Scottish charity raise the required funds to buy Davidson Legacy Cottage

A Scottish cottage, once belonging to the ancestors of a Harley-Davidson founder, has been rescued from the threat of demolition by a local charity.

The stone dwelling, found in Netherton, Angus, can now be purchased by the Davidson Legacy Preservation Group, after successfully raising the remaining £70,000 of their required budget – including a donation from Harley-Davidson themselves to secure the property.

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“It’s amazing,” Project Coordinator and Angus local, Nyree Aitken told MCN. “The volunteers know that this is when the hard work begins.”

The building was the home of Alexander ‘Sandy’ Davidson and his wife Margaret before the couple and their family emigrated to America in 1857.

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The couple’s son, William C. Davidson, was father of William A. Davidson who co-founded Harley-Davidson Motorcycles with Bill Harley in 1903.

“There were 10 people living in that house and we want to try and reflect that,” the fundraiser continued. “We’ve got the story of the Davidsons to tell and how the Scots influenced Americans and the wider world.”

Alongside the fundraising effort, a sizeable £250,000 grant was awarded by the UK Government Community Ownership Fund in December 2023. This came with a strict one-year deadline for use though, and the charity confirmed they had achieved their additional total on December 24 of last year.

The charity now say that the immediate focus is to complete the purchase of the building, before working on additional developments at the site.

“We’ve got to get the funding to try and repair the access road to try and make it more accessible for people with disabilities,” Aitken continued. “A community survey came back and said they want a café on site.

“We’ve got a five-year plan and in five years’ time, we should have that place rocking and rolling.”