The Trading Ford (between present Davidson and Rowan counties, NC) afforded one of the earliest known crossings of the Yadkin River and access to present Rowan county and lands west of the Yadkin. It is rich in history and culture, from pre-contact Native Americans, an early failed colonization effort by the Spanish (1567-68), journeys of explorers John Lederer (1670) and John Lawson (1701) among others, through European colonization begun in the 1700s, to modern times.  It was here that General Nathanael Greene foiled Cornwallis' British pursuit in the Revolutionary War, and the last Civil War Confederate victory in North Carolina was won at Camp Yadkin.

NEW!  Trading Ford Area Historic Timeline

Detail from the Collet Map of 1770

INSIGHT (First of a Series) by Geitner Simmons, Salisbury Post

1940s Digs Uncovered Artifacts

Understanding the 'Original Southerners'

Spanish Empire Failed to Conquer Southeast

Prairies and Bottomland Forests are among Rowan's Lost Habitats

An Unknown South: Pardo Story Helps Rowan Learn about Itself

Exploring Joara Foundation: Archaeological examination of Joara Indian settlement and Spanish Fort San Juan at the Berry site in the Catawba Valley

A New Voyage to Carolina, John Lawson (1701) (Full Text); Excerpt describing the Trading Ford area

Map of the Trading Path                                                                                                                                                                                       

History and Development of the Jersey Settlement

The Ellis Family Cemetery, Davidson county, NC

The Torrence Mansion and the Heights of Gowerie                                                                                                                                                     

Two camps near the Yadkin Ford

Fateful day at Trading Ford: In February 1781, Rowan was the site of a crucial encounter between British troops and Nathanael Greene's patriot forces

Race to the Dan map

General Joseph Graham's Account of British Pursuit of Greene to the Trading Ford

UPDATED AND EXPANDED!  Trading Ford Monument, Davidson county, NC, Dedicated 1929, Restored 2009!

For further information - a selected bibliography

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REPORT TO CONGRESS  GIVES HIGHEST NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE TO TRADING FORD REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITE

EXPANDED!  The Yadkin Ford and John Long's/Cowan's/Hedrick's Ferry                                                                                                                                           

EXPANDED!  The Yadkin's First Bridges:  Beard Bridge 1818; Piedmont Toll Bridge c. 1899; First Rail Bridge c. 1855

NEW!  20th century bridges:  1906 & 1919 rail bridges; 1922 Wil-Cox Bridge; 1951 Hwy 29 Bridge; 1957 I-85 Bridge                                                                                                                                                                                               

Stoneman's Raid: Salisbury and the Yadkin River Bridge

Civil War Preservation Trust names Yadkin River Bridge one of America's 25 Most Endangered Civil War Battlefields in 2008 and 2009