Reader Submitted Article/About the Author
This article was submitted by Amanda Tyler McGuire, a Hickory resident with a passion for supporting local businesses and sharing family-friendly activities. When she’s not busy dancing or planning her next adventure, you can find her volunteering at the Catawba Science Center or at her children’s schools.
Did you know the oldest inland non-native settlement is just outside of Morganton, NC? San Juan, an early Spanish fort, was located alongside a native settlement, named Joara in 1567, predating Jamestown by 40 years.
Juan Pardo, a Spanish explorer, settled this first of six forts set up along the route to the Mexican silver mines. He thought the Appalachian Mountain range connected all of the way to Mexico. The fort, along with the other 5, were burned by local natives. Only one of the 120 soldiers survived.
Excavation of the Berry Site
In the late 20th century, a record of the fort was found and excavation began. The dig site is private property, but the owners graciously gave permission for the property to be excavated, leading it to be dubbed the “Berry” Site.
The Exploring Joara Foundation is the non-profit in charge of excavating and exploring the property. Its mission is to “educates and engages the public through hands-on archaeology and history programs, events, and opportunities to discover our diverse cultural and historical past with a focus on Native American and early colonial history.”
Even though this archeological dig site is on private property, they offer many opportunities for the public to visit and learn more about this unique part of history. They do this through special tour days at the Berry Site, hands-on archeology lab nights, lectures and summer camps (they also offer field trips for schools and youth programs which align with the NC Common Core and Essential Standards). Those events are an opportunity for the public to participate with hands-on activities such as sorting and cleaning found artifacts.
A Camp Experience Like No Other: Learning History Through Discovery
My son went to camp for two summers there. It was such an amazing opportunity for him to learn about such an important part of our country’s history through hands-on activity, excavation, artifact analysis, and much more. Part of every day was spent at the dig site, but they also spent time daily just enjoying an outdoors camp experience. The youth are housed in a bunk house and transported back and forth daily. It was a fantastic camp experience for him, especially being his first away camp and being so close to home.
Bonus – All of this is facilitated by professional archaeologist!
The camp also offers airport shuttle, increasing its ability to host students from all over. During his two years at camp, he excavated pottery pieces and found a tooth. The group were able to examine a lot of items found at the Site.
On the last day of camp, parents are invited to visit the Berry Site and see what the youth have been doing all week.
I recently ran into one of their archeologists who shared with me their current excavation plans. She stated that they plan to excavate just part of the site and leave the rest for the future, which will have more advanced technology.
To learn more about this fascinating part of our local history or just more about archaeology, visit their website for information, dates of activities, and much more. Online lectures are also posted through the website.
If you want to learn more about Joara – we suggest reading 3 Medicinal Plants of the Joara Archeological Site.