Davie County, North Carolina: History
Present day Davie County (then part of Anson and Rowan) was the area of early settlement circa 1760 when the Morgan and Martha Bryan large extended family, including granddaughter nine-year-old Rebecca, became the first permanent white pioneers and settlers in the Forks of the Yadkin River after coming down the Great Wagon Road and crossing the Shallow Ford on the Yadkin River. Other settlers quickly followed including Squire and Sarah Boone, whose son Daniel would marry Rebecca Bryan and together with their large family lead the migration across the Cumberland Gap into the western frontier, having been trained how to tame a wilderness by their parents in what is now Davie County.
The county was formed in 1836, carved out from Rowan County. It claimed the land that lay within the Forks of the Yadkin and was named for William R. Davie, Governor of North Carolina from 1798 to 1799. Mocksville, at the intersection of three major roads, was created on Mocks Old Field (first white man owned by pioneer Caspar Sain) to be the county seat. Two courthouses have served the county on its historic town square.
During the Civil War, 1,147 soldiers (nearly one fourth of the population) from Davie County fought in the American Civil War for the Confederate States of America.
In 2023, Davie County won the All-America City Award for the county's youth involvement and health and wellness programs. Some notable youth organizations included the SURF Board, Ignite Davie, the CTE programs, and the Davie Respect Initiative.