Catawba Nation
Pre- 1500s: Davidson area is populated by the Catawba people, who live on "beads on a string" settlements along the Catawba River; small, interconnected communities that line the shore. Regular trade and cultural connection occurs between the Catawba and other tribes present in the Southeast region.
1521 - Spanish magistrate and slave raider Vasquez de Allyon arrives in the Carolina Piedmont region, kidnapping Catawba people from a coastal village onto ships to be entered into forced labor in the Caribbean islands. Subsequent Spanish slave raiding weakens native communities by introducing disease and breaking up families. The connection between tribes suffers as well in the lead up to British and European colonization.
1760- At the Treaty of Pine Tree Hill, representatives of the Catawba Nation signed an agreement with the King of England to concede a large tract of their land across the Carolinas, which included modern-day Davidson. In return, they were given a fifteen square mile reservation near Rock Hill, SC that was to be protected against English encroachment.
1763- The land concession agreement was solidified at the Treaty of Augusta, which was a meeting between leaders of the English and the five southern tribes; the Cherokee, Creek, Catawba, Chickasaw and Choctaw.
Town of Davidson College and Town of Davidson
11 March 1837 – Classes begin at Davidson College
19 July 1837 – United States Post Office established at Davidson College. James Johnston first postmaster.
1837 Town and college organize a Temperance Society (71 members)
1838 Main St. Cemetery - started for burial of people connected to the school; after 1880s open to residents of the Town of Davidson; still under College control today
1845 - 1849 more than 50 students suspended for intoxication and related “infractions of the law” included shooting at townspeople
1848 – Davidson’s first hotel built - after purchase by H. Helper known as Helper Hotel (Now Carolina Inn)
1850 – census – 254 free, 114 slaves
1855 College and town form patrols (Faculty minutes 5 May 1855)
1858 - A Private Law of NC - An Act to Prevent the Sale of Intoxicating Liquors at or Near Davidson College - within 3 miles of the College; also prevented billiards, voting enticement and more
1859 - 1860 Board of Trustees Executive Committee rents Steward’s Hall and vacant dormitories to Mrs. Brown for her use
1860 – census – 240 free, 172 slaves
1861 – Davidson becomes a stop on the Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio Railroad line between Statesville and Charlotte
1864 – Railroad tracks dismantled
18 July 1867 - Faculty Report on Sabbath School which was held every Sunday afternoon. The students' “efforts on behalf of the colored (underline in original) population around the College assisted by the Ladies of the Village, has been earnest and successful.” A significant number were taught to read the “Word of God.”
1870 – Population Census - (not town but town and area) - 1605
1874 – AT&O Railroad returns to Davidson
1877 - Rev. Hepburn - last President of the College to serve as minister of DCPC
1879 – Town is incorporated as “Davidson College.” William P. Williams, a Methodist lay minister, is elected as the first mayor and the town has an operating budget of $196.62. Board’s responsibilities include establishing town ordinances, levying and collecting taxes, electing the town marshal, and supervising improvements to public property, especially roads.
1880 - Population is 391.
1882 - Typhoid fever hits town, killing three college students.
1883 – Town installs street lamps and Depot Street becomes the first paved (or “macadamized”) road in town. The first guardhouse in town is built.
1885 – Davidson College Presbyterian Church building is completed at a cost of $6000.
1886 – Town commissioners lay off Concord Road. The town board votes to appoint a cotton weigher for town, prompting R.J. Stough to move his scales outside of town, which leads to the development of the town of Cornelius.
1887 - Measles spreads through town, killing one resident. Town passes an amendment of the charter granting the town the right to condemn private property in order to build new streets and widen existing ones.
1889 - A skating rink is opened on the upper floor of the store buildings on Main Street.
1890 – Population reaches 481. Davidson’s first cotton mill, the Linden Manufacturing Company, is founded and built on the west side of town from land purchased from the college. The Masonic Lodge for Black residents is established in this decade.
1891 – Name of town is changed to “Davidson” from Davidson College after much debate and the proposal of such names as “Hempstead,” “Canton,” and “Brandon.” The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle is established for white “ladies of the village.”
