NC Mutual (Founded in 1898)

John C. Merrick's path to founding one of the oldest Black-owned life insurance companies in the nation is astounding. Born into slavery and later freed after the Civil War, this budding entrepreneur worked as a bricklayer in Raleigh, North Carolina, and later as a barber. Merrick ended up opening several barbershops in Durham and making connections with rich white people.

After securing a loan from a wealthy tobacco industrialist, he started the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association for Black People, which was ignored by other insurance companies at the time. Later rebranded as NC Mutual, the business continues to be a firm part of Durham's Black Wall Street.

E.E. Ward Moving and Storage (Founded in 1881)

Being the oldest Black-owned business in the entire county, E.E. Ward and Moving survived and thrived through the Reconstruction era, Jim Crow, segregation, and the civil rights movement. It all started with John T. Ward, an Underground Railroad conductor who founded the business with his son, William, in Columbus, Ohio.

The venture sprung from an Underground Railroad stop with just two horses and a wagon. Now, it's a multimillion-dollar, award-winning company led by powerhouse couple Brian and Dominique Brooks. After generations of service, E.E. Ward Moving and Storage became the first Black agent to receive the North American Van Lines Agent of the Year Award in 2021.

Fun fact: Brian Brooks is the godson of Eldon Ward, John's great-grandson, according to Black Enterprise. Brooks and his wife took over the business since Ward didn't have kids to pass on.

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