Town Creek Indian Mound will celebrate the return of regular Sunday hours this Sunday. The first 50 visitors will receive a free ice cream sundae. Join staff for hands-on activities, games and tours of the reconstructed village site from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Chappell’s Homemade Ice Cream will be on-site throughout the afternoon selling “Fun-day Sundaes” to celebrate.
Traditionally, Town Creek had been open 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays, but the hours were suspended at all state historic sites as a cost saving measure in 2013. Sites have now been given the opportunity to reopen and Town Creek is the first to do so.
“We’re excited to welcome the public back on Sundays,” said Site Manager Rich Thompson, “It’s important for Town Creek to be open both of the days of the weekend when most families are available for recreation and travel.”
For more than 1,000 years, American Indians farmed lands later known as North Carolina. Around A.D. 1000, a new cultural tradition arrived in the Pee Dee River Valley. Throughout Georgia, South Carolina, eastern Tennessee and western and southern Piedmont North Carolina, inhabitants built earthen mounds for their leaders, engaged in widespread trade, supported crafts people and celebrated a new religion.
The mission of Town Creek is to interpret the history of the American Indians who once lived here. The visitor center features interpretive exhibits and audiovisual displays. A national historic landmark, Town Creek Indian Mound is North Carolina’s only state historic site dedicated to American Indian heritage. Tour groups are welcome and encouraged. The site is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and now Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. It is closed to the public Mondays and most major holidays.
The historic site is within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, Division of State Historic Sites and located at 509 Town Creek Mound Road, Mount Gilead, NC, 27306. For more information on Town Creek, please visit www.towncreekindianmound.com.