Maplewood Cemetery is very nearly the only major place intimately involved with the City of Durham that has survived essentially intact from Durham’s earliest days to the present. Houses, mansions, neighborhoods, churches, factories, and schools have come and gone, but Maplewood abides. We remember other early Durham places only in books, maps, and photographs, but Maplewood is right here on the ground. The cemetery is a museum of architecture, culture, and art. It is garden of memories, an eternal city of stone. Here generations of Durham citizens are organized in neighborhoods of death much as they were in life. Durham’s history lingers here. At every turn there are rich stories of the triumphal rise and slow decline of great fortunes. Inspiring stories of philanthropy, industry, justice and progress. Stories of tender love and bitter prejudice. Stories of irony, comedy, and tragedy.

Our tour, led by Preservation Durham’s cemetery experts, will focus on stories of murder, mysterious death, dreadful accidents, and tragic misfortune. If you have trouble sleeping afterwards, you cannot say we did not warn you.

The tour will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 30, and will run for about an hour-and-a-half. We will do some walking, so wear sensible shoes. Water will be provided, but the cemetery has no bathroom facilities. 

Please come to the Kent Street entrance nearest the intersection of Kent and Morehead avenue. DO NOT rely on your GPS. It will send you to another place a mile away. Look for the Preservation Durham tour banner.