman Carl T. Durham's but put it down to his being little known. People: William B. Umstead, Carl T. Durham, Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham Place: Schley Grange Hall, Schley · Also named: Willis Smith, Frank P. GrahamThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 2, 1950, p. 1
  41. Orange County Democrats renominate Forrest and Efland, add R. J. M. Hobbs and choose Clarence D. Jones for the school board In the primary Orange gave William B. Umstead 3,314 votes to Hubert Olive's 1,594 for governor and Congressman Carl T. Durham 3,028 to Tom Sawyer's 1,228. For three commissioner seats R. O. Forrest, Sim L. Efland and UNC professor R. J. M. Hobbs beat R. E. Murray and Roland McClamroch, keeping the board's balance between Chapel Hill and the rest of the county, and Jones of Hillsboro won the school board nomination with 2,006 votes over four Chapel Hill candidates. People: Sim Efland, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, William B. Umstead, Carl T. Durham, Roland P. McClamroch, Robert O. Forrest Place: Orange County · Also named: Clarence D. Jones, Roland McClamroch, Hubert OliveSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 5, 1952, p. 1
  42. The Chapel Hill American Legion post is to give an iron lung to N.C. Memorial Hospital The Chapel Hill post of the American Legion was to present an iron lung, bought for about $1,600, to North Carolina Memorial Hospital on Sunday, February 14, with Congressman Carl T. Durham making the presentation. Hospital director Robert R. Cadmus said the hospital had treated 90 polio patients, two from Orange County, in its first 18 months; it would be the hospital's second iron lung. People: Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Robert R. Cadmus · Also mentions: North Carolina Memorial HospitalThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), February 11, 1954, p. 1 ("Chapel Hill Post To Present Iron Lung To Memorial Hospital")
  43. Orange County Democrats renominate R. J. M. Hobbs and Carl Durham and leave two races for a runoff Commission chairman R. J. M. Hobbs led the commissioners' race with 2,821 votes, John Hawkins of Cedar Grove beat Vernon Truesdale for the school board seat, and Congressman Carl Durham carried the county 4,150 to 1,107 over Ralph Scott. Donald Stanford (2,199) led Sim Efland (1,879) for the second commission seat and John T. Manning (2,025) led Edwin S. Lanier (1,773) and Edwin J. Hamlin (1,362) for the State Senate, but neither leader had a majority. People: Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Carl T. Durham, Sim Efland, Edwin Sidney Lanier Place: Orange County polling places · Also named: John Hawkins, Vernon Truesdale, Ralph H. Scott, Donald M. Stanford, John T. Manning, Edwin J. Hamlin, Ralph Scott, Donald StanfordSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 31, 1956, p. 1
  44. Piedmont Electric members hold their 17th annual meeting at Hillsboro More than 400 members heard Congressman Carl Durham trace rural electrification to 1933, when, he said, Orange County's commissioners started the program and the county 'can claim that it was first,' and heard state REA chairman Gwyn B. Price forecast farm power use tripling in 20 years. Members re-elected nine directors, including S. C. Wilson, Clyde Roberts and N. B. Berry; the co-op served 5,200 members over 1,340 miles of line in six counties. People: Carl T. Durham, Clyde Roberts, John W. Umstead Jr. Place: Hillsboro High School, Hillsborough · Also named: Gwyn B. PriceThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), June 21, 1956, p. 1
