Trading Path Association Records, ORG.228

The records within the collection include documents that pertain to the TPA as an organization (governing documents, financial records, and correspondence), as well as research the TPA has done and reports written by Tom Magnuson or other members. There are both physical and digital records within the Trading Path Association collection, organized into one box containing the digital formats, and three boxes containing the paper records. The records span from 1998 to 2018, with most records primarily originating from the decade of the 2000s.

The records are organized into folders by type, chronologically. The bulk of the physical collection is composed of newspaper clippings that mention the TPA, Tom Magnuson, or information relevant to the TPA's mission. Additionally, the collection contains photographs, financial records, outreach records, correspondence, promotional materials, maps, historical research, and publications by or about the TPA. Historical reports were written about the routes on TPA-led hikes, including battle sites of the war of Regulation and Revolutionary War, American Indian (such as the Occaneechi) historical grounds, New Hope Mills, Eno River Park, Hoover Old Mill, Mount Tirzah, Duke Forest, Historic Stagville, the Great Central Coast Trail, Occaneechi Gap, Few's Town and Kings Highway Park.

The digital materials consist of the following formats: 4 VHS tapes, 2 floppy disks, 2 USB drives, and 27 CDs. They include correspondence, press coverage, publications, reports, photographs, presentations, interviews, and other materials.

Unprocessed.

Chronologically within folders.

The Trading Path Association (TPA), also known as the Trading Path Preservation Association, is a non-profit historical organization established by Thomas Magnuson in January 1999. Its mission is to preserve, promote, and study the historic Trading Path of the Southeastern Piedmont. In 2002, the TPA formed a Board of Directors and has since been engaged in a variety of projects. Initially, the TPA garnered support from popular, political, and academic circles in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and American Indian communities, demonstrating widespread backing for its initiatives.

The TPA has undertaken research contracts, developed promotional materials, conducted public outreach programs, recruited volunteers, and preserved numerous historically and archaeologically significant sites. The TPA gained notoriety for leading educational and recreational hikes along historic routes. In North Carolina, the TPA has made significant contributions to historic landscape knowledge, including reinterpreting the history of Louisburg through its roads, documenting the history of the Lawson development in Union County, and identifying and mapping the oldest roads and stream crossings in Davison County. Additionally, the TPA has mapped remnants of the Trading Path from Petersburg, Virginia, across North Carolina, and into South Carolina.

Citation:
Magnuson, Thomas [tmagnuson]. "Trading Path Association | Preserving Our Common Past: About." Trading Path Association. http://tradingpath.org/.

Boxes 4 contains physical digital media that requires guidance from a digital archivist to access. Specific equipment is needed to access files on VHS Tapes, floppy disks, CDs, and USB drives.

Trading Path Association

Historic preservation

Trade routes

Louisburg (N.C.)

Durham County (N.C.)

Alamance County (N.C.)

Hillsborough (N.C.)

Received as a gift of the Trading Path Association on March 7, 2024 and May 10, 2024.