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The Native American Town of Joara and
Fort San Juan
Locally known as the Berry site, the results of excavations conducted in 1986 and subsequent analysis have led researchers to suggest that the site may be the location of the native town of Xualla or Joara, visited by Hernando de Soto in 1540 and by Juan Pardo during his expeditions from Santa Elena in 1566-1568. Joara was also the location of one of the forts, Fort San Juan, built by Pardo.
In 1566, Captain Juan Pardo and his army departed Santa Elena (on modern-day Parris Island, South Carolina) to claim the interior of southeastern North America for Spain.
Generally following the Wateree and Catawba rivers, Pardo arrived at Joara, the most important Native American town in the western Piedmont, near modern-day Morganton, North Carolina.
In January 1567, Pardo built Fort San Juan at Joara – the earliest European settlement in the interior of the United States.Fort San Juan predates Roanoke (the Lost Colony) by nearly 20 years and Jamestown by 40 years.
The Native American settlements visited by de Soto and Pardo and the forts built by Pardo are national and international treasures. They are witnesses to American history, and to world history. They cannot be replaced.
Help the Exploring Joara Foundation Unearth the Forgotten Past.