Used by the Muskhogean speaking Indians of the Pee Dee area approximately 300 years ago, this ceremonial burial site has been archaeologically restored and offers a museum containing many relics of the past.
During the first half of the sixteenth century, Indian immigrants from the south replaced the Siouan-speaking tribes in the upper Pee Dee basin. They were primarily agriculturists and farmed the river bottom lands, building their homes nearby. At Town Creek they selected a bluff overlooking the Little River as the site for their tribal ceremonial center.
The Indian ceremonial center at Town Creek, near Mt. Gilead, flourished more than 400 years ago. After white settlement, the site lay abandoned for over two centuries. Farmers plowed the flat lands at the base of the temple center but fortunately left the mound itself in tact. Discovery of arrowheads and pottery fragments revealed the site to be of Indian origin many years before professional archaeology established its exact nature. Over the years, relic and souvenir hunters dug holes in the mounds while searching for bones and artifacts. In 1927 a group began amateur excavations. Using a scraper pulled by a mule, they uncovered bones and pieces of pottery. Although this technique was less damaging than the methods of the souvenir hunters, it was still far from the scientific work of professional archaeologists that began ten years later.
The Archaeological Society of North Carolina became interested in preserving and investigating the mound in 1936. The owner, L. D. Frutchey, allowed exploratory investigation funded in part by the Works Progress Administration. In 1937 Frutchey donated the mound and about an acre of ground to the state with the understanding that it would be scientifically excavated and established as a state park. The site was known as Frutchey State Park for several years until changed to Town Creek in the early forties. It was administered by the State Parks Division of the Department of Conservation and Development and was the first historical site to undergo development.
Since Indians left no written records, archaeology was a vital key to Town Creek Indian Mound. Excavations began in 1936 under Joffre L. Coe of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Dr. Coe continues to act as advisor for Town Creek. During the early years, artifacts and burial vaults were uncovered as well as post holes of an original palisade. When Conservation and Development transferred the site to Archives and History in 1955, the palisade had been erected and established, but no buildings had been reconstructed. The state also had purchased an additional fifty-two acres of surrounding land. The construction did not require the full appropriation, and the balance was applied to exhibits and an audiovisual program. The visitor center was dedicated in April, 1963. The other major addition to the site was the manager's residence, constructed in 1960.
In the past fifteen years various parts of the site have been improved. During the mid-1970's the visitor center was renovated and a new audiovisual program was installed. About 1980 exhibits were replaced and a new exhibit was created in the rehabilitated burial house. Since then, the staff has expanded greatly the active interpretation and participatory activities available to visitors.
Town Creek Indian Mound, one of the best reconstructions of pre-white civilization in the country, is the oldest state-run historic site in North Carolina. The site includes a visitor center, two temples, a burial house, palisade wall and residence.
April 1-October 31: Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM and Sunday 1 PM - 5 PM.
Nov. 1-March 31: Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM - 4 PM and Sunday 1 PM - 4 PM.
Hours may vary. (910) 439-6802.
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