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Tucked away on Beech Bluff Park property is an old barn that over the generations has served many purposes. Originally built in the 1920s, it was once a tobacco curing barn. Tobacco farming was a huge industry throughout North Carolina. This cash crop powered North Carolina's economy throughout the 1800s until the late 20th century. Farmers would cure, or dry, the tobacco leaves and pack them before sending it to be processed into cigars and cigarettes at manufacturing plants. You can still find some of these old manufacturing plants in Durham, where many farmers within the area would have sent their tobacco crop.
The former family that lived here, the Adams family, used to grow tobacco as a cash crop until the early 2000s when prices dropped due to overgrowing. The barn was then repurposed to house horses, chickens and rabbits. Staff have found piles of remaining tobacco curing sticks within the barn!
Please note that the the barn is not open to public access due to safety. To see the barn, consider signing up for our History Hike program.
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