Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 34

MOVE OVER JAMESTOWN:

Is WNC Home to First
European Colony in U.S.?
Story and photos by Kimberly Button

A SPANISH FORT IN THE BLUE RIDGE
FOOTHILLS, BUILT IN 1567, WAS LIKELY THE
FIRST EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT IN THE
INLAND U.S. AND IF THE SPANIARDS -
SEEKING SAFE TRANSPORT OF GOLD -
HAD KNOWN OF GOLD LURKING IN THE
RIVERS NEARBY, WOULD THE COURSE OF
WORLD HISTORY HAVE BEEN CHANGED?

34 | BlueRidgeCountry.com

IN A 15-ACRE FIELD outside of Morganton, North
Carolina, the story of our nation's history is being rewritten. Every shovel of dirt that is painstakingly removed
and sifted from the site reveals surprising insights into
how the Southeast was explored and founded. If you
think you know the facts of our country's early exploration, come to Burke County and be prepared to change
your mind.
Evidence of early Spanish colonization in western
North Carolina is being unearthed in an archaeological
dig that began in 1986. After decades of research and
testing, proof exists that a Spanish fort in the area, known
as Fort San Juan, is now considered to be the earliest
known European settlement in the interior of the United
States (that is, aside from coastal areas such as St.
Augustine, Florida.).
Pre-dating North Carolina's "Lost Colony" by 20
years and Jamestown, Va., by 40 years, Fort San Juan was
built in 1567 by Spaniard Juan Pardo and an army of
125 men. The Spanish were seeking to expand their
empire of land and wealth throughout the Southeast,
starting in present-day Florida and marching north.
Hernando de Soto had first journeyed from Florida
through North Carolina on the way to the Mississippi
River in 1540.
"We know with the kind of certainty that is rare for
archaeology of Native American sites that this was the
Native American town of Joara where Juan Pardo arrived
in December 1566," says Tulane University archaeolo-


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Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015

8 States of Great Drives for Spring
Photoessay: The New Green and New Blossoms of Spring
Dining Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley
Move Over Jamestown: Was the First Inland U.S. Settlement in the N.C. Mountains?
Weekend! Visiting the Historic Cumberland Gap of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia
New Home from the Ashes: The Bonesteels’ Asheville Residence
Letters, From the Editor, Worth a Click
Mill Creek Stories
Creature Feature
The Hike
Mountain Report
Great Buys in the Mountains
Festivals & Events
Mountain Garden
Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Letters, From the Editor, Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Mill Creek Stories
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Great Buys in the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 8 States of Great Drives for Spring
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 20
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Photoessay: The New Green and New Blossoms of Spring
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Dining Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Move Over Jamestown: Was the First Inland U.S. Settlement in the N.C. Mountains?
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Weekend! Visiting the Historic Cumberland Gap of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - New Home from the Ashes: The Bonesteels’ Asheville Residence
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Mountain Garden
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - Cover4
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