  45. Hillsboro's town board protests a post office site by the Eno River bridge The town commissioners unanimously resolved against a proposed post office site on the west side of Churton Street just north of the Eno River bridge, calling it inconvenient and a hindrance to the town's growth, and sent the resolution to the Postmaster General, Congressman Carl Durham and Senators Scott and Ervin. Fred Cates Jr. was negotiating to build a post office there on the old livery stable lot and lease it to the government, and he defended the plan in a letter to the News. People: W. Kerr Scott, Carl T. Durham Place: Town board, Hillsboro; proposed site on Churton Street at the Eno River bridge · Also named: Fred Cates Jr. · Also mentions: Eno River bridge, Churton StreetSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 10, 1957, p. 1
  46. Rep. Carl Durham draws no opponent for re-election to Congress When filing closed for Congressional races, no Democrat or Republican had entered against Sixth District Rep. Carl T. Durham of Chapel Hill, chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, who would begin an eleventh term without a contest. The News called it the first time in his 20-year career that he had no opposition on the ballot. Place: Sixth Congressional District; home in Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 27, 1958, p. 1
  47. Orange Democrats host the Sixth District rally at Schley Grange Orange County Democrats and Congressman Carl T. Durham hosted the Sixth Congressional District rally of the state party's campaign caravan at Schley Grange Hall, with Senator B. Everett Jordan as principal speaker and Senator Sam J. Ervin Jr. and state party chairman Woodrow W. Jones among the leaders taking part. The barbecue fed 450 plates. People: Carl T. Durham, Robert O. Forrest Place: Schley Grange Hall, Schley · Also named: B. Everett Jordan, Sam J. Ervin Jr., Woodrow W. JonesThe News of Orange County (Hillsborough), October 23, 1958, p. 1
  48. Congressman Carl Durham of Chapel Hill announces he will retire The Sixth District representative, a White Cross native and Chapel Hill druggist first nominated in 1938, announced he would not run again after 22 years in Congress, setting off talk of who would seek the seat. The News doubted that Orange County would put up a candidate of its own. People: Carl T. Durham Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), November 26, 1959, p. 12
  49. Orange County Democrats hold their convention and begin Distinguished Democrat citations With all 25 precincts represented by 133 delegates, the county convention in the Hillsboro courthouse re-elected chairman L. J. Phipps and, in a new form of recognition, gave Distinguished Democrat certificates to seven longtime party workers. About 500 people then heard the primary candidates at a barbecue rally at Orange Speedway. People: Luther James Phipps, Carl T. Durham Place: Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Orange SpeedwaySearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 17, 1962, p. 4
  50. Orange Democrats raise about $900 at a dinner in the General Sherman's Confederate Room About 150 Democrats heard Secretary of State Thad Eure, Congressman Horace Kornegay, Insurance Commissioner Edwin Lanier and former Congressman Carl Durham at the county party's fund-raising buffet and dance in the Confederate Room of the General Sherman Restaurant. It netted about $900 for the state party's drive, against an Orange quota of $500. People: Thad Eure, Luther James Phipps, Carl T. Durham Place: General Sherman Restaurant, US 70 at Interstate 85 · Also named: Horace Kornegay, Edwin LanierSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 27, 1962, p. 2
  51. Chapel Hill merchants name 93-year-old druggist Clyde Eubanks Merchant of the Year At its installation banquet on Monday, January 27, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Merchants Association named Clyde Eubanks, who had worked in the town since 1892, its Merchant of the Year for 1963 on the eve of his retirement. His store property had been sold to North Carolina National Bank, and druggist Ben Courts was to run the store under a six-month lease. People: Clyde Eubanks, Carl T. Durham Place: Eubanks Drug Store, Chapel Hill · Also named: Ben Courts · Also mentions: North Carolina National BankSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), January 30, 1964, p. 6

