DavidsonLearns (2023): An Exploration of Davidson History

Week 1: 1521-1879

Session Date: February 28, 2023

Instructors: Ellen Huggins and DebbieLee Landi

The first class session is an introduction to people and places including background about archives generally as well as specific information about the Davidson College Archives.  The chronology that is specific to the Town of Davidson begins with the year 1521 with indigenous peoples and ends in 1879 when the Town of Davidson College is incorporated.  There will be interactive exercises highlighting primary sources and records from the Davidson College Archives.    

Maps of Indigenous People in the Area

Davidson College and the Town of Davidson exist on the Catawba Nation's ancestral land. Not much is known specifically about the native community in this area pre-colonization, as these historical sites were quickly excavated and destroyed during the construction of Lake Norman. But there were Catawba villages in this area, which was documented by archeologists pre- Lake Norman and the travelogues of explorers like John Lawson. The Catawba belonged to a sophisticated agricultural society along with the surrounding tribes shown above, and Davidson's proximity to the river would have made this area a key crossroads on intra tribal trade routes.  The Catawba river was essential to south western Native American communities; it was used for the transportation needed to facilitate trade and the regular cross cultural connection that occurred amongst tribes all through the south and Midwest. Catawba people would use the natural clay of the riverbeds to make their pottery, which is still created by the Catawba today and considered to be the first art form of the Carolinas.