BURKE/CATAWBA COUNTIES, NC (March 2, 2017)…Events on consecutive days this March in Hickory and Morganton will honor the 450th anniversary of the founding of Fort San Juan, the earliest European settlement in the interior of the United States.
The first event is a cultural showcase on Friday, March 17, at the Hickory Metro Center. It features Native American dance and Spanish re-enactors paying homage to the region’s cultural roots, specifically the 1567 meeting between Spanish explorers and Native Americans at Joara, the Burke Co. site where the Spanish built Fort San Juan and the two cultures coexisted for 18 months.
The second event, which takes place Saturday, March 18, is the unveiling of the first-ever professional museum exhibit to tell the story of this amazing and little-known piece of American history. The exhibit will be housed at the History Museum of Burke County in downtown Morganton.
The driving force behind both events is the Exploring Joara Foundation, a non-profit organization designed to educate the public about the historic significance of Fort San Juan, which predates the founding of Jamestown by 40 years and the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke by 18 years.
“Fort San Juan is the first inland European settlement in the U.S. and it’s right here in Morganton in our backyard. We want the public to know there are many opportunities to get involved with public archaeology and programming,” says Marie Palacios, executive director of Exploring Joara Foundation.
Palacios invites people to the showcase festivities from 6 to 9 p.m. on March 17 in Hickory. The evening includes demonstrations of Native American crafts, a silent auction, a live auction and food and drinks. A highlight will be a dance presentation by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
“It’s considered a regional launch of the 450th commemoration activities,” Palacios says. “This is a key event to raise funds for our community programs, including the unveiling of the new museum exhibit the next day and larger scale cultural events in August.”
The free exhibit, which debuts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that Saturday at the History Museum of Burke County, is of significant scale and will be in place for at least two years. It features panels and artifacts representing the lives of the Native American people and Spanish explorers, and includes pieces of Spanish pottery, chain links from Spanish armor and nails that were used in the 1567 fort. It tells the story of houses constructed in the native style, but built by Spanish tools.
“The exhibit will allow people to walk through and understand more clearly the 18 months that the Spanish and the Native Americans lived together and what that might have looked like, as well as see some of the artifacts they left behind,” Palacios explains.
Palacios points out the events are to commemorate this historical encounter and celebrate the descendent communities. Ultimately, Fort San Juan (as well as five other forts along the Spanish and Indian Colonial Trail) was destroyed by local residents. At Fort San Juan, of the 30 men left behind by Pardo, only one survived.
“You’re talking about an encounter between two peoples and two cultures that forever changed them both, and, essentially, the entire country,” Palacios says. “Our lead researcher, Dr. David Moore, often says it’s possible that if the Native Americans had not destroyed the Spanish outposts in 1568, much of the American south today would be part of Spain.”
To purchase tickets for the showcase, get details about the museum exhibit, or learn more about Exploring Joara and its programs, call 828-439-2463 or go to: www.ExploringJoara.org.