Two Native American tribes, the Eno and Occoneechi, who were related to the Sioux and Shakori, lived and farmed in the area where a village named Adshusheer may have existed, which later became known as Durham. In 1701 an English explorer, who recorded the beauty of Durham, named the area "The Flower of the Carolinas." The Scots, Irish and English colonists settled there during the mid-1700s. The entire region was almost entirely dedicated to farming and agriculture before the railroad's arrival, along with a few businesses which catered to travelers who were mainly livestock drivers. The Confederate Army, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, established its headquarters in Greensboro, just 50 miles to the west. Both armies developed a liking for the mild flavor of the Durham tobacco, which the soldiers preferred to the tobacco they either smoked or chewed from back home. The tobacco industry thrived after the war as many war veterans continued to place orders for the tobacco they had access to during the war in North Carolina. Green's tobacco company and W.T. Blackwell entered into a partnership and renamed the company the 'Bull Durham Tobacco Factory". The tobacco industry in Durham continued to prosper and increase, and by 1900 W. Duke & Sons Tobacco Company monopolized the smoking and chewing tobacco industry nationwide. By the early 1910s, the Federal Government broke the company up under the antitrust laws. The Dukes were prevented from further investment in the tobacco industry, so they concentrated their efforts on electric power generation, which they had been investing in since the early 1890s. Duke Power, now Duke Energy, brought in power from the hydroelectric dams in the western mountains and soon took over the electric franchises in the town, which depended on local powerhouses that were noisy and polluted the air from their coal-fired boilers.

Durham has plentiful activities to occupy your time, including sports, museums, music, film, and dance festivals.

Durham is the venue of The Tobacco Road Dance, Jazz Festivals, the American Dance Festival, the OUTsouth Queer Film Festival, and the Bull Durham Blues Festival.

The Museum of Durham History showcases the many men and women who influenced the history of Durham in their "150 Faces of Durham."

This city also features a very active music industry that offers jazz, hip-hop, soul, blues, punk, metal and rock, and Americana.

Athletics and basketball are very popular and well attended in Durham.