Fort Dobbs State Historic Site

Great place to stop to learn about North Carolinas frontier history. Hard to imagine a time when THIS SPOT was the last bit of Western Civilization before entering total wilderness and Indian territory. The on-site guide did an OUTSTANDING job of teaching us how George Washington accidentally started the French and Indian War near here when they took out a group of French diplomats that they thought were invading soldiers. Very cool history and Im glad this place is here!

Family had a great time..All the historians and volunteers were knowledgeable fun for the whole family

The $2 tour was such a great investment! There is so much interesting history that the guides can share. Plan about 2 hours to go through this site thoroughly. Well worth your time!

Incredible place to come and visit and relax and enjoy the day. The historian who showed us around its time to listen to us and answer our questions.Come learn about history in North Carolina

Great learning experience! Our guide, Jasons knowledge of history is second to none. Good time for anyone interested in learning about history.

Lots of history here and the replica of the original barracks/fort is amazing and so is the tour they give to tell you all about it! Consider leaving a donation to these historians who try pass down the history of the area with so much detail!

Cool place. but you couldnt go inside. that sucked.

Really cool old fort. You can kind of picture what it would’ve been like to be there with the garden nearby and just the stature of the fort. Was impressed and glad I stopped in for a visit.

A must see for any history enthusiast! The staff are very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions. It may not be what you expect to find in the middle of a housing development but history is history. North Carolina found a gem and they are polishing it up! I will most definitely be making another trip to see the completed construction.

Our tour guide was informative and enthusiastic. This site, important in the history of Piedmont North Carolina, is easy to get to from Interstate 40 and is well worth the trip. The rebuilt fort is beautiful.

Fantastic learning experience - guide extremely knowledgeable about local historical events!

Cool historical site would reccomend visiting

Great historical experience! Incredible work has been done/is being done to completely replacate this very significant piece of our Great Nations history! This would make a wonderful school field trip once the Fort is completed and open. We definitely be back.

Not a big place, and the fort is under construction until next April(2019), but still an interesting place to stop for a few minutes. Its more interesting when there is an event, of which all but one are usually free to attend. A nice little slice of history.

Absolutely a hidden gem. I went in just for a visit but left with a TON of information. William was my guide and he was VERY knowledgeable. I learned a lot and even got recommendations for future visits to places of my interest. The fort was still in construction, so I look forward to visiting again when it is completed.

Very interesting tour.

So much history in this area! This site is awesome to learn about this fort from the 18th century. Lots of things to see, and you can visit the learning center if you make an appointment.Bathrooms are available in a separate facility. There are also walking trails. A nice afternoon!

Was an awesome tour, loved all the info, our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Visited October 3rd 2020

Neat history of the fort from the time of the French Indian War. Served to protect the colonists on the Western NC frontier.

So worth stopping by. Authentic history. Felt like walking back through 18th and 19th centuries. Amazing artifacts.

What is a amazing is that a baseball field is bigger and you had all those man shooting at each other in an open field. worth stopping for to see the history. tour guide was great and i think thry are going to rebuild the fort someday

Great on site historian. Cant wait to go back non pandemic

Very cool little historical site. It was a reenactment weekend so there were people cooking, making tools, & making rounds inside the fort. Little bit of hiking behind the fort & a cute little gift shop to stop in as well.

Incredible reconstruction of the Fort. Our tour guide was really enthusiastic and informative. Even the hiking trail behind the museum/gift shop was peaceful—despite more and more houses being built around the historic site!

Fun and educational place for the family. The staff is very well informed and knowledgeable and kind.

Great place to visit. Our tour guide was very engaging with my son. He loved it!

I love this historical site from the French Indian war period. They have done an impeccable job of recreating the fort. Nice museum and small store as well.

Amazing! My family and I loved it!!! Scott our tour guide was fantastic!!! We will be back!!!!

Very informative . The people that work there were great.

Delightful history right here in Iredell county. Go spend a couple hours learning about military life in the mid 18th century.

Fort Dobbs is a small part of NC history but a really neat place to visit. Just 15mins from I-40 a great place to stop. The guides are informative, friendly, and they love questions.

There was a gentleman there dressed in period clothes and full of information

On its way to greatness, very knowledgeable young man

Excellent historical site near Charlotte NC

There is good information here, but there isnt much to actually see. The site is under a restoration project to erect a building that replicates what was originally there. If you go, just make sure you have other plans for the day as well.

Beautiful reconstruction of a fort from the French and Indian war. The guided tour is excellent and their are decent walking trails.

Considering this historic site disappeared not long after the revolutionary war, it is amazing what they have been able to rebuild (and are still working hard on it). We will visit again, soon.

