When we speak of frontier settlement in the American colonies, we often imagine scattered cabins, broad fields, and distances measured not in yards but in miles. Yet those vast landscapes were understood with remarkable precision. A square mile—a “section”—held 640 acres, and colonial surveyors used this unit to measure and divide the wilderness into manageable, taxable, and defensible parcels.
One of the most important such
tracts in the southern backcountry was the Jersey Settlement, located
just east of the Yadkin River near present-day Salisbury, North Carolina.
Surveyed as 10 miles by 10 miles, this tract constituted an impressive 100
sections, or 64,000 acres, a domain large enough to sustain hundreds
of families. Across this expanse, grains were planted, cattle grazed, and, true
to backcountry tradition, whiskey flowed in abundance. Corn and rye were
valuable, but they were bulky to transport; whiskey, on the other hand, was
compact, durable, and profitable. It became the region’s most exportable
expression of agricultural success.
From West Jersey and the
Shenandoah to the Yadkin
The settlers of this region were
not newcomers to frontier life. Many had already migrated once—from West New
Jersey or the Shenandoah Valley—seeking fresh land, religious
freedom, and safer political footing. Their history was intertwined with the Coxe
Affair, a major land-title dispute in West Jersey during the late 1600s and
early 1700s. The turmoil generated by disputed proprietary claims pushed many
families westward and southward, setting them on a path that ultimately led to
the Yadkin River.
By the 1740s and 1750s, these
families established a thriving and tightly knit community. Their agricultural
knowledge, Presbyterian religious traditions, and experience with
self-governance helped shape the social backbone of the western Piedmont. When the
Revolution came, this region—already famous for its independence of
spirit—played an essential role.
Population Density Before the
Revolution: The Green Dots of 1775
On the eve of the American
Revolution, British North America (excepting Canada) held roughly 2.5
million people, yet population distribution was far from uniform. Coastal
cities and select interior towns stood out as pockets of significant density
surrounded by vast rural expanses.
Historically, if we were to depict
population density with green dots marking areas exceeding 40 inhabitants
per square mile, only a select few colonial towns would glow brightly:
·
Virginia: Williamsburg and Norfolk
·
North Carolina: New Bern, Salisbury,
Wilmington, and Hillsborough
·
South Carolina: Charleston, Camden,
Dorchester, and Ninety Six
·
Georgia: Savannah
·
Pennsylvania: Lancaster and York
These towns served as centers of
trade, law, supply, and communication—critical nodes in a largely agrarian
world. Salisbury, especially, stands out in relation to the Jersey Settlement:
while the settlement sprawled over 64,000 acres of dispersed farms and
distilleries, Salisbury itself represented the region’s administrative heart
and one of the densest population centers in the southern backcountry.
A Region That Helped Shape
the Nation
The story of the Jersey
Settlement—its orderly 10-by-10-mile survey, its agricultural bounty, its
whiskey production, and its determined settlers shaped by the Coxe land
controversies—offers a window into the forces that molded the American
frontier. It shows us how land, community, and political memory carried
settlers across mountains and down river valleys, ultimately forming the
population clusters and cultural identity that stood ready to challenge British
authority.
These settlers built not only
farms but a society—one whose population patterns, migration routes, and
land systems would have lasting influence long after the first shots of the
Revolution.
Sources on the Jersey
Settlement / Its Size & Origins
·
The “History of the Jersey Settlement” page
notes that the Jersey Settlement was established by colonists from New Jersey,
settled near the Yadkin River, and describes the tract as “about ten square
miles of the best wheat land.” sonsofdewittcolony.org+1
·
That source also describes migration from New
Jersey to North Carolina, and indicates the time frame (roughly mid-18th
century) for settlement. sonsofdewittcolony.org+1
·
The history of nearby Salisbury confirms that by
the mid-18th century Salisbury was already being established as a county seat
near Native American trading routes and along important travel routes, which
supports why settlers might choose nearby lands. Wikipedia
Important caveat: I did not
find a modern academic or archival source that explicitly states “Jersey
Settlement = 10 miles by 10 miles = 100 sections = 64,000 acres.” The
10-square-mile description appears in local/regional histories of the
settlement. sonsofdewittcolony.org+1
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