1892 – Davidson Academy, the first white public school in town, is founded under the auspices of Davidson College Presbyterian Church. It holds free classes four months a year and six months of classes for those who could afford tuition.
1893 – North Carolina Medical college is incorporated. Town passes its first Blue Laws, banning the selling of goods on Sundays. The first mention of a school for Black residents appears in a college magazine. Lake Wiley, a 14 acre pond, is created for recreation for town residents and college students.
1894 - Davidson Presbyterian Church building erected just west of the town’s railroad tracks. Mill Chapel is built for mill workers in town. Black and white men voted: out of 40 voters on May 7, 1894, at least 12 Black voters.
1895 - Typhoid fever returns, killing one resident. A Sanitary Committee is installed.
1897 - Reeves Temple A.M.E. Zion congregation is established and a frame structure is built on Eden Street.
1898 - In response to the emergence of smallpox in Statesville, the town requires anyone coming from Statesville to provide a health certificate or face a misdemeanor charge. A typhoid epidemic comes to the college. A committee is appointed to improve town wells.
1899 - Depot is built and a telephone franchise is approved for the town. $6,000 in bonds is issued to macadamize the streets and improve the sidewalks. The college lays water pipes throughout town. An improved guardhouse is built. Typhoid fever returns, killing one resident. The Booklovers Club is established by Jennie Martin, the first of many women’s book clubs and literary societies in the town.
1900 - The population reaches 904. Black voters are disenfranchised by the town.
1901 – Fire in downtown business district. It begins in Monroe Pott’s livery stable and burns Manly Cranford’s department store, William Sayer’s grocery store, Abraham McCullough’s barber shop, Sallie Lafferty’s millinery shop, and a meat market. Loss estimated at $15,000. The first “locomobiles” are spotted in town.
1904 – The first water, sewer, and electric systems are installed.
1905 - Gethsemane Baptist Church holds its first service in a house on Depot Street.
1906 – Fire in downtown business district. It begins at the intersection of Concord Road and Main Street and travels south and stops at Cranford’s department store. The local school board takes over the public schools. Davidson Methodist Church builds its church on South Main Street.
1907 - The medical college moves to Charlotte. The Delburg Cotton Mill is organized and construction begins in 1908.
1910 - Population is 1,056.
1911 - May 18 identified as general clean up day and residents are notified that all trash and refuse will be carted off free of expense to them. The graded school law passes in Davidson leading to public oversight and public funds for education. The Civic Club is founded to tackle education, sanitation, and beautification issues in town.
1915 - A bus line begins service to Davidson and the first movie is shown. The town board decides that two town commissioners must act as censors before films are shown. Sunday Blue Laws are relaxed so that restaurants, cafes, and lunch rooms can be open for limited hours.
1916 - Skit Scofield’s general store, a town institution since 1870, closes.
1917 - The Delburg Cotton Mill builds a two-high story building, which doubles the capacity of the mill and creates more than 100 jobs. The U.S. enters the Great War and 44 men from the town volunteer for the armed services.
1918 - The flu epidemic hits Davidson with more than 200 cases affecting townspeople and students. At least five people died.
1920 - The population reaches 1,156. The town institutes a tax of $2.00 for each automobile owned and kept within town limits. Chautauqua in Davidson, a program of lectures and classes, is held in a large tent on the village grove.
1923 - The Maxwell Chambers Hotel is built, advertising a dining room capable of seating 200 and boarding for students. An improved Main Street, called the Davidson College Highway, is dedicated and complaints about traffic immediately begin. The town creates an improved water infrastructure.
1921 - A fire destroys Chambers, the main college building; bricks from the buildings are used in many homes east of Main Street.
1922 - A new stretch of brick buildings is added to Davidson’s business district. A Ford dealership opens and is followed by an additional car dealership and three gas stations by 1935.
1923 - The Delburg Mill is sold to Martin Cannon of Cannon Mills and the Linden Mill building is closed. The Davidson Development Association is formed to foster booster enthusiasm. Two local book clubs hold a picnic with entertainment provided by a mock group of Ku Klux Klansmen. 21 cases of tuberculosis are diagnosed.
