RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – Something special is brewing at Fort Dobbs—don’t miss the June 28 celebration packed with reenactments, stories and a look into the past. Fort Dobbs was the only permanent frontier provincial fort in the colony of North Carolina built for the French and Indian War in 1756. Site Manager Scott Douglas says they are one of the 27 state-run historic sites in North Carolina.
Scott Douglas, Historic Site Manager for Fort Dobb | RSS.com
“Fort Dobbs is located in Statesville, so about two hours east of Raleigh, and we actually have the site of a fort that was used during the French and Indian War,” said Douglas.
The fort was built as a military barracks for full-time soldiers, so civilians weren’t there all the time. Despite this, the fort has a huge impact on Statesville history.
“We know that civilians were going there to sell goods to the soldiers. There were several occasions where during the war there were times of danger in the area surrounding modern Statesville where settlers did go to Fort Dobbs seeking refuge,” said Douglas.
According to FortDobbs.org, Fort Dobbs was the only permanent frontier provincial fort in the colony of North Carolina built for the French and Indian War in 1756. North Carolina didn’t play a huge role in the war, but they were sent to fight alongside the British Army. North Carolina’s Colonel James Innes was commissioned commanding officer of all provincial forces in the first Ohio expedition by Governor Dinwiddie in 1754. Under Innes, North Carolina’s provincial regiment consisted of approximately 450 men, including Lieutenant Hugh Waddell.
“And soldiers from other colonies such as Virginian’s led by Colonel George Washington, we see North Carolinians fighting in Pennsylvania and even in New York in the course of the larger war,” said Douglas.
North Carolina was the first colony to respond to Virginia Governor Dinwiddie’s call for military assistance; voting to support troops outside of its own borders in behalf of a common cause and defense.
The Fort Dobbs Historical Site special event this weekend will focus on historic trades and how things were done in the back country.
“Our trades day will be from 10 o’clock until 4 o’clock, it’s a free event and donations are appreciated,” said Douglas. “We’ll have costumed interpreters doing a dozen different historic trades and occupations that would have been commonly seen in the back country.”
Douglas says people can expect to see actual blacksmithing, cooking demonstrations, a historic surveying party, someone making leather shoes by hand and more.