Durham is now a calm rural area with established farms and residential dwellings. Many of the houses in the township are from the nineteenth century or earlier. Durham Village has houses that are still utilized as residences, a historic shop that is now a private property, and a village green that is used for community events. Today, Rte. 611 is home to a farm market, a bank branch, two restaurants, an antique store, and a service station. A small number of competent tradespeople have workplaces close to their houses.

Durham settlement sprang up around an early iron furnace activity that was supplied by iron ore collected from the adjacent hills in the early 1700s. A massive gristmill (built 1820) stands in the town center on the foundations of the old iron furnace. It has remained untouched since it was erected, save for an add-on portion. Inside the building, much of the original gristmill machinery is still in working order. The mill, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, stopped operations in 1967 and is currently owned by the Township. The Durham Historical Society, as well as the local US Post Office, have offices in the mill building.

The township’s eastern border with New Jersey is marked by the Delaware River. The Delaware River Canal runs beside the river and was once used by mule-drawn canal boats transporting river freight from Easton to Bristol, near Philadelphia.

Combine your curiosity for the present and the past by visiting Durham, PA today!