The clock is ticking to save an irreplaceable piece of history in Argyle, Scotland.
It is a cottage in Angus, near Aberlemno, that was the home of the original Davidson family, who in 1857, left the shores of Scotland for Milwaukee in the United States, and went on to found the iconic Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company.
Harley Davidson was started by three Davidson brothers and William Harley. The brothers father lived in this cottage until the age of 11 years and the family’s middle son, William C. Davidson helped create an American icon when he built the very first Harley-Davidson workshop for his own sons in 1903. This tiny, humble dwelling on the side of the road in Angus is where it all began, and it is a tangible and unique piece of the history of the world’s most famous motorcycle brand.
Back in 2008, a derelict cottage in Angus was purchased by Mike Sinclair, Maggie Sherrit and Keith Mackintosh, who put their own time and money into restoring the cottage to how it would have looked when the Davidson family left it. They welcomed thousands of visitors and enthusiasts from around the world, but there came a time when they wanted to retire and free their savings they’d put into the property, so the cottage was put on the market in 2021. However, the offers received for the cottage were from property developers intending to tear the cottage down and build housing on the site.
That’s when a group of volunteers stepped in and created the Davidson Legacy Preservation Group, with the aim of raising funds to secure the property and to create a charitable foundation that could develop the site’s potential, maintain it and ensure that it is protected and passed down to future generations of trustees.
Nyree Aitken, an American who made the transatlantic migration in the opposite direction and ended up living locally is the chair of the board of the organisation.
“The owners are looking for a total of £320,000 for the property, in order to recoup their original investment as well as all the restoration work, they have put into the derelict property,” she says. “The Davidson Legacy Preservation Group was formed in 2021, with the priority to raise awareness of the project and setting up as a charity, identifying trustees who could come on the board. Charitable status was achieved in 2022, so the effort for raising the money stepped up.
Through Nyree’s hard work and dogged persistence, the group were awarded the Community Ownership Fund in 2023, which included capital funding of £250,000 for the purchase of the property and funding of £49900 for a full time project worker to come on board, to take the property to the next stage.
“If every one of our Facebook follower donated just £17.50, the property could be secured.”
However, they need to raise £70,000 of match funding in order to draw down the £250,000 and of that amount, they still need £49,000. The Group has managed to get an extension to the deadline so they now have until the end of November to secure the remaining funds, or this piece of history will be gone, and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
You might think that a global brand like Harley-Davidson would jump at the chance to secure a tangible piece of its brand’s history, but as we all know, these things are never straight forward and the decision-making process in a publicly owned company like Harley-Davidson can be a complicated thing.
“We’ve tried with the brand, but I think it’s bad timing for them with the election and stuff going on. I have met with them, and they said they had other priorities, so I have done my best there.”
The group have set up a GoFundMe in order to try and crowdsource the remaining £49,000. There are currently 2800 followers on the Group’s Facebook page, if every one of them donated just £17.50, the property could be secured.
“It’s the origins of the American Dream.”
“Everyone is waiting for a hero like Harley-Davidson to come in, but I’ve been saying that we can’t wait for that,” says Nyree. “It’s about community ownership. Everybody thinks someone else is going to save it. The local history enthusiasts are thinking the bikers are going to save it. The bikers are thinking Harley-Davidson are going to save it and Harley-Davidson think the local government is going to save it. We have to do this ourselves and as a community.”
Harley-Davidson owners are known for their sense of community, they are in effect a global tribe with their passion for the brand uniting them across national and social divides. You would think that in some way enough if them would unite and rally around the course of saving this unique piece of Harley-Davidson history, if only there was enough awareness.
“I have no idea why I’m doing this,” says Nyree. “I’m not a Harley Davidson enthusiast, I’m not a history buff. I walked into the cottage and there is something magical in that place and it’s hard to describe. You’ve really got to visit it. When you walk in, you walk on those flagstones and you sit by the stove that the family were using, the same tap on the stove. You look around and it’s humbling. It’s the origins of the American Dream.”
The clock is ticking on this irreplaceable piece of Harley-Davidson history and it’s time for the heroes to come in and save the day.
*The End Of November 2024 is approaching fast*
Please help to save the cottage. We are very thankful to Nyree for raising our attention to this incredible heritage at risk, and we hope you are inspired to donate to secure this incredible building for future riders to visit and enjoy.
For more information about the work for the Davidson Legacy Cottage campaign, you can visit the Davidson Legacy Preservation Group Facebook Page, donate via their GoFundMe page and plan your visit to show your support in person through VisitScotland.
(All these photos and more can be found on their Facebook page)