George Washington didn’t sleep here. But he did cross here.
And Davidson County officials believe if you build it, they will come.
Not George Washington, mind you. But others. Many others.
With a historic, 90-year-old bridge the brand new possession of Davidson County, the team tagged with planning its future uses is envisioning all kinds of visitors to the famous Yadkin River spot where Washington crossed, Native Americans lived, and armies skirmished.
“I see a lot of potential,” said Max Walser, the chairman of the think tank recently appointed to brainstorm plans for the Wil-Cox Bridge that for decades carried traffic into Rowan County on U.S. Highway 29/70.
“That’s why this bridge was so important for us to have,” Walser said. “It’s a wonderful idea going forward as a tourism attraction for this county.”
And though the steering committee appointed earlier this month by the Davidson County Board of Commissioners has yet to meet, Walser has little doubt that the bridge’s refurbished pedestrian use and a planned greenway will attract kayakers, hikers, nature enthusiasts and history buffs to the river location.
Practically in the shadow of the Wil-Cox Bridge and its seven, 150-foot spandrel arch spans is Fort York, a Confederate earthwork fort that was transferred this month to the LandTrust for Central North Carolina. About 10 miles up the Yadkin River is Boone’s Cave Park, a natural path for kayakers and hikers on a future greenway or “blueway.”
The historic bridge already is “one of the most aesthetically pleasing bridges” known to Walser, a bit of a history buff and also a longtime Davidson Schools superintendent and county commissioner. With the county’s takeover of the former state property last month comes two acres of land that can be developed to highlight the history and potential of that spot.
“It will hopefully attract people passing by,” said Walser, who 15 years ago led Grassroots Tourism, the county’s all-volunteer tourism promotion effort that evolved into the present-day Tourism Recreation Investment Partnership for Davidson County Foundation, or TRIP.
Three TRIP officials will serve on the new Wil-Cox Bridge Steering Committee that decides its fate: executive director Chris Phelps and board members Sim DeLapp and Jason Walser. Joining them are two county commissioners, Lance Barrett and Steve Shell; county recreation director Charles Parnell; and Guy Cornman, director of the county’s planning and zoning department.
Absent from the steering committee are any Rowan County officials.
Cornman had initially included the mayors of Salisbury and Spencer among those who had expressed interest in serving on the steering committee. But Walser said he suspects Davidson County’s Board of Commissioners excluded them because Rowan County showed little interest in preserving the Wil-Cox Bridge.
State transportation officials had planned to demolish the bridge, built in 1924, after it closed to motor traffic in April 2012. Davidson officials immediately stepped up with an offer to take ownership of the bridge, receiving with last month’s deed from the state a $2.5 million payout to develop it for “preservation activities” such as foot traffic, bicycles and other outdoor activities.
Walser said he can remember playing at the Yadkin River bank near the bridge as a child, uncovering Native American artifacts in the mud when the water got low.
“This has been a crossing point for eons,” Walser said, noting the spot’s centuries-old name of “The Trading Ford.”
Though Walser and the steering committee have yet to discuss concrete plans for the bridge, he said vehicle-turned-pedestrian bridges in other parts of the country have been beautified with plantings, historical kiosks and amenities that lure visitors to “lounge around on it.” The view off the Wil-Cox Bridge offers some stunning vantage points of the Yadkin River below.
Historical records make it clear that Washington did indeed cross the Yadkin River near the spot of the present Interstate 85 bridge while on his two-month “Southern Tour” of 1791.
After visiting Salisbury for two days, Washington’s entourage crossed at the well-known shallow spots near today’s bridges on May 31, “breakfasting on the north bank” while others’ horses and carriages crossed, say journals of the trip. The presidential entourage continued “10 miles farther,” the journals say, and had their horses fed at Reeds Crossroads by a Mr. Young.
From there it was on to Old Salem.
Michael Weaver can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or michael.weaver@the-dispatch.com. Follow Michael on Twitter: @LexDispatchMW
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