The Bartlett Mangum House, so named after the original owner, was built in 1908 and is considered a prime example of the Neoclassical Revival style of Victorian architecture. Massive Doric columns flank the front entrance of the two-story structure.  A wraparound porch, second floor balcony, dormer windows and a slate roof capped by iron scrollwork complete the picture.  The house, presently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was originally the seat of Bartlett Mangum’s 80-acre farm and vineyard, with his extensive manufacturing complex across the street. This complex included a sawmill, cotton gin and brickyard.

When Mangum built his fashionable country house in 1908, Durham was entering a fourth decade of unparalleled growth fueled by thriving tobacco and textile manufacturing industries. Durham’s population soared between 1870 and 1880, growing from 200 to more than 2000. By 1895, the population stood at 8000, and by 1910 had risen to 18,200. Commercial and residential construction grew at the same rapid pace, and this was the basis of the Mangum fortune.  Mangum’s decision to manufacture bricks was a wise one, as a series of disastrous fires in the central business district, as well as the city’s increasing prosperity, spurred a change from frame to brick construction.  Mangum died in 1927, and his farm was subdivided into dozens of small building lots the next year.