DAVIDSON HISTORY
The Dave McLean Community Center: by Nancy Griffith for Black History Month
NEWS The Ada Jenkins Center as we know it today was preceded by an earlier community center sponsored by the Davidson College YMCA and the Women’s Civic League. In 1938, the college Y organized a Committee on Colored Work, headed by student Dave McLean. At the time,...
History Lost, and Preserving Some That Remains
NEWS We have a sad update to the article we published a little over a week ago, followed by a little bit of good news on the topic of historic preservation. The old farmhouse on Highway 115, just north of Davidson, was demolished last Friday afternoon. The...
In Honor of Black History Month: Echoes of Slavery, the Byers Family, by Historian Nancy Griffith
NEWS Andy Byers, a neighbor whom Ralph Johnson referred to in his book David Played a Harp, was enslaved by James S. Byers of Iredell County, as was his father Andrew. James Smith Byers’ 1862 will listed “Old Andrew” and Andrew, both of whom he bequeathed to his...
History Lost and Found: Soon to be Lost Forever
NEWS If you have driven up NC 115 in recent weeks, you have likely seen the clearing of the large parcel of land on the west side of the road just before Bridges Farm Road. Late last week, the clearing unveiled a long-hidden piece of history. An old...
Walnut Grove: a Davidson History Column by Nancy Griffith
NEWS When we think of plantation houses in Davidson, our minds usually turn to Beaver Dam, the Davidson plantation on Concord Road. There was, however, a large plantation much closer to downtown, called Walnut Grove. The owners, the Johnston family, farmed a large...