Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-02-20
A Scrap Of
"
tUnWtitten History.
'tFrom the Chicago Times, sdy soq tss1.j

When the star of empire of which
Jefferson Davis had so fondly dreamed
had waxed and waned, and fate do
creed that the Southern Confederacy
should go out in darkness, the curtain
fell upon the last act of the bloody
drama in North Carolina, Lee having
capitulated at Appomattox. Sherman,
ON his march to the sea, had demon
strated to Johnston that further resis-
tance was useless, so April 1865, found
Sherman with his army at Raleigh, N.
C., while Johnston, with the remnant
Of his troops, was resting at Greens
boro, N. G. From Raleigh TO Green's
boro, distance of 75miles, both armies
roamed indisoriminately. Gen. John
ston signifed TO Gen. Shernan his de-
slro for conference, and an arRistiee
OF ten days was declared ami the two
great chieftains met in consultation ut
a little house four miles west of Dur
ham, n. Q. Durham, an insignificant
railway station, having a population of
two hundred, was declared neutral
ground. Here the gray and blue met
in friendly mtercourse--swRpped
horses, ran foot races, shot at targets,
and around the same camp fire told of
hair breadth escapes. Not more than
one hundred yards from the railway
station stood twO-story frame tobacco
factory, owned by John K. Green.
During the war Green had mRnaaof-
tured smoking tobacco for the "boys
in tho army" but now his occupation
was gone. Stored in the factory were
Large quantities Of smoking tobacco
ready for shipment, and during the
armistice tho building was sacked
and around the camp-hres in Durham
the blue and the gray literally smoked
the pipe of peace. When the terms of
surrender were arranged, the soldiers
of each army provided themselves with
q poke" of tobacco, and marched
homeward. In this way the tobacco
was scattered from Maine 10 Texas.
What Green had regarded as a great
calamity soon proved TO be q great
blessing. When the soldiers, on reach
ing home, had exhausted their "pOke,"
orders directed to the railroad agent,
postmaster, ETC., at Durham, n. c.,
began to pour in for that smoking to-
baoco. Green, quick to perceive his
advantage, christened his tobacco
Durham" and selected tho Durham
bull as his trade mark. Nowhere on
the globe is tobacco of such fine quality
or 50 peculiarly adapted to smoking
purposes raised as is grown in the
vicinity of Durham. Almost entirely
free from nitrates and nicotine, tho
Durham tobacco has become so cole
brated that to-day, all over the United
States, tho CanRdas, South America,
Japan. Australia, China, ETC., 1t is the
acknowledged standard of excellence
and purity. In 1869 Green died, and
w. I. Blackwell g. %. purchased the
business, and, putting into it fresh
capital and enterprise, soon made it q
are one of the largest and most four
ishing firms in the country. At the
time of the purchase from Green, the
total force employed In the factory
numbered less than twelve, and the
population Of the town less than 800.
To-day, w. I. Blackwell g. Co. pay
annually to the government revenue
tax of more than 5000, 900. 90 and employ
over 900 hands. The embryo village
of 1865 has population in 1881 Of over
5000, and contains the largest smoking
tobacco factory in the world. The fac
tory of w. I. Blackwell g. Co.,
the famous manufacturers of the
celebrated Bull Durham smoking to-
bacco and cigarettes. is the feature Of
attraction at Durham. Immediately
fronting the railroad, it looks more like
one of our mammoth metropolitan
hotels than tobacco factory. On tho
first floor are fine Offices, and here q
gentlemanly usher shows visitors all
tue items of interest. Everything in
dicat 8 industry and enterprise, and
perfect system prevails All the best
improved machinery is provided for
granulating, shredding, combing, dry
ing and packing tobacco. The amount
OF leaf tobacco lin the raw state) car
ried by the firm is amazing to the visitor.
Six immense storage warehouses. in
addition to the mammoth four-story
brick factory, are required to hold the
stock of raw leaf constantly on hand
w. T. Blackwell g. o.. operate
planning mills, printing offices, paper
and wood box shops, etc. They also
have direct telegraphio and telephone
communication with the outside world,
employing their own telegraph oper.
ator. Durham is twenty-six miles west
of Raleigh, the capital of the State, and
is the outlet to what is known as the
Golden Tobacco belt of North Caro-
lima. Facts show that the tobacco
grown in this section is not equaled
elsewhere in the world. As all the to-
baeco raised in this Golden belt finds
its market at Durham, w. Il. Black
we'll & Co., are so situated that they
control the pick of all the offerings,
and this, in connection with their enor-
nous storage facilities, enable them to
carry the choicest stock until it is as
sweet and fragrant as a rose. Success
. always brings imitatOrs and several
unprinciplcd manufacturers who have
attempted to pirate their goods have
been brought to justice. The smoking
public are, however, fast learning that
the Durham bull must DO on the pack
age to insure purity, and they will not
take any other. W. T. Blackwell &
Co., have only latoly added the manu-.
facture of long cut smoking tobacco
and cigarettes to their business, but the
purity and quality of these goods have
already secured them an enormous
trade. Little did the gallent "boys in
blue and gray" around their camp.
fires in Durham in 1865, dream that
they were sowing the seeds which have
grown till Durham iS one of the
thriitiest and mostwidely known towns
in the South if not in the Union.