Please go and enjoy North Carolina pre revolutionary times

My family and I spent the whole day here and it was the most amazing thing I ever seen. I learned so much, even our children 7 and 12 enjoyed it. Parking is very simple, for entrance its just a very small donation. Being from a different state to learn about a piece of NC history, this place is a place you got to check out. The people here are very kind people. Very knowledgeable about the history. They are in costume and can teach you lots but not just talking, demonstrating. You can also get pics with them. All I did was walk up to them and ask if I could take a pic with them. I am not sure if everyone there will say yes I didnt ask every one. But dont be scared to like I said they are very nice people. They have regular bathrooms and not out houses incase anyone wants to know. I know I wanted to know at first lol. kids have so much room to run around and have fun. They have a mini park that is fenced in for little ones to play in. its has to picnic tables. They also have a little pavilion near the little park area that has a detached restroom. Across from there is a hotdog stand which is so yummy! They also sell chips, soda and water. Fort Dobbs is very clean and taken care of. they have a little gift shop that has souvenirs. there is so much more. you just got to check it out...**oh I just want to let you know that that is a wooden toy our son got from the gift shop here. very durable may I add lol

Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Nice roadside museum, interesting history.Well worth the visit, facilities were well kept and clean.

Nice restored historic site. Picnic tables, gift shop, excellent interpretative guides, short hiking trail. Doesnt take too long to see.

Wonderful job of reconstruction. Guide is well versed in the history and the artifacts and use of the fort.

Awsome! Loved learning

Amazing history! Our tour guide was exceptional! Easy to find and good parking.

Great Way to spend an Afternoon

Awesome place to visit if you love history! The staff is very informative and very fun to speak with!

This will be a must see on your list of things to do once up and running. Its very impressive to see from the outside. It wasnt in operation yet to go through, but will be a must see once it is.

My favorite historical site. Staff is friendly, and the fort is currently being reconstructed.

Staff was very knowledgeable loved learning the history about Fort Dodds would love to go back for their Grand opening in September.

Great time out for the family! Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of fort and everything in that era. He made it fun and educational for the kids.

Great place.

My husband and I really enjoyed our visit to Fort Dobbs. The reproduction of the fort being built is amazing! It has to be seen to really appreciate the scale of the undertaking and thats with only the first of three levels completed. The historical interpreter, William, was incredible too! He was so knowledgeable about EVERYTHING on the grounds as well as North Carolina history. The gentleman in the visitors center was also very friendly and helpful.

Me and my daughter had a great time here and learned a lot love this cant wait to go back again

This is a great place to go to learn about pre American Western frontier.

William Caldwell was a fabulous tour guide! He was very professional and informative.I highly recommend a visit here!

So much history!! The renovations are being done and everything is being made by hand. Very cool.

Rebuilt revolutionary fort. Interesting but only for about 10-15m (with kids).

Such a treasure for the State of NC!We had an excellent tour guide and the site continues to impress!

Small, but informative. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Great day trip.

I’ve been to a lot of historical sites, hands down our tour guide was the most exciting and knowledgeable person I’ve ever met. He knew everything about the French/Indian war. There wasnt any question he couldn’t answer. It’s a very awesome place and worth stopping for.

The forts reconstruction is going great! Anxious to see the finished product.

Though the site is still under construction as of July 2017 (to build quality replicas, it appears), there is still lots of walk-able areas with informative plaques and the tour guide I had - Joseph - was amazing^squared. He said, thats what I took the job here - they do in-depth analysis of the specific history. He had knowledge of French-Indian War facts from the colonial era as well as touched on deeper ideas like how historians think, analyze. He had breadth yet was also specific. The sites administration seems intent on being as accurate to history as possible in their replicas. Very impressed with management here; made the experience!

The trails and the fort are an amazing visit!

Awesome site. The man who led us on the tour was super engaging and knowledgeable. Excited to see the new additions in April. Don’t just drive by, be sure to stop!

We were there for a reenactment, which was fantastic! They are currently reconstructing the fort, which will be handy to see how the early colonists and soldiers lived

I love this place. It is so full of history. And the amphitheatre built by the native americans is spot-on.

