There aren’t many places in North Carolina—or the country, even—where you can see the power of archaeology more than at Town Creek Indian Mound in Montgomery County.
Archaeologists led by UNC’s Dr. Joffre Coe began working on the site in the late 1930s, and it’s through Coe’s lifelong commitment to the area and to Native American archaeology that Town Creek was able to open as North Carolina’s first state historic site in 1955. It’s also because of Coe’s efforts that the site now has reconstructed buildings that show what the area would have been like for the Pee Dee civilization thousands of years ago.
Cultural Resources Secretary Susan Kluttz joined site staff and dozens from the community last month to celebrate what would’ve been Coe’s 98th birthday if he was still alive. After cutting a cake and enjoying a piece with local scout and 4-H groups, the Secretary toured this unique site. She especially enjoyed seeing the cutaway walls which many of the buildings have to help visitors see how the Pee Dee Indians would’ve originally built them.
One of the most exciting discoveries that Secretary Kluttz learned of while at Town Creek is that the work isn’t finished yet. Researchers from North Carolina universities are still excavating areas of the site, and they‘ve just recently uncovered some new buildings.
If you haven’t yet been, Town Creek Indian Mound is certainly worth a visit. Located about an hour and half from Raleigh, Fayetteville, the Triad and Charlotte, the site is an easy drive from just about anywhere in Piedmont.