UNCP students take a bus into North Carolina’s past

By Carol Franch
Senior Photo Editor

Members of the Native American Student Organization (NASO) and the Honors College boarded a bus Nov. 8 destined for two historical sites, the Rankin Museum of American Heritage and Town Creek Indian Mound.

The first stop of the trip was the Rankin Museum, located in Ellerbe, N.C.

The museum has many diverse exhibits ranging from natural history with a polar bear and crocodile on exhibit, to a collection of American Indian artifacts from tribes all over the world. The museum also features collections of fossils, weapons and other memorabilia from the Civil War.

Dr. Pressley Rankin is one of the museum's main contributors and the museum was named after him.

Rankin said the geology exhibit is his favorite out of all the collections.

Rankin, has been collecting items since he was 8 years old.

"Ninety percent of the collection is from within 30 miles of here," Rankin said.

Many of the antiques on display were uncovered after the flood of the Pee Dee River.

The most impressive object on display is a 7,000 to 8,000-year-old frog effigy bowl.

The Rankin Museum offers classes such as paleontology and geology to elementary and middle-schoolers in the summer. Adults can take classes in the winter.

After leaving The Rankin Museum, the bus moved on to the next destination, Town Creek Indian Mound.

Town Creek is North Carolina's last remaining historical site dedicated to American Indians.

Town Creek is a historic site that was once the place of important ceremonies of the Pee Dee culture.

Excavation first started at the site in 1937, when it was torn down and reconstructed to its former glory. Among the reconstructed structures are the mound, two temple-like shelters, the burial hut and the enclosing stockade.

The door into the stockade demonstrates the intricate planning of the members of the community at Town Creek. It is so small that only one person can enter at a time to guard the area from attack.

There are four, small hut-like shelters in the enclosed stockade.

Each one is made of mud and has a straw roof with a small hole at the top to allow the sun and moonlight to shine in.

Archie Smith, Indian Mound site manager, said he is very appreciative that the state of North Carolina can keep the site in such good condition and hopes that many people will come out to enjoy the site.

"I want for people to come see us…we feel fortunate that the state keeps up the site and the history of the people through the process of maintaining the archeological site," Smith said.