Location
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Coordinates: 35.6276, -82.1807.
Type: Sight
Tour: Cherokee
County: McDowell
Full
Although not proven, local tradition backed by some evidence holds that Davidson’s Fort occupied the site where the Mountain Gateway Museum is today. It is possible it was somewhere else nearby.
There is parking at the museum and across the street.
Please see our Hurricane Helene page about likely impacts to this location from the 2024 floods.
Context
From May to July of 1776, Cherokees angered by repeated violations of treaties setting the border for European-American settlements attacked whites from Virginia to South Carolina.
Situation
Cherokee
Urged to action by northern tribes and the outspoken war chief of one town, Dragging Canoe, Cherokees killed at least 40 people in North Carolina. Many Cherokees did not support their actions. They were living their normal lives in permanent towns throughout the southern Appalachians. Contrary to a fake letter circulated by white settlers, the British tried to prevent the attacks.
Militia
The overall commander of militia in the local multi-county district, Brig. Gen. Griffith Rutherford, gained permission from the North Carolina Council of Safety to retaliate by destroying Cherokee villages—whether or not they were involved in the raids. He gathered various county regiments at Quaker Meadows (modern Morganton) and marched this way.
Date
Saturday, September 1, 1776.
Timeline
