Dear Friends, I'm sorry to report that all our efforts so far have gotten us nowhere. :( To recap, there are a number of historic sites in the Trading Ford area of the Yadkin River, shared by Rowan and Davidson counties. Together, they comprise the most important historic area in this part of the state. They include the roads, fords, and ferries over which our ancestors travelled, Revolutionary War sites, and a Civil War battlefield (Fort York/York Hill/Camp Yadkin). The proposed I-85 expansion project threatens four of them (the Trading Path, the Yadkin Ford ferry and approach roads, the Trading Ford Monument, and a 1.8 mile segment through the Civil War battlefield). Two federal laws mandate the NC Department of Transporation to recognize and minimize its impact on historic sites. NCDOT persists in not doing either. Last spring, many of you sent emails in response to Dan Patterson's appeal, asking NCDOT for a public meeting on this matter. In April NCDOT promised us this meeting, then never did anything more about it. Many of you sent emails to NCDOT and NC's Historic Preservation Office (HPO) advocating the recognition of these historic sites in transportation planning. While HPO now recognizes the historic importance of this area, they have done nothing to protect the threatened sites. The following case study will give you an idea of how these matters have been handled. This is *one* feature of the Civil War battlefield, the only thing we've had any success at all in getting recognized, an earthen military fortification (somewhat of a historic ancestor to a foxhole). On March 6, 2002, an expert from the National Park Service examined and authenticated this earthwork. It was brought to the attention of, and shown to, the NCDOT representative on March 27, 2002. He took a photo of it. On December 16, 2002, a second expert also examined and authenticated the earthwork. He notified the state that it required their attention. NCDOT agreed to re-evaluate it. If this re-evaluation has been done, the results have not been made known. In January, 2003, a crew doing preliminary testing (NCDOT doesn't even own the land yet) ran over it with two trucks. On February 2, 2003, emails were sent to a number of officials notifying them of this damage. No responses to those emails were received. A little over three weeks later, a return visit found one of the NCDOT trucks parked *on* the earthwork. More emails were sent to a number of officials. We've now heard that NCDOT is investigating it. We should all be appalled at this demonstration of NCDOT's disregard for our heritage! It's time to get organized. A meeting announcement follows. Please come, and spread the word to any groups and individuals you know who are interested in our history. -------------------------------------- TO ALL INTERESTED IN ROWAN AND DAVIDSON COUNTY HISTORY * PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD * Announcing the first ever meeting of the TRADING FORD AREA HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Geographically including a four-mile area along the Yadkin River near I-85 Historically including: - The Trading Path and Trading Ford - The Yadkin Ford and Ferry (also known as John Long's Ferry, Cowan's Ferry, Hedrick's Ferry - Greene's Crossing at the Trading Ford, Revolutionary War, February 2-4, 1781 - 1818 Beard Bridge (also known as Locke's Bridge) - Camp Yadkin Battlefield (also known as Fort York, York Hill), Civil War, April 12, 1865 Wednesday, March 26, 2003 7:00 p.m. Rowan Public Library Stanback Auditorium 201 West Fisher Street Salisbury, NC (This event is not sponsored by Rowan Public Library) This is an initial meeting with the purpose of establishing an on-going preservation effort. Initial focus will be on threats posed by the I-85 improvement project. Future meetings will rotate between Rowan and Davidson counties. For further information, or to be placed on the mailing list if you can not attend, please contact: Ann Brownlee, 400 Lantz Avenue, Salisbury, NC 28144, 704-633-3125, whigkid@webkorner.com Save the Trading Ford: http://home.webkorner.com/whigkid/tradingford/save.html * PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD * A printable version of this meeting announcement is found here: http://home.webkorner.com/whigkid/tradingford/meeting.html