Near this spot on September 27th, 1780, Patriot militiamen from Surry County under Major Joseph Winston mustered to join the main militia force coming from over the mountains after Major Patrick Ferguson, Royal Inspector of Militia in the Southern Colonies, threatened to lay waste the country with fire and sword and hang the rebellion's leaders. After the Patriots caught and soundly defeated Ferguson and his army at Kings Mountain, the Surry County militia returned home overseeing many prisoners captured in the battle, and on the morning of October 21st Loyalist captives passed east through this area under guard on their way to be held at the Moravian settlement and stockade of Bethabara, in present-day Winston-Salem. This place is also the easternmost point on the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, created in 1980 by an act of Congress to memorialize the route taken by the Patriot militia army to the Battle of Kings Mountain and the turning point achieved there, and today administered by the National Park Service in partnership with communities, government institutions, local organizations, and private landowners.