🎶Somewhere on a desert highway
She rides a Harley-Davidson
Her long blonde hair flyin' in the wind
She's been runnin' half her life
The chrome and steel she rides
Collidin' with the very air she breathes
The air she breathes🎶
-Neil Young, ‘Unknown Legend’
It’s hard to put into words what you experience when riding a Harley-Davidson, but I think, for me, Neil Young’s lyrics captures the spirit well when he says, “the Chrome and steel she rides colliding with the very air she breathes, the air she breathes”. I haven’t ridden a motorcycle since my youth, but it's impossible to forget the sense of freedom and exhilaration you feel riding with nothing between you and the road but a magical machine that breaths a life force of its own.
Yet, if it weren't for three Scottish-American brothers, Harley-Davidson would never have existed. Arthur, Walter, and William Davidson may have started the famous motorcycle company along with William Harley in the United States, but the Davidson legacy started in Scotland.
Now, before we get into our story, I know what you’re thinking...we already have Walter and Arthur as part of the Wee Walking Tours family, and we just need to get another Golden and name him William to finish our homage to the famous Davidson trio (not to mention William Harley). Unfortunately, it is just a fun coincidence that our boys share the same names as they are actually named after Sir Walter Scott and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And, much to Sami’s disappointment, we are not adding a third dog to the family. Two is enough of a handful as it is! Anyway, with that clarified, let’s get back to our classic American dream story that just happened to start in Scotland.
Davidson Family History
I know that we use the phrase, ‘hidden gem’ a lot on this blog, but it is very appropriate to describe the Davidson Legacy Cottage in this way. Nestled in the Angus countryside in Netherton, Scotland, is the cottage where Alexander ‘Sandy’ Davidson and his wife, Margaret, lived with their six children (one of them being the father of Arthur, Walter and William Davidson).
Life was difficult and Sandy worked as a tenant craftsman on the estate of Laird Minto- who essentially ruled the lives of those who lived there. It's important to know just how hard life was during this time in Scotland because it foreshadows the life-changing decision Sandy and Margaret would eventually make. Let's tour the house to see where Sandy, Margaret, their four children, and two other adults who worked on the estate lived.
Sandy would have left the cottage to go work all day for the Laird. Margaret would have been busy cooking (in the kitchen pictured below), getting water from the nearby well, maintaining the house, taking care of the children, and much more.
Can you imagine how crowded it must have felt for the family in the cottage?
According to the Davidson Legacy, there is some evidence that Margaret may have been in communication with her mother who had already emigrated to the United States. Furthermore, there may have been conversations of the possibility of a better, more prosperous life, with land and a house of their own. Therefore, the decision was made for the family to make the long and arduous journey to the New World and they made the ocean crossing in 1858.
The family eventually made their way to Wisconsin, USA. Eventually, Sandy’s and Margaret's son, William C. married and had three sons of his own- Arthur, Walter, and William A. They had an interest in bicycles, but also saw the possibility in motorised bikes. Fortunately, William C. recognised the potential in his boys and their ideas and built the very first Harley-Davidson workshop, now famously known simply as ‘The Shed’. That small space laid the groundwork for the internationally renowned motorcycle company it is today.
However, returning to present day Angus, unfortunately the Davidson Legacy Cottage is at risk of being sold and demolished. But the good news is that you can help save it and become a part of its legacy in doing so.
Help Save the Davidson Legacy Cottage!
Understandably, the current owners of the Cottage (who restored it in 2012) would like to retire, and in 2021, they put the Cottage up for sale. Community members banded together to prevent the cottage from being purchased and demolished by housing developers by working towards community ownership. The Davidson Legacy Cottage charity won £250,000 UK Government Community Ownership grant. However, this award must be used within this year, and they must match the award with £70,000 or they lose the grant. Therefore, the charity has started a GoFundMe campaign to desperately try to raise the money in time.
As someone who comes from a family of Harley-Davidson and motorcycle enthusiasts, I am appalled to think that this crucial piece of the Harley-Davidson legacy could be demolished. Afterall, it was in this humble cottage that the Davidson family decided to emigrate to the United States and start a new life- and boy did they ever! The Harley-Davidson company wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for this key piece to the storied legacy of the Davidson family.
We hope you will check out The Davidson Legacy Preservation Group’s website where you can find more information about their goals for the cottage; they have plans to expand and make the place a community development opportunity. Lastly, and most urgently, please consider donating to their GoFundMe campaign. As I said above, they need to raise £70,000 by this October. We ask that you also consider sharing the campaign link with your own friends and family and spread the word as much as possible to help save this important part of Scottish-American history.
Until next time- Ride On! And don’t forget to ‘Explore & Discover'!
