New display at Sycamore Shoals includes artifacts from site of original fort
Published 9:09 am Thursday, October 13, 2016
Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye
A new display case has been installed in the museum at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park. The display includes historic artifacts discovered at the orginal site of Fort Watauga during an archaeological excavation in the 1970s.
Some old items at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park have found a new home on display in the museum.
Park staff recently finished a new display case inside the museum that features several artifacts unearthed at the site of the original Fort Watauga.
“Back in the 1970s, I don’t recall the exact year, there was some archaeological work that took place at the original site of the fort on what is now West G Street,” Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park Manager Jennifer Bauer said. “They found some artifacts there. One of the primary things they found were where the walls were and where the family home was.”
At that time, the discovered artifacts were taken to Nashville where they were stored with the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, Bauer said.
About three years ago Bauer and Park Historic Interpreter Chad Bogart went to the Division of Archaeology to review what artifacts had been recovered from both the site of the original fort as well as from the site of the historic Carter Mansion, which is a satellite campus of Sycamore Shoals.
“We were able to bring back certain artifacts to display here,” Bauer said.
However, the park had to wait until funding was available to create the display case to properly preserve the artifacts while making them available for the public to view them.
The display case was recently completed and this past weekend park staff set up a display of some of the artifacts recovered from the original fort site.
Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye
This fragment of a glass bottle was excavated from the original site of Fort Watauga in the 1970s.
Among the items currently on display is: a brass buckle which is half of an 18th century strap buckle; a hand-forged horseshoe with shoe nails still attached; and a salt glazed potter shard with a cobalt blue glaze.
Included in the display are a pair of projectile points dating back to the Native Americans who resided in the area before the settlers. According to the display, the presence of ancient artifacts suggests early Native American activity in the area centuries before the time of the original Watauga Fort.
The new display is located inside the museum at the Park Visitor’s Center. For more information on Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park or its museum call 423-543-5808. The Visitor’s Center and museum are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. The Visitor’s Center and museum are closed on Mondays.
