Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum facts for kids

The Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum is a special place that shows what a Native American village might have looked like a long, long time ago. It's a rebuilt village, like a historical theme park, from around the years 1480 to 1520. We don't know for sure which Native American group lived there, but they might have been the Cherokee people or tribes who spoke Siouan languages and often visited that area.

Discovering the Ancient Village

Imagine building a big highway, and then suddenly, you find something amazing! That's what happened in 1970 near Bastian, Virginia. Workers were building Interstate 77 when they found an ancient Native American site.

Because the highway would destroy the site, construction stopped. This allowed archaeologists to quickly study and save information from the area. This type of fast work is called Rescue archaeology.

Who Explored the Site?

In May 1970, a team led by Howard MacCord began digging. They had only a very short time to explore. This was the first official archaeology site in Bland County, Virginia. It was named for Brown Johnston, who owned the land.

What Archaeologists Found

During their dig, archaeologists found many interesting things. They uncovered the remains of eleven circular buildings, which were likely homes or "wigwams." They also found storage huts and places where people made fires.

Sadly, they also found eleven human skeletons. These findings helped them understand how people lived and where they buried their loved ones.

How They Worked Quickly

The archaeologists had to work very fast. They used big machines called road graders to carefully remove layers of dirt. To keep working even when it got dark, they used car headlights to light up the areas they were studying!

Rebuilding the Village

Between 1992 and 1996, a team worked to rebuild the village. They wanted to show what it looked like hundreds of years ago. This new village is in Bland County, Virginia, close to where the original site was found.

How They Recreated the Homes

The archaeologists had found "post holes" in the ground. These were marks left by wooden posts that held up buildings. By studying these marks, they could figure out where each building stood. They rebuilt about a dozen circular homes and a fence-like wall, called a palisade, around the village.

Remembering the People

The original dig also found several Native American graves. These graves held people of different ages and genders. Some were inside the village walls, and some were outside. In the rebuilt village, these grave sites are marked. You can learn about how people were buried and what items were found with them.

Making it Real

The people who rebuilt the village used the original archaeology maps. They tried to make it as real as possible, putting every pole and feature in the right place. The Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum is now run by Bland County, Virginia.

To help visitors understand life in the past, the museum uses reenactors. These are people who dress up and act like people from that time. They help bring history to life!