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Duke Homestead State Historic Site

4.6

2828 Duke Homestead Rd
Durham, NC 27705
Phone: (919) 627-6990
Visit Website

Hours:

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Sunday: Closed

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Duke Homestead State Historic Site
Mapped location of Duke Homestead State Historic Site

Google Reviews

4.6
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Photo of Juan Diaz Juan Diaz
May 4, 2019 5

Excellent place where history was made. From the present to past experience life as it use to be. The men and women worked hard from sunup to sundown just to make a living. Simple, yet passionate life of deserving people. The history of this place takes you back to a simple yet demanding life. A must see if you are in the Durham area.

Photo of Daniel Mcgraw Daniel Mcgraw
Apr 27, 2019 5

This is a great place to learn about the very early history of the Duke business, growth, and contribution to eduction. Not just the plantation, but the men and women who worked the plantation has made this area wonderful unique. Completely free, with an indoor museum, public restrooms, outdoor exploration, picnic area, and friendly staff. We came to pass time, but stayed to enjoy the site.

Photo of Ruth Turner Ruth Turner
Apr 12, 2019 5

Love it here! Hope to go back and walk the grounds when it's not wet underfoot. Museum very thorough and well done!

Photo of Jason Pearl Jason Pearl
Apr 11, 2019 4

Great information on the heyday of the tobacco industry and it's effect on the economy and society of North Carolina and the United States. The exhibits are a bit dated but the information is comprehensive.

Photo of Stephanie Braski Stephanie Braski
Apr 27, 2019 5

Very interesting, the museum has thorough information regarding the history of tobacco. The grounds are spacious.

Photo of Ranita Ghosh Dastidar Ranita Ghosh Dastidar
Jun 22, 2019 5

Great outdoor place with a history. Has a tobacco museum. Perfect for kids. Look for appropriate events for kids to make it more fun. My 5 year old son totally loved the farm festival.

Photo of George Carrick George Carrick
Sep 7, 2019 5

Birthplace of modern cigarette companies. The Dukes created a philanthropic empire and still have many named sites left. The house and farm are modest, but the story, museum and film are wonderful. It's free as well, unless you would like a tour guide!

Photo of Joseph Serre Joseph Serre
Sep 8, 2019 5

This is one of our family's favorite museums that we visited in North Carolina. It was free and there was a tour that was really interesting and fun for kids. If you're in the area I would suggest going to it. Give yourself about an hour to an hour and a half to go through the museum.

Photo of Nichol Tate Nichol Tate
Oct 10, 2019 5

Wonderful place to learn of the past. Hornworm Festival is relaxed fun for the family.

Photo of Carl Brake Carl Brake
Dec 3, 2019 5

Nice, fun place to visit,all about tobacco and the Bull city.inside and outside exhibits bathrooms on site.

Photo of Evan Engel Evan Engel
Mar 8, 2020 5

Amazing piece of history! Definitely do the tour and watch the video, we learned a ton about the Duke's history here that also made the rest of our trip to NC make much more sense. Do this at the beginning of the trip so you have the historical knowledge as you travel around the rest of the area, it makes a big difference!

Photo of Daniel Simmons Daniel Simmons
Aug 17, 2019 5

The Tobbaco Museum is great, it has a wide variety of information, videos, interactive stations, and machinery that was used in the production/manufacturing of Tobbaco products. The Homestead is amazing, it's comprised of several outbuildings, and the Duke Home, all of which are from the 1800's. The Homestead shows how day to day life would've been on a small farm in the 1800's.

Photo of Sal Panettieri Sal Panettieri
Jan 22, 2019 5

My wife and I found this to be a very well presented history of the Duke family and of the tobacco industry in North Carolina. We went on a Tuesday afternoon and received a private tour of the barns and house. The docent, Bobby was very knowledgeable, polite and interesting. Anyone who lives in NC or is just visiting should visit the site, get a tour, see the film and explore the museum. We learned a great deal more than we anticipated.

Photo of Gary Kibble Gary Kibble
Mar 21, 2020 5

A living recreation of the Duke family farm, the man that made cigarettes successful, painted Bull Durham on barns, and changed this region of NC forever. This is the Duke of Duke University.

Photo of James Murphy James Murphy
Sep 19, 2020 5

Excellent day out and nice day for it as well

Photo of RobertsMom NC RobertsMom NC
Oct 15, 2020 4

Interesting and very organized. Perfect outing especially now during COVID. No school groups mucky up Tuesday space 😂.

Photo of Daniel Weiner Daniel Weiner
Oct 14, 2020 5

Museum was quite interesting as were the out buildings

Photo of Marie Doherty Marie Doherty
Nov 10, 2020 4

Neat and organized place. Good for family/friends outing.

