Davidson’s Lakes

Heat and humidity are going strong in Davidson this summer, making some of us look longingly at pools and lakes. For a small inland town, Davidson has had quite a collection of bodies of water.

Back in 1835, when the site for Davidson College was selected, one of the favorable features was its close–but not too close–proximity to the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers.   For the students, the rivers provided some escape for picnic. and entertaining young women.

The May 1892 Davidson Monthly provides a glimpse of one such gathering:

There was quite an enjoyable picnic out at the old “Withers Home Place,” near the Catawba river, on the evening of May the 9th. The party, consisting of about twenty or thirty young ladies from the village and boys from the College, drove out, in hacks, at 3 o’clock, P. M., and returned that night, by moonlight, at about nine. Besides the young ladies of the village, Misses Costin, of Wilmington, Wood, of Statesville and Holiday, of Virginia, who are visiting Davidson, were present and added very much to the pleasure of the occasion. The thanks of the party are due to Mrs. Vinson, our amiable chaperone,for the efficient manner in which she took of them, and served the much appreciated repast in the latter part of the evening. Mr. H— of Elm Row fame, it is reported from a very reliable source, in addition to taking his holiday out on the river, carried a copy of Mrs. Browning’s Portuguese Sonnets along, in order to insure an interesting topic of conversation. It is useless to remark, that he lost the way and never reached the river until an hour or two after the party arrived.

It it was a fair hike (or buggy ride) to the Catabwa River from campus or town so the creation of Lake Wiley late in 1892 proved popular.  This Lake Wiley existed from 1892 to 1909 and was created by the damming up of a small creek.   Periodic dam collapses doomed the small lake. Students and townspeople had to settle for the rivers until 1963 when Lake Norman was created.

Davidson College was given a portion of land that is now known as the Lake Campus.

Over the years, it has been home to sailing teams, crew, water skiing, freshman orientation regattas, and even a horseback riding program.

After the construction of I-77 across the lake in 1968, the sections of the lake bordering the town became known as Lake Davidson.  Just across Griffith Street from Lake Davidson, is Roosevelt Wilson Park with a pond fed by the lake.

Whether you are close to Lake Norman, Lake Davidson, Lake Campus, the pond or another lake or river altogether, may you have cool breezes and good companions for a picnic. And if you’d like to know more about our lakes, check out the Davidson Encyclopedia.