W. T. Blackwell and Company

W.T. Blackwell & Co. Tobacco was a tobacco manufacturer in Durham, North Carolina. It was best known as the original producer of Bull Durham Tobacco, the first nationally marketed brand of tobacco products in the United States. The Blackwell tobacco factory in Durham, built in 1874, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977.[2][3] It is included in the American Tobacco Company Manufacturing Plant historic district, and is now occupied by apartments.

See Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco for the popular tobacco brand produced by W.T. Blackwell and Company.
Bull Durham Tobacco Factory
W.T. Blackwell & Co. Tobacco Factory, circa 1895
Location201 W. Pettigrew St., Durham, North Carolina
Coordinates35°59′38″N 78°54′16″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1873 (1873)
Architectural styleItalianate
Part ofAmerican Tobacco Company Manufacturing Plant (ID00001163)
NRHP reference No.74001346[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 10, 1974
Designated NHLDecember 22, 1977[2]
Designated CPSeptember 29, 2000

History

During the occupation of Durham by various military forces in the American Civil War, the quality of some of its tobacco was recognized. Former soldiers sought to acquire the tobacco produced by John Ruffin Green, who created the Bull Durham logo. Green in 1868 partnered with William T. Blackwell, who after Green's death formed a partnership with Julian S. Carr to continue producing and marketing the brand. The company experienced rapid growth, due in part to one of the nation's first nationwide advertising campaigns, which made the Bull Durham logo widely recognizable.[3] The Bull Durham brand continued, through ownership changes, until 1988.

Factory

The Blackwell factory, located at the corner of West Pettigrew and Blackwell Streets in Durham, was built in stages between 1874 and 1903. It is a four-story brick building, with commercial Italianate style. It has a central courtyard, and was, at 94,000 square feet (8,700 m2), once billed as the world's largest tobacco factory. The Bull Durham brand was manufactured at this facility until 1957, when its manufacture was transferred to a factory in Richmond, Virginia.[3]

  • Bull Durham signage in Oakland, Oregon
  • 1881 W. T. Blackwell advertisement

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "W. T. Blackwell and Company Tobacco Factory". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  3. Ralph J. Christian (December 1976). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: W. T. Blackwell and Company Tobacco Factory / Bull Durham Tobacco Factory" (pdf). National Park Service. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying three photos, exterior, from 1976 (32 KB)
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