Very nice time at the Fort

Interesting

Each piece of Fort Dobbs was crafted by hand using local materials, and this is emulated in the fact that now, as they are rebuilding the fort, the workers are crafting each piece by hand using tools similar to those that would be used in 1756, when the fort was first built. I found the fact that everything was so exquisitely remade to be quite intriguing, as I had always assumed that people who are rebuilding historical sites would normally only use modern tools. In addition to the extreme attention to historical details being put into the reconstruction of the fort, the guide was amazingly knowledgeable and knew quite a bit about not only the fort, but about every miniscule detail about the time period. I was able to point to anything and the tour guide would tell me exactly what it was and then give me a lengthy synopsis of every element of it. In addition to the guide’s immense knowledge, he wore a full British uniform and when posing for pictures around the fort, he said that I should turn my calf out, as calf muscles were a valued in the time period. There were many structures surrounding the fort that had been built, including a garden, a bread oven, some barracks, among other structures. The guide knew every single detail of each of these structures, even going so far as to explain how they were all built and why the structures were built the way they were. The most interesting structure, besides the fort itself, was the much smaller barracks next to it. The barracks had four wooden bunks and one ladder, but was made to hold multiple men on a single bunk, and to keep them warm, a fireplace was placed inside the building.The tour was apparently not a typical one, and lacked a pre-set plan on how to go about it, but this actually made it quite enjoyable. I am honestly considering returning to the site once the fort is fully reconstructed (the guide said it would be late this summer), as the tour was such an amazing experience. The drive from my home to Fort Dobbs is a long six hours, but I fully believe that the travel is entirely worth it.

Its amazing! but the fort is still under Construction opening soon.

Absolutely fascinating and forgotten history. The events here are well put on by volunteers who have an obvious passion for history and who go to pain-staking lengths to assure the correct look and feel. Not to mention, theyve almost got a fort! And everyone loves forts.

Compared to other visits I have had at this site...Saturdays visit was LAME!! they had 1 tent. All the role players (actors) were huddled up together away from the 1 tent and the display of guns in the ground. I understand that the facility is under construction...but if its not going to be more entertaining and more educational..why not shut it down till the Reno is done.

Favorite Historical Landmark. Theyve put a lot of hard work and love into recreating the landmarks as close to authentic as they could, with the records as their guide, and it is a source of great pride for our County and state.

Excellent director. Friendly and helpful staff. Impressive new fort.

Very nice location. Still in the process of completion of the historical replica of the fort. William was very kind to give us a free tour of the place.

Wonderful place to learn history. Had great history timeline and weapons demonstrates today 11-11.

Great docents! Awesome site.

They are getting the Fort ready for their grand opening September 21, so we couldnt go in. A huge shout out to the gentleman that took time away from working on Fort Dobbs to share its history!!!!

Greatly enjoyed our visit!

Fun and exciting! family had a great time today!

Great job all around!

Very knowledgeable, authentic, enjoyed the rebuilding of the fort,. The narrator spoke to us at our level so it was easy to understand. Thank you

Theyre actually building the fort again! Doing a great job! They havesomeone there that tells you the whole story. We had a great time!

The Fort Dobbs Historical Site is a wonderful look back to colonial America prior to the Revolutionary War. The replica designs of life on the western frontier are spot on. Mrs. Betty Dobson, a contributor to the preservation of Fort Dobbs, was so welcoming. Her knowledge of the site and the time period is spectacular. The passion she has for history is absolutely contagious! My boyfriend and I plan to visit again from Georgia in the future and look forward to speaking with Mrs. Dobson again.

A piece of history off the beaten path. Lots to see. Seasonal replica battles are reenacted. The staff at the lodge is very knowledgeable and helpful. Souvenirs can be purchased here. Civic groups help raise funds for this site along with some state funding (I think). A major project is under way to build a replica of the main building that was on this site, construction for replica as of 2016. Restrooms and water fountains available.

Neat place to take the kids

Can not wait to opening day. As of right now not much to see, but greater things await.

My experience was not with Fort Dobbs itself as we were visiting the playground there, not the historical site.The playground needs some serious attention. Big chunks of wood for surface (mulch) which provides more danger than safety in my opinion. Old wood on structure could give a splinter. Poison ivy around the wooded perimeter where we sat at a picnic table for a snack. 3 adults and 4 children ages 10 mos, 21 mos, and two, three year olds. Was nice and shady in the morning and the kids enjoyed themselves nonetheless.The fact that the playground area was fenced in was a plus.

Enjoyed it. Cant wait till they open the fort

Still under construction, but the history of it is pretty cool

Our guide was very knowledgable, fun, and made the tour very enjoyable

Interesting but they are in the process of building a reproduction of the fort based on archeological digs. That fort should be completed in 2018. For now there is a scale model, original blueprints, some artifacts and a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic host.

Awesome place ..great history.

Very nice restoration village, they are currently building a replica of the original fort.

The community has begun renovation to this historic site. I am interested in seeing what they do. Many reenactment weekends happen every year.

Both informative and educational with reinactments, mini-dramas and hands-on activities.

Great piece of history. It will be really cool when they finish rebuilding the fort!

Barely anything to see there

Interesting historical place. Will be even better when the reproduction will be finished.

Love this place