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Davidson’s Fort Historic Park

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Address: Lackey Town Road, Old Fort, NC 28762

Latitude/Longitude: 35.630832, -82.169602

Web site: click here

Pricing: Free

Description:

By the mid-1770s, colonists had settled into what is now the town of Old Fort, NC, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This area was the westernmost outpost of the colonial frontier during the American Revolution. For protection against the Cherokee Nation, who had sided with the British, the North Carolina militia built a fort, naming it for a member of the Davidson family who owned the land. The fort was used by General Griffith Rutherford to lead almost 3,000 militia men in a campaign against the Cherokee in the fall of 1776.

The militia continued to use Davidson’s Fort as an outpost into the 1780s, but no one yet knows what happened to the fort after the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783. Although research is ongoing, the original fort is no longer in existence, so the mystery also remains as to its exact location. Historical records give conflicting accounts, or are too broad to pinpoint the exact place where the fort would be located in present-day Old Fort.

Even though the original fort’s location is unknown, it didn’t deter local volunteers from channeling some of that early American frontier spirit. Through their efforts and labor, and with grants and donations from the community, they constructed a replica fort in Old Fort. Open to the public since 2010, Davidson’s Fort Historic Park serves as a living history exhibit, showcasing what forts of that era looked like and representing what life was like for the colonists who made this frontier land their home. Re-enactors meet at Davidson’s Fort Historic Park every third Saturday, and there are events scheduled throughout the year that are published on the Davidson’s Fort website.

From the Author: Easy directions to Davidson's Fort: From I-40, take exit 73 and turn so that you are heading north onto Catawba Avenue. Turn right (east) onto Main Street/Highway 70. Take the fifth right and head south on Lackey Town Road, all the way to the fort.


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