Bet You Didn’t Know

Fording Across

Why one word shows up in so many road names

by Martin Rose

Living near the lake, you likely travel or mention Beatties Ford, Sherrill’s Ford, Cowan’s Ford or Rozzelles Ferry roads regularly, but you may not realize the history of these names and their role in settling our area.

Early travelers had two ways of dealing with rivers until bridges arrived in the mid 1800s. Take a ferry or actually ford the river at a shallow crossing. “Fords and ferries were critically important links,” local historian Dan Morrill told Lake Norman Currents.

The Catawba River is above the fall line in our area, making it impassable for transportation. “Rivers in our area were basically a pain in the neck,” says Morrill. “Rivers were not avenues of commerce but obstacles.”

Ferries traversed the Catawba via long poles and a cable strung between the banks. There was no schedule. “If you got to one side and ferry was on the other, you yelled or blew a horn to get attention,” Morrill says. Privately owned, ferry operators charged a user fee paid with cash or barter.

Fords were more prevalent because you just showed up at a known shallow point and forded across. The following crossings in our area are named for early white settlers, though Native Americans used them for trade and travel long before the arrival of Europeans. Sherrill’s Ford In 1747, Adam and his family became the first documented white settlers west of the Catawba River. The area where they crossed became known as Sherrill’s Ford. The town of Sherrill’s Ford also takes its name from the family.

Beatties Ford John Beatty, following the east-west trading path used by Native Americans, crossed the Catawba River and purchased 944 acres on its west bank in 1749 near present day Governor’s Island. Beatty later established a ferry at this location that became the main route between Salisbury and Morganton.

Cowan’s Ford Cowan’s Ford, near the current dam, is the site of a Revolutionary War battle in 1781 that claimed the life of North Carolina militia commander General William Lee Davidson. Davidson College, the town of Davidson and Davidson County are all named

for General Davidson. Rozzelles Ferry Further south, Rozzelles Ferry, named for operator John Rozzell, was the only ferry linking Mecklenburg and Gaston counties prior to Civil War.

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