HAGOOD MILL TRAIL

Sacred Fire Circle

The Sacred Fire Circle has been used for thousands of years for prayer, talking to the Creator, and giving thanks to him. There are sacred rites and protocols used when entering the Sacred Fire Circle. Everyone is welcome to enter, but must ask the Fire Keeper to enter. The Fire Keeper will provide guidance and instructions to all entering the circle.

Medicine Wheel Garden

The circle is symbolic if infinity, as it lacks a beginning or an end, and yet, it is all encompassing. Native Americans have incorporated this symbol into medicine wheel garden designs for centuries. To many Native American people, the medicine wheel garden, or sacred hoop, represents their relationship with the cosmos and the Creator. Many activities, from ceremonial gatherings to

eating and dancing, revolved around this central theme of a circle. Traditionally, the circular garden would include medicinal and culinary herbs used for healing the mind, body and spirit. For educational purposes, and because we love the bees, butterflies, and all other pollinating insects, indigenous plants, vegetables, and annual blooms have been added to our sacred garden as well.

Old Indian Path

This walking path was constructed along the route of an old road that once ran through the Hagood Mill complex. There is some evidence that this old road was originally a segment of the Buncombe Trail, an ancient Indian path that led into the French Broad river valley near Asheville, NC. That would make the old roadbed one of the oldest cultural features at Hagood Mill, and would help explain why the petroglyphs were carved on the rock outcropping now covered by the Hagood Mill Petroglyph Center. Archaeologists have noted that petroglyph sites often occur adjacent to or in the vicinity of ancient Indian trails. The Buncombe Trail is clearly shown on an 1819 plat of a 1,000 acre tract of land in the Holly Springs Community. That old Indian trail was later developed into one of the earliest toll roads in this area, first chartered in 1858 by Col. Benjamin Hagood as the Sassafras Gap Toll Road. Benjamin Hagood, who owned the Hagood Mill in the 1840's, identified this segment of the old road as a section of the Sassafras Gap road.

Corn Garden

Corn, also called Maize, was an important crop to the Native American Indians. It was one of their main foods and eaten at almost every meal. Some corn was dried and ground to be used in making cornmeal. The grinding process was done using mortars and pestles. Some varieties of corn which may be planted are: Cherokee White Eagle, Glass Gem, and Gourdseed Corn.

River Cane Re-development

River cane (Arundinaria gigantea) was a central part of the Cherokee culture. There were many important uses of the cane; arrow shafts, blow guns, fish traps, baskets, wattle-and-daub walls, and young spring shoots could be eated. Switch cane (Arundinaria tecta) is another indigenous, smaller, Southeastern cane.

Dugout Canoe

Dugout canoes were a primary source of transportation used by many Native Americans who relied on them for hunting fishing, and trading expeditions. Local Cherokee and Catawba dugout canoes were typically made from a single log of chestnut or pine. Carefully controlled fires were used to hollow out these logs. The fires were extinguished at intervals to scrape out the burned wood with wood, shell, or stone tools, giving the canoes a flat botto with straight sides. Our dugout canoe demonstration shows just how inventive Native peoples were with their sue of Fire, using it as a tool to carve and shape wood of all sizes.

Soapstone Boulder

This boulder is made from the material that most southeastern pottery priot to about 4500 years ago was made of. It is a metamorphic rock commonly called Soapstone or Steatite. It is a soft, carve-able material which is also very resistant to heat. If you look closely, you can see bowls in various states of production. Most of these would be called preforms. Some are just bases after the bowl was finished and removed. The advent of ceramics and fiber tempered pottery, and pretty much made this technology obsolete.

Mortar and Pestle

Corn was a major source of food for the Native Americans. Often, they would smash and grind dried corn kernels into a fine powder which produced cornmeal, which in turn could be made into cornbread or flattened corn cakes. Traditionally, they would use mortars and pestles made from either rock or wood to complete this process. The dried corn was placed into the hollowed out mortar, then it would be pounded using the pestle until the corn reached the desired powdered consistency for cooking.

Prehistoric Stone Mortar

This is a great example of a technology lost to most modern people. We believe this to be a boulder used in the extraction of tar or lye. Both of these materials were very important to early settlers and frontiersmen. They were used in medicines, fuel, cleaning, and many other uses lost to history. We do not know whether this example was used in tar or lye extraction. At this point, there is no good way to know for sure which it was used for. Very few poeple have actually used this technology in the modern era. We plan on conductive a few experiments in order to recreate this technology lost to modern man.

Earthen Oven

Scientists have discovered remnants of earth ovens dating back as many as 19,000 years. That's right! Cultures around the world have been experimenting with this method of cooking and enjoying a good barbeque for nearly 20,000 years. The more we learn about ancient cooking methods, and practice them ourselves, the closer we become to experiencing the "natural world" of our ancestors.

SC Petroglyph Center

The rock carvings created by Native peoples up to 1000+ years ago are available for viewing on the huge boulder which was originally found under the Old Indian Path. This boulder is now housed in a climate-controlled building to protect for future generations. At least 17 human figures and various geometric shapes or creatures have been catalogued. Dr. Tommy Charles, a well-known professor of archaeology and anthropology, narates an audio-video show about this extremely rare find. The Petroglyph Gallery houses numerous displays and information regarding petroglyph finds in the local area.

Future Home of Primitive Technology Skills Range

Cherokee Round House

This house was built many years ago using authentic materials; it only lasted a few seasons as these materials were originally used for one season only.