The historic and much photographed Catsburg Store in Durham is free to anyone that can move it! Not only is it free, but the owner will put in $5,000 to help move it! The structure does need to be moved, to make way for something new. There are so many possibilities for this building! Would make a cute coffee shop, an artist studio, a little guest house on someone’s property, or even an Airbnb.

So what is the history of this store? The store was named for Sheriff Belvin. His nickname was “Cat”. Sheriff Belvin was a well liked sheriff and his family ties in Durham County went back pretty far. In the 1950’s he donated land for a baseball field so boys in the area would have a place to play. The baseball field stood beside the store. “Cat” was sheriff from 1930 to 1958. People say he got his nickname because he was as agile as a cat and could sneak up on moonshiners without them even knowing.

If the Catsburg Store isn’t moved soon, it is slated for demolition. Any interested parties should contact April Johnson at 919-682-3036. Or you can email at [email protected]

Some of you might be wondering what goes into moving a house or a structure. Jeremy Bradham with Capital Area Preservation wrote a detailed article about it for Old House Life. This structure itself doesn’t look like it would be too difficult, unlike moving a two story house. Who has the space for this old store?