(Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper)
Simeon J. Hester purchased 576.5 acres of land in West Durham from William Willard in the 1870s; whether Hester built the house he would inhabit after his purchase is unknown, but architecturally, the house appears to be an early to mid 19th century structure with late 19th century embellishments/additions.
Durham County Map, 1890, showing Hester's home.
(Courtesy Duke Rare Book and Manuscript Collection - Scanned by Digital Durham)
Hester sold off portions of his land over the subsequent ~30 years to various entities. Much of the land to the south of his property was subdivided and termed "Hester Heights". Mitch Fraas wrote a nice three part series on the development of Hester Heights. The land to the west and north was purchased by John Sprunt Hill and developed as his Hillandale Golf Course.
It's unclear how the house was used after Hester's death in 1915, but by the mid 20th century, the house was somewhat of an 'island' at the end of Georgia Avenue.
In 1946, the Nature Center, which had been located in Northgate Park, moved to the Hester House. At some point around this same time, the center would be renamed the Children's Museum.
Hester House, 11.13.46
(Courtesy The Herald-Sun Newspaper)
1959 aerial showing the Hester House at the north end of Georgia Avenue, surrounded by the golf course.
In 1961, the Children's Museum moved north to a new facility on Murray Avenue, where it would be rechristened the Museum of Life and Science. The Hester house, along with the Hillandale Club House to the southwest, was demolished and the land redeveloped as a residential cul-de-sac.
Site of the Hester House, Georgia Ave., 10.12.09
Find this spot on a Google Map.
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