Radford, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Native American Village Site

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 22, 2022

1. Native American Village Site Marker

Inscription. A late Woodland Village dating from 1600-1635 occupied this site year around. Circular houses were arranged in two or more circular rows around a central plaza or open area. A palisade with two openings surrounded the village. The adjacent flood plain (the present park) was used for cultivating corn, squash, beans and other agricultural products. The river provided shellfish and fish to supplement foods obtained by hunting and gathering activities. The period of occupation is based on glass beads found in the site as well as several C14 dates. Population is estimated to have been around one hundred and sixty five (165).

The research conducted at this site in 1974-75 by the Archeological Society of Virginia prior to the building of the park was known locally as the “Trigg Dig”. Exhibit of the recovered artifacts is located in the City of Radford's Glencoe Museum.

Author: William T. Buchanan, Jr. • Artist: Michele Moldenhauer

Erected by Sign Systems, Inc. (sponsor).

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Native Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1600.

Location. 37° 8.374′ N, 80° 34.155′ W. Marker is in Radford, Virginia. Marker is at the intersection of Berkley Williams

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

Drive and New River Drive, on the left when traveling east on Berkley Williams Drive. Marker is near the playground in Bisset Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 23 Berkley Williams Dr, Radford VA 24141, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. High Water Mark (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Starnes (approx. 0.2 miles away); Wildwood Pool (approx. 0.4 miles away); Montgomery County / Pulaski County (approx. 0.4 miles away); The New River (approx. 0.4 miles away); Connelly's Run (approx. half a mile away); New River Bridge (approx. 0.7 miles away); The City by the River (approx. ¾ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Radford.

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 22, 2022

2. Native American Village Site Marker

Trigg Site Artifacts image. Click for full size.

National Park Service (public domain)

3. Trigg Site Artifacts

This collection of bone adornment items include polished bird bone and carved/polished bone beads, a squirrel jaw pendant, raptor beak pendants, scapula pendants, drilled mammal canines, and carved tabs.

National Park Service (public domain)

4. Trigg Site Artifacts

These glass trade beads found at the Trigg Site document the variety of ways in which European contact with Native communities spread through the region. While person-to-person contact may not have occurred, trade items such as these beads from other Native groups had spread from Virginia's English settlers to the interior by the mid to late seventeenth-century.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 3, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 3, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 675 times since then and 64 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 3, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.