After their death in 1974

Later events: estates and burials, and the buildings, honors and histories that remember them.

  1. State highway marker honoring Carl T. Durham is dedicated at N.C. 54 and Carl Durham Road Durham's daughters Anne Novak and Peggy Wall, other relatives and county officials gathered for the dedication of the marker. The ceremony recalled his 22 years in Congress and the 1951 amendments, written with Senator Hubert Humphrey, that created the prescription and over-the-counter drug classes. Place: N.C. 54 at Carl Durham Road, Orange County · Also named: Anne Novak, Peggy WallSearch the index · News of Orange County: Carl T. Durham honored with highway marker (October 16, 2015)

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as Carl T. Durham, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

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Indexed works

Works about or by Carl T. Durham. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

By Carl T. Durham

Carl Thomas Durham papers, 1938-1960.

Durham, Carl Thomas, 1892-1974 · 1938

Congressional papers of Carl Thomas Durham (1892-1974) covering 1938 to 1960, some 60,000 items across 47.5 linear feet in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 3507. The papers concern his work on the House Committee on Armed Services and the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, nuclear weapons and drug legislation, and politics in Orange, Durham, Alamance and Guilford counties.

UNC

About Carl T. Durham

Times past in Chapel Hill.

1967

A 1967 audiocassette about earlier Chapel Hill, concerning town history and social life. The people identified with the recording are Congressman Carl Thomas Durham, Samuel Huntington Hobbs and university chancellor Robert Burton House.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Durham, Carl Thomas, 1892-1974.

UNC

Recording with Carl Durham, 1972 (Chapel Hill Historical Society cassette)

1972

A cassette recording of Carl Durham speaking with the Chapel Hill Historical Society in 1972. Part of its CHHS.012 Audiovisual Materials Collection.

Included because: Its title names this person.

CH Historical Society

Recording with Carl Durham, 1972 (Chapel Hill Historical Society cassette)

1972

Carl Durham, recorded on cassette in 1972 for the Chapel Hill Historical Society. Part of the society's CHHS.012 Audiovisual Materials Collection.

Included because: Its title names this person.

CH Historical Society

Durham, Carl Birthplace: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

1951

Two photographs of the birthplace of Carl Durham, the North Carolina congressman, dated 1951 to 1972. One shows the cabin's exterior with its outbuildings collapsing around it; the other is a front view. From the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection.

Included because: Its title names this person.

CH Historical Society

Launching of the Chapel Hill Victory

1944

Scrapbook following the construction and launch of the S.S. Chapel Hill Victory, a Second World War cargo ship that carried the town's name, launched on 4 December 1944. Baltimore figures in the story, as do Congressman Carl T. Durham and Robert W. Madry. From the North Carolina Memory collection.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Durham, Carl Thomas, 1892-1974.

DigitalNC DPLA

Army-Navy "E" Celebration

1943

Photographs of the Army-Navy E ceremony in Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill, on 22 January 1943, the first such award in North Carolina during World War II. They show officers of the Pre-Flight School and of National Munitions Corporation, the audience and the presentation. Governor J. Melville Broughton, Josephus Daniels, Carl T. Durham and Frank Porter Graham are among those pictured.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Durham, Carl Thomas, 1892-1974.

DigitalNC DPLA
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R. B. House papers, 1916-1973.

House, R. B. (Robert Burton), 1892-1987 · 1916

R. B. House (1892-1987) was chancellor at Chapel Hill, and his papers, 1916 to 1973, come to 7,500 items in six linear feet in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 3581. University administration is the main subject, with material on Frank Porter Graham, Harry Woodburn Chase, Josephus and Jonathan Daniels, Gordon Gray, Terry Sanford, O. Max Gardner, the Watauga Club and communism in North Carolina.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Durham, Carl Thomas, 1892-1974.

UNC

Durham, Carl (Chapel Hill Historical Society vertical file)

Carl Durham, the Chapel Hill pharmacist and longtime congressman, is covered in clippings, copied newspaper articles and a Historical Society report. Undated folder from box 3 of the Individuals and Families series in the Chapel Hill Historical Society's vertical files.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

CH Historical Society

Durham, Carl: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

Carl Durham posed with his glasses in hand, undated. Durham, a Chapel Hill pharmacist, served in Congress from 1939 to 1961. From the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection (CHHS.002).

Included because: Its title names this person.

CH Historical Society

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 13 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Books about Carl T. Durham

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Catalog searches use the Library of Congress name heading: Durham, Carl Thomas, 1892-1974. Historical-record searches use the person’s name and may include namesakes. Links open in a new tab.

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Picture: Carl T. Durham, 1939. Public domain. Photograph by Harris & Ewing; Library of Congress; via Wikimedia Commons

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