Fort Dobbs Marker, Statesville
The Fort Dobbs marker is comprised of a rusticated granite tablestone with a flat arch top and bronze tablet attached. The tablet has a likeness of the old fort and stockade above the inscription.
Images:
Bronze plaque |
Rear view |
Street view |
Angle view |
Far-off view
ABOUT TWO MILES NORTH OF THIS SPOT STOOD FORT DOBBS, ERECTED IN 1755 BY CAPTAIN HUGH WADDELL AND NAMED FOR ARTHUR DOBBS, ROYAL GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA. THE FORT WAS 53 FEET LONG, 40 FEET WIDE AND 24 ½ FEET HIGH, CONTAINING THREE FLOORS, FROM WHICH 100 MUSKETS MIGHT BE DISCHARGED AT ONE TIME. IN THIS FORT WERE BORN RACHAEL DAVIDSON IN 1758 AND MARGARET LOCKE IN 1776, WHOSE DESCENDANTS ARE PROMINENT CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTY. IN THIS IMPORTANT OUTPOST OF WHITE CIVILIZATION, THE PIONEER SETTLERS TOOK REFUGE FROM THE RAIDS OF THE CHEROKEE INDIANS DURING THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. A NIGHT ATTACK BY ABOUT 70 CHEROKEES ON FEBRUARY 27, 1760, WAS REPULSED BY WADDELL’S GARRISON OF ABOUT 10 MEN, AND ENDED INDIAN RAIDS ON THIS FORT.
City of Statesville
November 11, 1940
35.785590 , -80.885200
View in Geobrowse
Branch, Paul. “Fort Dobbs,” NCPedia.org, (accessed July 1, 2016) Link
Cashion, Jerry Clyde. “Historical Research Report for Fort Dobbs, Iredell County,” (Raleigh, NC: State Department of Archives and History, 1968), (accessed May 23, 2017) Link
“City Moving Granite Monument,” Statesville Record and Landmark (Statesville, NC), October 14, 1975
“Monument Unveiled Monday Pictures Old Fort Dobbs,” Statesville Record and Landmark (Statesville, NC), November 14, 1940
Yes
Bronze on granite
Society of the Daughters of Colonial Wars
The marker was unveiled by two young boys wearing Colonial dress with powdered wigs. The boys, Joseph H. Miller and Lloyd R. Shaw, Jr., were direct descendants of the two girls, Rachael Davidson and Margaret Locke, mentioned in the inscription as being born in the fort. Prior to the unveiling a short service was held in the nearby 1st Baptist Church.
This Fort Dobbs marker was the first erected in North Carolina by the Society of the Daughters of Colonial Wars. An earlier marker was erected at the actual site of Fort Dobbs by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1910.
The marker is located in a highway median in front of the Statesville Record and Landmark newspaper building at 222 E. Broad Street, Statesville, NC.
The marker stands on a grass highway median, surrounded by seasonal greenery and flowers.
The marker was moved from its original location at the intersection of E. Broad and Trade Street in October 1975 to accommodate road construction.
Know anything else about this monument that isn't mentioned here? If you have additional information on
this or any other monument in our collection fill out the form at the Contact Us link in the footer. Thank you.
