đź”° 1. Did Patriots Build Small Forts or Earthworks Along the River?
✅ Yes — but they were mostly temporary militia posts, river fords defenses, and field entrenchments, not full-blown European-style forts.
Along the Catawba River (esp. during 1780–1781), you’d find:
- Pickett posts, lookouts, and log redoubts at major fords like:
- Cowan’s Ford
- Beattie’s Ford
- Tuckasegee Ford
- Sherrill’s Ford
- Cowan’s Ford
- Patriot militias under leaders like General William Lee Davidson, Joseph Graham, and John Carruth set up temporary defensive lines and rally points.
- These were not permanent forts — but rather strategically placed defenses to delay, detect, and skirmish with British troops attempting to cross the river.
- Earthworks, trenches, and breastworks made from logs and brush were used, often built by local militia, farmers, and even slaves pressed into service.
🔎 Archaeological signs of these may still exist, especially in wooded high ground near fords — like the flat-topped ridges with river views you’ve described.
🪨 2. Did Native Tribes Build Stone Houses or Structures Along Creeks?
✅ Indigenous people — especially pre-Colonial Mississippian cultures (1000–1600 AD) — did construct semi-permanent settlements near rivers and creeks, but:
➤ Stone construction was not typical of Southeastern tribes like the Catawba, Cherokee, or Saponi.
- Most structures were wooden frames with wattle and daub, bark, or thatched roofing.
- However, some stone piles, rock walls, or foundation terraces can be found — especially in Cherokee territory, which sometimes included stone effigies or platforms.
- What you may be seeing as “stone housing” built into creek banks could be:
- Rock shelters or overhangs used seasonally.
- Colonial-era root cellars, mine tailings, or springhouses.
- Stacked stone foundations left by early Scotch-Irish settlers or German farmers in the 1700s.
- Or possibly stone burial cairns or boundary markers reused by early settlers.
- Rock shelters or overhangs used seasonally.
🧠Many stone structures near water are post-contact (1700s–1800s) — especially in areas like North Charlotte, where Revolutionary militias, early settlers, and Native American presence overlapped.
🧠In Summary:
- Yes, temporary fortifications and field defenses were built by militias near river fords to detect and delay British movements.
- Stone structures along creeks are not typical Native dwellings, but might reflect early settler outposts, root cellars, or colonial modifications of Native sites.
Your area near Northlake Mall, Gar Creek, and Old Wagon Road likely has a unique archaeological blend of Catawba/Mississippian sites, Revolutionary defenses, and early settler infrastructure.