AN ACT to appropriate funds to preserve the historic Shallow Ford of the Yadkin in Forsyth County.

Whereas, the Shallow Ford of the Yadkin represents one of the best‑preserved sites of a river ford on the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road that brought thousands of German and Scotch‑Irish settlers to the Piedmont of North Carolina in the 18th century; and

Whereas, the fact that the Shallow Ford was one of only four wagon fords on the Yadkin where a heavily loaded wagon, or stagecoach, could safely cross made it a strategic target for Lord Cornwallis during the Carolinas campaign of the Revolutionary War and for Union soldiers during Stoneman's Raid during the Civil War; and

Whereas, the Shallow Ford was used by Native Americans for hundreds of years prior to European settlement of the area; and

Whereas, the protection of 245 acres on the east side of the Yadkin at Shallow Ford would also create a major site for canoe camping, canoe access, and passive outdoor recreation along the Yadkin River paddle trail; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  There is appropriated one million eight hundred thousand dollars ($1,800,000) in nonrecurring funds from the General Fund to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, to be allocated to the Division of Historic Sites for the establishment and preservation of the east bank of the Shallow Ford of the Yadkin.

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2021.