Crossroads at Nation Ford

Front: Nation Ford was a pre-contact river crossing used by the Catawba Nation and other groups to traverse the Catawba River. It was part of the Great Trading Path from Va. to Ga., which forked near this site at a point known as “the Crossroads.” From here, the path ran east toward Camden and west toward Saluda. An inn, school, and several houses were eventually located at the Crossroads. Reverse: In 1840, state commissioners and Catawba leaders met at the Crossroads and signed the Treaty of Nation Ford. The tribe agreed to relinquish the surrounding 144,000 ac. for payment and land in N.C. The tribe ceded the land, but the state failed to uphold the agreement after N.C. refused to accept the Catawbas. Tribe members resettled on a 630-ac. reservation 7 mi. S, established by S.C. in 1842.