Special to Iredell Free News

Fort Dobbs State Historic Site Manager Scott Douglas will discuss the cultural significance of the local fort during the French and Indian War era during an upcoming lecture at the Statesville Historical Collection.

Douglas will deliver a lecture titled “Fort Dobbs: Crossroads of Cultures” at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 11. The event, which is presented by Iredell Museums and the Statesville Historical Collection, is free to the public, but a $5 to $10 donation is encouraged.

Fort Dobbs was constructed at the heart of the Fourth Creek Settlement during the French and Indian War; a time and place where Indigenous peoples and European colonizers were competing for the same territory. Douglas will look at what artifacts recovered from the site can tell us about the people who interacted with each other there, and the larger worlds they belonged to.

A native of Ontario, Douglas has spent most of his life in North Carolina. He has made a career in the field of historic interpretation at various federal, state, and private historic sites in both Virginia and North Carolina over the past 20 years. He served as the head of interpretation at Fort Dobbs from 2007-2013, and since that time has managed the site’s operations and development.

This event is made possible with a programming grant and support from North Carolina Humanities.

The Statesville Historical Collection is located at 212 N. Center Street in Statesville.