Calico Aster History

Indigenous Occupation
Before European colonization, the land now known as Calico Aster belonged to the Gigvha Uwoyeni Empire, whose name meant “Bloody Hands.” The name came from sacrificial rituals in which members of the tribe painted walls with the blood of their victims. The empire was ruled by the brutal Queen Mymphis Morbia.

Its prisoners—members of rival tribes and tribal outcasts—were called “dosvda,” meaning “ant,” because the area surrounding what is now the Great Tree of Dosvda was heavily infested with ants.

Following an uprising, the prisoners successfully overthrew the empire and killed Queen Mymphis Morbia. Her body was never identified because she had removed her dagger necklace.

Before her death, Queen Mymphis hid the dagger, which bore a red rune infused with her blood during her coronation. She hoped that someone would eventually discover the dagger and revive her tribe. 

The surviving members of the Gigvha Uwoyeni fled and resettled in what is now Mildrock, North Carolina. 

American Revolution:
The Dosvda tribe sided with the Continental Army during the American Revolution after being promised that the land would remain Dosvda territory and free from European settlement. That promise was formalized through the Treaty of Calico Aster, named after a native flower found in the region. 

Indian Removal Act
The Dosvda were betrayed following the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Although they were not affected as severely as larger Indigenous groups in North Carolina, they experienced systematic land dispossession, intense marginalization, and a loss of sovereignty during the decades leading up to and following the Act.

The settlement was renamed Adamsburg and became the county seat of Pawnee County. Many Dosvda remained in Adamsburg, while others moved west to Moose County.

American Civil War
Although North Carolina’s secessionist government joined the Confederacy, the people of Adamsburg remained divided. Some residents supported the Confederate rebellion, while others remained loyal to the United States.

The Dosvda wanted no part of the conflict but later provided medical care to U.S. Army troops and shelter to formerly enslaved people.

Nearby, Camp Adamsburg operated as a prison run by Confederate forces. Members of the Dosvda tribe participated in an uprising that liberated captured U.S. Army troops, giving the United States an advantage in the region and access to the Mildrock railroad.

Post-Civil War
In 1881, legislators—including many who had settled in the region after the war—won another battle in court and renamed the town from Adamsburg, North Carolina, to Calico Aster, North Carolina, honoring the earlier agreement with the Dosvda tribe.

The town separated from Pawnee County to form Calico Aster County, which included Red Moose to the west.

Camp Adamsburg, which had been converted into a prison for members of the Ku Klux Klan after 1871, later became Fort Calico, a U.S. Army base.

Modern Day
Fort Calico was renamed Fort Calloway in honor of Army Drill Sergeant Anthony Calloway.

Although the Dosvda are not federally recognized, the City of Calico Aster officially recognizes the tribe. The city also protects what is now Black Ant Woods, home to the Great Tree of Dosvda. Hunting and fishing by non-tribal members are prohibited within the protected area.