October 16, 2024
7:30 p.m. ET
Davidson College
Belk Visual Arts Center 117
Free and open to the public

Martha Gimson, “Forgotten Past? Bridging Beaver Dam’s Past to the Present (and into the Future)”

About the lecture:

Join Davidson College’s Historic Sites Program Manager, Martha Gimson, for a talk about the former plantation site Beaver Dam and its place in the past, present, and future. Beaver Dam, located in Davidson, NC, was built for William Lee Davidson II in 1829. Davidson College was named for his father, Revolutionary War General William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the Battle of Cowan’s Ford in 1781. Davidson College has recently reclaimed management of the site from the Town of Davidson.

During this talk, we will explore the site’s history and what is known about who lived there freely as well as those held in bondage. The talk will also include a discussion on the direction Davidson College is taking to move the site forward as a place of learning and enrichment with emphasis on how to best use the interior space, grounds, and surrounding forested area. Plans for future archaeological research are part of the evolving strategic plan to bridge the past with the present and will help shape the direction of Beaver Dam for the future.

About the speaker:

A member of AIA Society 333, Martha Gimson is a historical archaeologist and lifelong educator with a foundation in biological archaeology and geography. She focuses on the promotion of marginalized groups and the preservation of historical culture, primarily in the southeast region of the US. Research and fieldwork include locating unmarked burial grounds of the enslaved and formerly enslaved, cemetery mapping and remote sensing analysis of unmarked burials, skeletal analysis of marginalized populations for corporeal evidence of structural and systemic violence, and historical archaeology of homestead and plantation sites to further define the roles of African and African Americans in the history of the settlement of the Piedmont of North Carolina. She has worked with several local organizations as a Cultural Resource Consultant, providing guidance and insight on preservation, salvage, history, and advocacy.