1924 - A new building for the white school in town is built on South Street and is dedicated as the Davidson High School; a second small building is added to the existing black school.
1926 - Stough Brothers movie theater opens. The Civic Club Hall is built and used for club meetings and scout troops.
1929 - The county Library system establishes a branch library in Davidson. Two jail cells are installed on Depot Street. The town’s first talking movie, “The Trial of Mary Dugan,” is shown.
1930 - Population is 1,445. The Carolina Asbestos Company opens in the Linden Mill building in the early 1930s. The Mill Chapel is reorganized as the Unity Church and moves into a new building.
1931 - Mill houses in town receive electricity.
1932 - The town board greatly increases the hours eating establishments can be open on Sundays. Commissioners pass an ordinance banning hogs and pigs in an area of town west of Main Street and south of Delburg Street.
1933 - Town school Board gives up its charter and deeds school property to Mecklenburg County. The town rents a small building on Main Street for use as its first town hall. Davidson’s Compliance Board is established to enforce standards set by the New Deal’s National Recovery Administration. The Davidson Volunteer Fire Department is formed.
1934 - Bricks from Louisiana, on old campus building, are used to create sidewalks on both sides of Main Street. The Delburg Cotton Mill is closed for three days in response to labor unrest.
1935 - The first female staff member for the town, Mrs. S. A. Thompson, is elected by the Board to serve as collector of the town at a salary of $50.00 per month. An expanded sewer system is built.
1936 - Reflecting the effects of the nationwide depression, the town budget for 1936-37 is $22,799.45, less than half of the one for 1927-27.
1937 - The town’s first stoplight is installed at the corner of Main Street and Depot Street. The town’s telephone exchange is upgraded to the “dial system.” Construction begins on a new school building for Black children in Davidson, known as the Davidson Colored School. The Lee Paper Box Company opens, but only lasts in town for a couple of years.
1938 - Town commissioners purchase twelve acres for Mimosa Cemetery. A bowling alley opens in a renovated telephone building.
1940 - Town population - 1,550 (Aprox. 75% white and 25% Black)
1942 - Town ordinance passed authorizing a Civil Defense Committee
1945 - Civil Defense Ordinance revoked
1946 - Town publishes a map with official street names and house numbers
1947 - The Davidson Printing Company founded
1948 - The Cornelius-Davidson Gazette (aka The Mecklenburg Gazette) begins publication
1949 - The Bank of Davidson opens
1950 - Davidson Cotton Mill closes permanently. Fire breaks out in Brady’s Alley on February 19th. Citizens' Zoning Committee appointed. Local Housing Ordinance passed. Town hires Building Inspector.
1954 - Bridgeport Fabrics begins operating in the former Davidson Cotton Mill
1956 - Griffith Street opens
1957 - The first Zoning Ordinance is passed
1959 - The first Black police officer is hired (Charlie White). Duke Power begins construction on Lake Norman
1960 - Town population- 1,673 (Aprox. 76% white and 24% Black)
1961 - The new Town Hall completed
1963 - Community Relations Committee formed. Duke Power completes construction on Lake Norman
1964 - The Zoning Board is reactivated
1965-66 - North Mecklenburg public schools are desegregated
1966 - Ralph Johnson moves his barbershop to the corner of Main St. and Depot St. The Ada Jenkins School closes
1967 - Construction begins on the Lakeside Park housing development
1968 - I-77 reaches Davidson (opens to Davidson on December 31, 1975). Davidson College students boycott Ralph Johnson’s barbershop (April 2-May 7). General Time begins operations in Davidson
1969 - The first Black Town Commissioner is elected (Joe McClain)
1970 - The first Parks and Recreation advisory board is appointed. The Carolina Asbestos Co. closes
1971 - A clean-up week campaign culminates with “Town Day”. Ralph Johnson closes his barbershop permanently on Nov 15th.
Davidson College Library Research Guides are licensed under
CC BY-SA 4.0.
Mailing Address: Davidson College - E.H. Little Library, 209 Ridge Road, Box 5000, Davidson, NC 28035