By Linda H. Barnette
Native Americans in Early Davie County
In the early days before the arrival of the white man, this area was inhabited by various Indian tribes. Researchers have discovered many artifacts from that time, and our library has a great collection of arrowheads and the like. Experts have dated some of these items back as far as 9,000 years. I still have the arrowhead that I found in Daddy’s garden when I was in the 5th grade.
The Indians were not friendly to these early settlers who were intruding into their land, and they attacked the settlers, causing them to build forts for protection. There was one on Elisha Creek and another on Dutchman Creek (not sure of the exact placement), one at Tanglewood and Fort Dobbs near Statesville, as well as other locations along the Yadkin. The Cherokee tribe was the largest and most violent among the tribes, which caused many settlers to leave the area. In 1761, troops from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia mounted a large attack on the Indians and ended the Indian presence in this area for good.
The Forks of the Yadkin
After 1761, newcomers literally poured into the area that became known as the “Forks of the Yadkin.” This name was given because of the fertile land located between the Yadkin and South Yadkin rivers. People came here in droves because of the existence of the Great Wagon Road that came from Philadelphia all the way to Augusta, Georgia. That road was originally a Native American hunting, trade, and war trail called the Warrior’s Path, and it became critical to the development of North Carolina. Thousands of Germans and Scots-Irish people settled in the western Piedmont, as well as Moravians who settled in what they then called Wachovia (now in Forsyth County, including Old Salem, Bethabara, and Bethania). During the Revolutionary War, the road was used by soldiers on both sides.
Early Settlement of Davie County
After the war, immigrants came into this area. Most were farmers who needed land to live on and to plant their crops so they could make a living. By 1766, Governor Tryon wrote, “I am of the opinion that this province is settling faster than any on the continent.” He noted that more than 1,000 wagons passed through Salisbury that year alone.
Moravian settlers established the Wachovia Tract in present-day Forsyth County, creating one of the earliest organized settlements in North Carolina’s Piedmont. Courtesy of Digital Davie
Addendum: When I was researching John Wilcoxin, a friend of Daniel Boone’s who built his cabin in the area between Mocksville and Cooleemee, I learned that he had a disappearing staircase inside that the family used to hide upstairs from wandering Indians. The cabin has been built over, but remains in our county.