John Henry Merrick Historical Marker

This historical marker commemorates the life of John Henry Merrick, an African American business leader and entrepreneur in Durham, NC. The marker is located near the Beechwood Cemetery, which was created by the city of Durham in order to combine cemeteries reserved for people of African descent in the era of segregation. Merrick was born into slavery and became a prominent business owner and paved the way for the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in Durham, NC. John Merrick's remains were relocated to Beechwood Cemetery after the Violet Park cemetery closed. Prior to that, Merrick has established the Violet Park cemetery and named it after his mother.

John Merrick was born into slavery in 1859 in Clinton, North Carolina. His mother was a slave, and his father was an unknown white man. John and his family were free from slavery after the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. At the age of twelve, John, his brother, and his mother moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. John began working at a brickyard to help provide for his family. John assisted in the construction and laid brick for one of the first Historical Black Colleges or Universities (HBCU) in North Carolina, Shaw University.

John worked as a shoe shiner in a barbershop and learned the business of barbering. He moved to Durham, N.C. and opened a barbershop with a friend. John inevitably became the sole proprietary of the barbershop after his partner sold his share. He later purchases eight other shops in the area. Merrick offered service to African Americans as well as whites. In the spirit of a true entrepreneur, he created a dandruff care product to treat and care for hair.

He was instrumental in building up the community. John brought property in the Hayti community in Durham. He joined with two colleagues and created the Merrick Moore Spauling Land Company. They sold and rented properties to the community. He co-founded Bull City Drug Company and open in 1908. He employed African Americans at the textile mill he owned for a short period. He also helped raise money to open Mechanics and Farmer Bank in Durham, which was geared towards providing banking to the African American communities. The bank is currently still operating in Durham, North Carolina. John Merrick died in Durham on August 6, 1919.

Andrews, R. McCants. “John Merrick A Biographical Sketch.” Press of the Seeman Printery, 1920. https://archive.org/details/johnmerrick00andrrich

Jessie, Editor, and Carney Smith. “John Henry Merrick.” Notable Black American Men, Book II, Gale Publisher, 2006.

Andrews, R MCcants. John Merrick A Biographical Sketch. Press of the Seeman Printery,, 1920.