Downtown in Durham in Durham County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Tobacco and E.J. Parrish
Photographed By Michael Buckner, November 16, 2022
1. Tobacco and E.J. Parrish Marker
Early tobacco entrepreneurs E.J. Parrish, James B. Duke, Julian Carr, John Green, and W.T. Blackwell transformed Durham's business landscape.
Erected 2009.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1879.
Location. 35° 59.711′ N, 78° 53.963′ W. Marker is in Durham, North Carolina, in Durham County. It is in Downtown. Marker is on East Parrish Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 115 East Parrish Street, Durham NC 27703, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Empowering and Diverse Opportunities (within shouting distance of this marker); Financial and Professional Impact in Durham (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Black Wall Street (about 300 feet away); Roll of Honor (about 300 feet away); Dedicated to Those who Served in the World War (about 300 feet away); A Legacy of Community and Institutional Connections (about 400 feet away); Veterans Memorial (about 400 feet away); Malbourne A Angier (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Durham.
Also see . . .
this page online
1. Edward James Parrish.
Edward James Parrish, tobacco merchant and manufacturer, pioneering tobacco company executive assigned to Japan, and Durham business and civic leader, was born near Round Hill post office in Orange (now Durham) County, the son of D. C. and R. A. Ward Parrish. He married Rosa Bryan of Haywood, Chatham County on 5 Oct. 1870. They had one daughter, Lily Virginia.(Submitted on November 29, 2022, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina.)
Parrish figured prominently in the enterprises that established a major tobacco marketing and manufacturing center in Durham during the 1870s and 1880s. He was reared on a farm and served with the Confederate army during the last six months of the Civil War. His first occupations after the war were those of a petty merchant and state government worker. In 1871, while operating a grocery and confectionery store in Durham, he became a part-time auctioneer in the first tobacco warehouse to be opened in that city. Two years later he formed a partnership with J. E. Lyons to acquire a warehouse and to become a full-time tobacco merchant. This initial venture proved to be ill-timed, since the panic of 1873 forced the partners to close almost immediately. Parrish in association with various partners persisted, however, opening still other warehouses and building an ever more lucrative tobacco trade over the next decade. In 1886 he acquired a manufacturing plant, producing a tobacco product called "Pride of Durham."
2. EJ Parrish House/Richard H. Wright House.
Built sometime before 1891, the house was an elaborate Second Empire dwelling constructed for EJ Parrish, a prominent citizen of early Durham and tobacco auctioneer. His tobacco warehouse was located at the northeast corner of Mangum and Parrish Streets (thus the name) and was the largest warehouse in the state at the time of construction.(Submitted on November 29, 2022, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 19, 2022, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 94 times since then and 22 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on November 19, 2022, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
