Morganton's Local History

"The Berry site is a large (nearly 12 acres) Mississippian site that dates to the Burke phase (15th and 16th centuries A.D.) and is believed to represent an ancestral Catawba Indian town. This site is believed to be the location of the native town of Joara, at which Pardo built Fort San Juan in 1567 (20 years before the "Lost Colony). Excavations have revealed the presence of four burned structures in the area which may represent the remains of the Spanish compound, FortSan Juan. Pardo also renamed the Native settlement Cuenca, after his hometown in Spain. Quenca and Fort San Juan represent the earliest European settlement in the interior of North America."