Hillsborough’s Whitfield-Beard Farm is a 1922 farmhouse and barn on 11 acres that was once home to Joseph and Dorothy Beard — pioneering Duke virology researchers. Hired by Duke University in 1937 to conduct cancer and virus research, the Beards developed a vaccine for horse encephalitis, or "blind staggers." The killed-virus vaccine saved hundreds of thousands of horses.
Beard went on to make Duke a leader in virology research, including influenza. He also identified links between viruses and human cancers and tested early versions of the flu vaccine. The Beards left their Hillsborough farm to Duke University upon their deaths. Under Duke’s ownership, the main house on the property was converted to the Duke Hospice and Unicorn Bereavement Center. A brick path on the property still bears the names of those who found comfort there. https://research.duke.edu/dukes-research-heritage-people/
As of this summer, the property has been sold to Woods Partners, a Raleigh-based development company, that intends to demolish the historical properties and replace with them with a 333-unit apartment complex. Advocates for preservation are hoping to convince the developer to save the farmhouse through adaptive reuse.
Although the farm has never been provided with any historical protections, local residents want the property saved. A week-old Change.org petition has already acquired 887 signatures. Supporters have also produced a video to carry their message and share the beauty of the property. As the video says, growth in Hillsborough is inevitable but growth and preservation do not need to be mutually exclusive.
For more details, see the News of Orange story, Planned Meadowlands Project has Fans, Foes.
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