National Historic
Landmark
Mark Barnes and Dr. Joffre Coe at the National Historic Landmark ceremony for the Hardaway Site.
On November 4, 1990, the town of Badin, North Carolina, held a celebration to commemorate the designation of the Hardaway Site as the state's 30th National Historic Landmark. The event featured exhibitions of American Indian artifacts and demonstrations of hunting tools for visitors and schoolchildren. Dignitaries, including Dr. Joffre Coe, the principal archaeologist to excavate the Hardaway Site, and officials from the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa), were presented with a certificate recognizing this honor.
The National Historic Landmark Program recognizes buildings, sites, districts, and objects that are deemed nationally significant in American history and culture by the Secretary of the Interior. As of the most recent data, there are 2,600 National Historic Landmarks in the United States, with only 39 in North Carolina. Forty-three years after the first excavation, the Hardaway Site joined iconic places like Mount Vernon, Pearl Harbor, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace in receiving this prestigious status.
This program is distinct from the National Register of Historic Places, which typically recognizes properties significant to state or local history. While National Register nominations can include properties of national importance, achieving National Historic Landmark status requires evaluation by three advisory boards before recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior. Both programs are administered by the National Park Service.
The Hardaway Site, once only known locally and on a small and unimposing hillside near the Yadkin River, is now acknowledged for its critical contributions to understanding the earliest periods of human occupation in the eastern United States. Billy Oliver, a former archaeologist with the Office of State Archaeology, stated that investigations at the site "marked a turning point in the interpretation of eastern United States prehistory." In addition to its historical importance, landmark status provided Alcoa with additional resources to protect the site. Not long before the ceremony, a couple was convicted of looting at Hardaway—the first such conviction in the site’s history.
The Hardaway Site in the North Carolina Piedmont is a remarkable archaeological treasure, revealing insights into early human history. Located on a rocky ridge 300 feet above the Yadkin River, this site has been a focal point of study since its discovery. Early inhabitants began using this site over 13,000 years ago, making it one of the most significant archaeological sites in the Eastern United States. In 1990, it was honored as a National Historic Landmark, a major honor, reflecting its crucial role in understanding Paleoindian and early-Archaic periods.
Situated now, since the building of the Narrows Dam, 140 feet above the west bank of Badin Lake, the Hardaway Site is part of the Uwharrie Mountains. This area, shaped by volcanic activity, features a variety of rock types including rhyolite, slate, shale, and argillite. The site itself lies at the northern end of Hardaway Point, with its location influenced by a historical pond that was filled to create a railroad bed.
The Hardaway Site first gained attention in 1937 when amateur archaeologist H. M. Doerschuk alerted Joffre L. Coe from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Early excavations in the late 1940s and early 1950s faced challenges due to intrusive features complicating the stratigraphy. Systematic excavations began in 1955 under a lease from the Carolina Aluminum Company (later Alcoa), revealing rich cultural layers and forming the basis of Coe’s influential work.
The site’s stratigraphy includes five zones, with four containing significant cultural material:
- Zone V: A red clay cap, culturally sterile and predating human occupation.
- Zone IV: Contains evidence of the Hardaway cultural complex, dating to around 14,000–12,000 years ago. Artifacts include stone-lined hearths and various tools.
- Zone III: Associated with the Palmer cultural complex, dating to around 10,000 years ago. This layer shows increased cultural debris, suggesting more intensive occupation.
- Zone II: Linked to the Kirk complex, with a dense accumulation of artifacts dating from 10,000 to 8,000 years ago.
- Zone I: A plow zone with materials ranging from the middle Archaic to an early 18th-Century Keyauwee (Caraway) Indian occupation.
Coe's research at the Hardaway Site was instrumental in refining archaeological methods. His work clarified the dating of early-Archaic projectile points and challenged previous assumptions based on the Midwestern Taxonomic Method (MTM). By isolating stratigraphic layers, Coe demonstrated that artifacts from different periods could be distinguished and accurately dated.
The Hardaway Site remains a cornerstone of American archaeology, offering invaluable insights into early human history. Its dual status as a National Historic Landmark and a protected site under the ownership and care of North Carolina State Parks ensures its continued contribution to our understanding of prehistoric cultures. Ongoing research and protection efforts promise to further illuminate the rich history of this remarkable site.
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Showcasing American Indian ingenuity at Uwharrie's Hardaway Site through history and modern voices.