Interstate 85 Corridor in Durham in Durham County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Durham County Prison Camp

1925

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 31, 2023

1. Durham County Prison Camp Marker

Inscription. This building housed the prisoners used for road crews when both prisons and roads were county responsibilities. Windows were covered with iron bars, the stubs of which are visible in the 20 thick brick walls.

In 1938 the prisoners were moved to state facilities and the building functioned as a W.P.A. Sewing Center and Woodworking Shop. From 1944 to 1953 it served as a Tuberculosis Sanatorium. Durham's first television station began broadcasting from here in 1954. In 1992, it was remodeled for medical office use.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Law Enforcement • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1925.

Location. 36° 1.865′ N, 78° 54.653′ W. Marker is in Durham, North Carolina, in Durham County. It is in Interstate 85 Corridor. Marker is at the intersection of Broad Street and Dovershire Parkway, on the right when traveling north on Broad Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2410 Broad Street, Durham NC 27704, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. North Carolina (approx. 0.7 miles away); Duke Homestead (approx. 0.7 miles away); a different marker also named Duke Homestead

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(approx. 0.7 miles away); N.C. School of Science and Mathematics (approx. one mile away); Watts Hospital II (approx. one mile away); Dorothy Kitchen: Durham Musician and Educator Extraordinaire (approx. 1.3 miles away); Mr. & Mrs. J.R. Love, Sr. House (approx. 1.6 miles away); Emanuel J. Evans House (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Durham.

Regarding Durham County Prison Camp. Excerpts from the National Register nomination:

The building was constructed in 1925 on fifty-four acres of land located a few miles outside the city limits on Newton Road, now Broad Street … The architect was G. Murray Nelson and the contractor was the firm of Thompson and Cannady, which received the contract for a bid of $82,660 although the ultimate cost was $114,000 ….

The building operated as a prison until 1938 when the state government, which had used the facility jointly with the county to house the highway maintenance prison crew, erected a building especially for this purpose through the Works Project Administration. … Plans were outlined in a 1940 news article for the
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 31, 2023

2. National Register Plaque
conversion of the Newton Road prison into office space for county, state, and federal farm agents and a produce center for farmers. It appears, however, that they were never implemented …. Instead, the building was used to house a Works Project Administration Sewing and Woodworking Center…

In 1943 the county commissioners voted to convert the prison into a long awaited and much needed tuberculosis sanatorium. … The sanatorium operated until 1953 when, due to the sharp decline in tuberculosis cases, the state intervened in the building's fate once again and closed the facility.…

Durham leaped to the forefront of the television industry in 1954 as WTVD opened Charmel 11 within the former prison/sanatorium building. WTVD became the building's longest-term occupants, remaining there until 1979 when they moved to new facilities in downtown Durham. The Family Television Corporation then bought the building from WTVD. Channel 22 and a radio station also briefly occupied the Broad Street building. The (former) North Durham County Prison Camp building stood vacant from 1979 until 1992 when it was adaptively reused as the Lakewood Family Practice Center

Also see . . .
1. North Durham County Prison Camp (Former) (PDF). National Register nomination and photographs submitted for the building, which was

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 31, 2023

3. Durham County Prison Camp Marker

listed in 1998. (National Archives) (Submitted on September 9, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. Durham County Jail / TB Sanitarium / WTVD. Perhaps no building in Durham has been more adaptively re-used than the former Durham County Jail on Broad Street. (Open Durham project, Preservation Durham) (Submitted on September 9, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Durham County Prison Camp Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, August 31, 2023

4. Durham County Prison Camp Building

Credits. This page was last revised on September 9, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 9, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 113 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 9, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.