Photo of antonio amaya antonio amaya
Oct 29, 2020 5

Nice place for pinics

Photo of Luke Graysmith Luke Graysmith
Dec 13, 2020 5

The staff here is remarkably knowledgeable and very good at sharing the spirit of the place.

Photo of yuanfan yang yuanfan yang
Dec 22, 2020 5

The Socially distanced in person tour is great and a rare find. The staff provided a vivid and warm experience.

Photo of Josh Gibson Josh Gibson
Jan 11, 2021 5

Would of loved to go into the buildings but was still fun to see everything

Photo of Theo W F Theo W F
Mar 26, 2021 5

Wendell, did a fantastic job explaining the significance of the homestead, the tobacco harvesting process and the importance of Washington Duke to the entire development of the Durham area. A must see.

Photo of Brian Burch Brian Burch
Apr 9, 2021 3

If you want some history on how to farm tobacco it's excellent. If you want some history on the Duke family it's limited to the video. Since I came to learn about the Duke family I was a tad disappointed. I should have held out for the guided tour instead of the self tour I guess.

Photo of J.P. B, J.P. B,
Apr 8, 2021 4

Interesting information. Welcoming atmosphere

Photo of Kathryn Sobel Kathryn Sobel
Apr 17, 2021 5

My daughter and I participated in a tobacco basket weaving workshop and then toured the historic property. Although not far from downtown Durham, the farm buildings feel like a world away in both time and place. There's a beautiful picnic area we plan to use next time we visit.

Photo of Kristina Vasquez Kristina Vasquez
May 4, 2021 5

I loved the staff. The woman we chatted with was so knowledgeable and so friendly! This site is really neat!

Photo of Lori Wynne Lori Wynne
May 8, 2021 5

Had no idea this awesome place existed. Plan on it taking a couple of hours to see everything. It an amazing museum.

Photo of Simon Svenman Simon Svenman
May 25, 2021 4

Great little place of history. There's a museum and a little walking tour you can do, either with a guide or by yourself. No cost but a small donation is encouraged.

Photo of Charlie Davis Charlie Davis
Jul 7, 2021 5

Interesting museum that's not too long. The grounds outside are kept nice and are easy to walk. Great place to spend a quick hour without spending more than a few bucks at the gift shop.

Photo of andrew holland andrew holland
Apr 17, 2021 3

It was a really good place to learn about early tobacco farming in the Raleigh/ Durham area in the early days and founding of our country. My only issues with the place was there was almost no reference to when filters were added to cigarettes and how that impacted the cigarette industry. There was also a board on the wall with hand written notes from visitors of the museum and homestead complaining of how this place was "glorifying" the cigarette/ tobacco industry. Um hello, this country was founded/ established itself on the tobacco industry and this is merely a look into how it came to be. At no point in the museum did it ever mention how great tobacco is/was, there was even several plaques that discussed when doctor's and even the surgeon General declared smoking as bad for people's health. People leaving the notes obviously missed the point of the museum, and it adds nothing to it by posting these notes in the museum. If I was the curator/ director, I'd remove them from public eye. I think it's safe to say that everyone knows how bad smoking and tobacco use is

Photo of James Carroll James Carroll
Jul 2, 2021 5

It’s a great historic site with a fantastic history museum on the impact of tobacco on the state and region. Top notch.

Photo of Karla brattin Karla brattin
Jul 2, 2021 5

Very informative. Enjoyed museum. Was a nice last minute side trip.

Photo of K E K E
Aug 9, 2021 5

Definitely a must-visit when you are in Durham. Caroline gave us an interesting tour of Duke Homestead and didn't leave out any historical details. She explained why the Duke family was so important for the city and the state and also answered all of our questions. Thank you!

Photo of Elena Doutova Elena Doutova
Aug 29, 2021 5

Beautiful place, very peaceful. Staff members are very knowledgeable and wellcome.

Photo of Chuck Alley Chuck Alley
Sep 11, 2021 5

Interesting bit of history, and lovely outdoor space. Well worth the stop to check it out.

Photo of See Seung Kim See Seung Kim
Sep 28, 2021 5

Duke homestead is well preserved. The history related to tobacco is well preserved in the museum. It's good to walk slowly on the homestead after looking at the museum. At the museum, you can get maps of the Durham area. You can buy small souvenirs.

Photo of Robin cooper Puppet power Robin cooper Puppet power
Nov 30, 2021 4

Unique historical place. I believe all of our history is important to understand. Not only for how we got here....but also where we will go in the future.

Photo of Lloyd Phillips Lloyd Phillips
Feb 26, 2022 5

Very informative. Our guide was very personable.

Photo of New Bern Puppets New Bern Puppets
Oct 30, 2021 5

The Halloween Phantasmagoria was fantastic! The atmosphere at night along the candle lit trail was delightfully spooky and the the staff organized a delightful program!🎃