Buckquarter Creek Trail is a popular hiking route along the Eno, featuring ample natural beauty as well as several historical structures. This 1.5-mile loop features both forested and riverside hiking segments, as well as a quick jaunt along a special tributary of the Eno – Buckquarter Creek!
Due to the location of Buckquarter Creek in the central portion of Eno River State Park, this tributary has significant protections that allow it to thrive within the park. It is believed that this creek is home to more native fish species than most other Eno tributaries. Johnny darters, mountain redbelly dace, pirate perch, and many other fish call Buckquarter Creek home. The forests around the creek are also habitat for a wide range of native flora and fauna. In the springtime, a wide range of wildflower species can be observed within the forest and along the sloping river banks. Woodpecker species like yellow-bellied sapsuckers and downy woodpeckers are commonly seen in the area, as well as many other bird species ranging from small songbirds to the magnificent great blue heron!
Many of the trails leading through riparian forests and down to the Eno were originally traversed by Indigenous Peoples who used their knowledge of the land to establish important pathways between the river and other key locations. Those pathways were later used by colonists who forced local Indigenous groups from the land and established farms and mills along the Eno.
Today, one of the most well-known historical features of Buckquarter Creek Trail is the Cole house, which you can read more about here. However, one of the lesser known features is the remnant foundation of an old tobacco barn, which is located to the side of the trail fairly close to the Cole house. It is thought that this barn was in use sometime during the late 1800s following the Civil War and with the rise of the Duke tobacco industry.
As you may know, the Duke family fortune was made in the tobacco industry. In the year 1890, James Buchanan Duke consolidated control of his major competitors under a single corporation known as the American Tobacco Company, which went on to hold the monopoly in the U.S. cigarette market. Tobacco barns were once an important part of the tobacco curing process. Some of the common design elements of these structures included gabled roofs and some variation of a ventilation system. Tobacco leaves were hung in these barns and cured by using the ventilation system to slowly dry out the leaves.
Today, all that remains of the Buckquarter Creek tobacco barn is a semi-organized pile of stones that once made up its foundation, but for some, taking the time to learn about the history associated with these structural remains makes the experience of walking the trail even more special.
