Today there are 4 structures for visitors to see. 1) The guard tower is passed through in order to get inside the field. There is a protective stockade made of pointed logs that surround the site. There are two towers today, and visitors enter the north tower. The lookout tower would have been used to see who was approaching the site. 2) The Mortuary was the same thing as a mortuary was today. Each clan would have their own structure to be used for burials. Today the present-day visitors will find an A/V program to guide you through a Native funeral. 3) The town house and mound. This is the most import building here is built on top of other huts that had collapsed. This was the ceremonial and political center of the people. This is where the priests and tribe elders met for important matters and religious observances. There was a sacred fire kept within except for during busk. 5) The Priest Hut. This is where the priest or the sacred flame keeper lived. There are also marked nature trails that round on the property.
When the modern visitor arrives, your first stop should be the visitor’s center. They have a number of exhibits on the Natives who first lived here and photos and documents of the progress in the excavation and construction of the site. There is also a 15 minute film on the Pee Dee society. There is a gift shop and among the things for sale are Native crafts. There are restrooms and a water fountain here as well. They do have drinks and concessions for sale as well. There are a numerous events through out the year including a several astronomy events, Archeology month celebrated in October, Halloween events, night tours, and the popular Town Creek Heritage Festival which includes a pow wow.
Town Creek is located just outside of Mt. Gilead, a very pretty and picturesque small town. Here you will find convenience stores and several restaurants after your day of visiting.
Hours/admission. April-October Tues.-Sat. 9-5, Sunday 1-5. November through March: Tues.-Sat. 10-4, Sun. 1-4. Closed Mondays and major holidays. Hours for events may change so always check. Admission is free. There are charges for most events. And I will say this in every entry. Please if you are going to visit here I implore you to place a donation in the box. These important programs are run in part by donations. Please donate so these fantastic people can keep this astounding place open!
For more information go to www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us. Then click on sites and click on Town Creek. This is the site for the NC Historic Sites program and you can find out about all the other wonderful places to visit. Also check out the book, North Carolina’s State Historic Sites by Gary L. McCullough he has a very compressive guide to each site. . They do participate in the passport program. You can pick up a passport at any site in the visitors center for $5. At each site get your passport stamped. You get a gift after completing each region and the whole passport.