Save the Trading Ford! Public ForumPlease read.....I thought this important enough to forward to our lists...I apologize if you are on more than one and receive it several times. Thank you, Debbie Fowler ----- Original Message ----- From: Ann Brownlee Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2001 02:22 Subject: Save the Trading Ford! Public Forum -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAVE THE HISTORIC TRADING FORD! Public Forum Monday, October 29th, 2001, 7:00 pm Rowan Public Library, Stanback Room, 201 West Fisher Street, Salisbury, NC (This event is not sponsored by the Rowan Public Library) Duke Power Company is seeking approval to build an additional power plant at the Buck Steam Plant site in Rowan county. This is on land that borders the Yadkin River at the historic Trading Ford, the river crossing associated with the Indian Trading Path from what is now Petersburg Va. through North Carolina (very roughly along the route of present Interstate 85) to the Waxhaws and Catawbas in Georgia and South Carolina. There are records of Indian cultures in the area as early as 1567, when a Spanish fort, which has not been located, was believed to have been built near the ford. Early explorers John Lederer and John Lawson visited the ford in 1670 and 1701, and also described the Indians who resided there. The ford played a vital role in early European colonization and, although opinions differ, may have been the crossing of the Great Wagon Road at some time. There was a Revolutionary War camp, also not located, in the area in 1780 under the command of General Jethro! Sumner. Gen. Nathanael Greene and his forces crossed the Yadkin River at the Trading Ford on February 2nd and 3rd, 1781, taking all the boats with him and leaving Cornwallis' British army unable to pursue. A rear guard engagement occurred on February 3rd, and the British cannonaded the American forces across the river on February 4th. Nearby there are the remains of a bridge built in 1818, a Civil War entrenchment, and the birthplace and family cemetery of NC Governor John W. Ellis (whose remains were later removed to Salisbury). Some of the historic features in this area are still intact, while others have been destroyed by the backwaters of High Rock Lake, a railroad yard on the Davidson county side of the Yadkin River, and the present Duke Power plant. While the proposed site of the new plant is not known to further endanger historic features, it would further visually intrude, further damage a meaningful sense of history, and make the future possibility of reclaiming the site for historic use more difficult. Public comments are encouraged at a NC Utilities Commission hearing which will be held Thursday, November 8, 2001, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 2115, Dobbs Building, 430 North Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC. Written statements may be submitted and will be included in the Commission's official files; however the Commission will determine whether the certificate should be granted to Duke Power on the basis of testimony presented at the hearing. Written statements should be addressed to: Chief Clerk, North Carolina Utilities Commission, 4325 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4325. Additional information is available online at http://home.webkorner.com/whigkid/tradingford/ and by contacting Ann Brownlee, whigkid@webkorner.com , 704-633-3125. Please pass this information on to anyone who may be interested.