Donnaha (sometimes called Donnaha Station) is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
along the
Yadkin River
The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in the US state of North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river a ...
in the
Old Richmond Township of northwest
, United States. Donnaha is named for the last chief of the
Sauras.
History
Donnaha (sometimes spelled Donnoha) is a
Native American village. The name Donnaha was first used in 1889 or 1890 by Dr. Samuel Martin, a descendant of a supposed Cherokee chief, who lived in nearby
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...
. Near Donnaha was the site of the first county seat of
Surry County, North Carolina
Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,359. Its county seat is Dobson, and its largest community is Mount Airy.
Surry county comprises the Mount Airy, NC Micropol ...
, established at Richmond (now Old Richmond), in 1774 and a courthouse was erected by 1779 . However,
Stokes County (including modern Forsyth County), was split from Surry County in 1789 and the site was unusable for either county. The respective courts were moved to
Rockford for Surry and to
Germanton for Stokes. Much later, the courthouse site was destroyed by a cyclone in 1830 . Donnaha was a stop on the former
Southern Railway, now used by the Yadkin Valley Railroad.
References
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External links
N.C. Office of State Archaeology, Donnaha Site
Unincorporated communities in Forsyth County, North Carolina
Unincorporated communities in North Carolina
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