Frequently
Asked
Questions
about our region
Originally known as "the Waxhaw Settlement," the region encompasses an area just south of Charlotte, NC to Lancaster, SC and from the Catawba River in the west to Monroe, NC in the east. The area was named for its first inhabitants, the Waxhaw Indians.
- Who were the first European settlers in the Waxhaw area?
The earliest white European settlers began coming down the Great Wagon Road around 1740. They were predominantly Scots-Irish and German immigrants, who had come to America in search of land and opportunity. There were also a few English settlers, descendants of earlier New England colonists, who moved southward where land was more plentiful. Stalwart and hardy, these early settlers had a hard life to forge in what was then known as the Backcountry. Early roads were few and hard to travel, making communication and trade in and out of the region both erratic and unpredictable. Travel that did occur was often stymied by wet weather.
There were few encounters in this area between the Native Americans and these first European settlers, as by then most Indians in the region had been wiped out by disease and war. Those that were left often assimilated into other tribes. Consequently, these early European settlers found little competition for land, plenty of timber for homes, and an abundance of game. Many practiced the Presbyterian faith, and the first church in the region was built in 1752. The family of Andrew Jackson attended the Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church, and his father is buried in the cemetery there.
- Who were the Waxhaw Indians?
Long before European explorers came to the Americas, the Waxhaw Indians inhabited the area near Cane Creek in the Catawba River Valley. They were a small tribe of the Siouan language group. The origin of their name is not known for sure but it may mean 'People of the Cane,' in the common trade language used between native groups. Like most native populations in the area, they tended to congregate and build small settlements near the rivers, which provided food, transportation, and of course, water. The Waxhaws were referred to as 'flatheads' by early explorers and other natives. This nickname no doubt came from the tribes harmless practice of placing small sandbags on the foreheads of infants, resulting in wide-set eyes and a reshaped, flat forehead.
In 1566, Captain Juan Pardo and a party of about 100 men visited the Waxhaw Indians in search of a route west to Mexico to circumvent the dangerous sea voyage around Florida. This is the first known European contact with the Native Americans in this area. St. Augustine, Florida had only been founded the year before. Pardo describes the Waxhaw village as composed of long lodges, typical of Eastern woodland Indian tribes.
After the initial contact by the Pardo Expedition, trade developed between the Europeans and the natives. As a result, the Indians lost the ability, over time, to make weapons and tools in traditional ways, preferring instead to trade food and deer hides with the Europeans in exchange for muskets and axes. John Lederer arrived in 1670 and referred to the Indians as the 'Wisacky.' He noted that they were under the authority of the larger Catawba tribe.
John Lawson, commissioned by the Lord Proprietors of England in 1701 to survey the interior of Carolina, kept a detailed journal of his travels. According to Lawson, The Waxhaw lodges were "large and lightsome." The Indians made his stay quite comfortable. They sat on deer skins and dined on stewed peaches and corn. He noted their practice of flattening their foreheads, and also that they owned the largest iron cooking pots either he or any of his English trading companions had ever seen. Historians speculate that close to 2,000 Waxhaws lived here in two villages when Lawson made his journey.
By 1720, most of the Waxhaws had been wiped out by the dreaded diseases brought over by European settlers, particularly smallpox. The rest were decimated during the Yamasee Wars, which pitted them against South Carolina colonists and larger, more powerful, tribes. The majority of Waxhaws who survived are believed to have been absorbed into the neighboring Catawba tribe. Others joined the Seminole tribes in Florida.
What is Andrew Jackson's connection to the Waxhaws?
In 1765, Andrew Jackson, Sr., the father of the future president, moved with his wife Elizabeth (known as Betty) and their two young sons, Hugh and Robert, to the Waxhaw settlement. They were Scots Irish, originally from County Antrim in Ireland. It is believed that Andrew Jackson, Sr. bought farmland and built a home at Twelve Mile Creek, near present day Mineral Springs, NC (just off Hwy. 75 East a few miles from the museum.) This farmstead no longer exists but archaeological evidence suggests a home of modest means.
Andrew Jackson, Sr. died in late February, 1767. Betty traveled south to the Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church to bury her husband. On the return trip, she gave birth to Andrew Jackson, the future president of the United States. Although stories abound as to the events surrounding the birth, as of yet no definitive evidence has arisen to authenticate the exact location of Andrew Jackson's birth on March 15, 1767.
Betty Jackson sold the home in North Carolina and moved in with the family of her sister at the Crawford Plantation just across the border in South Carolina. Young Andrew remained here until after the death of his mother and brothers during the American Revolution. During the war, Andrew served as a messenger and was captured by the British. Following the war, he taught school briefly in the area, then moved to Salisbury, NC to study law. At the age of 21, Andrew Jackson moved west to Tennessee and never returned to the Waxhaws region.
Was Andrew Jackson born in North Carolina
or South Carolina? 
The debate over Andrew Jackson's exact birthplace is ongoing. The two most likely locations are Crawford Plantation, located in Lancaster County, South Carolina, and the George McCamie cabin, located in what is now Union County, North Carolina. Both sites are located only a few miles from each other and at the time of Jackson's birth the state line had yet to be drawn. Jackson himself claimed on many occasions to have been born in South Carolina but it is important to remember that at the time he made these statements South Carolina was in a bitter dispute with the federal government. It is possible that Jackson may have been trying to show an affinity for South Carolina in order to ease difficulties with the state.
A strong oral tradition claims that Jackson was born in North Carolina. Chief among this is the testimony of Mrs. Sarah Lathen, who's mother was a midwife at Jackson's birth. She claims that the birth took place at the McCamie cabin in North Carolina.
The Museum of the Waxhaws does not take any official
stand on the issue, preferring to emphasize that the only thing we know
for certain is that Jackson was born in the Waxhaws region, which encompasses
parts of North and South Carolina.
