Indian Head Rock

Indian Village

In the first half of the Twentieth Century, an ancient village site was revealed by a farmer’s plow. Thus, the long lost Keyauwee Indian Village was rediscovered on the Carraway and later excavated by the Archaeological Society of North Carolina about 1936.

It was near this spot or on top of Ridges Mountain, the tribunal meeting place, that John Lawson met the most beautiful Indian maiden he had seen in all his New World travels. She was the daughter of the “Queen," of the Keyauwee Indians. In Lawson’s own words she was “the beautifullest Indian I ever saw, and had an air of majesty with her...” His description of this young Indian maiden, endowed with all the graces and charms of a true princess, inspires the imagination.

This Indian maiden deserves a kinder fate than to disappear from history after only a brief mention as the princess at the Indian village, Keyauwee. It has been suggested by many that a monument to honor this 18th Century Indian maiden be erected on top of Ridges Mountain. North Carolina can well afford to place a monument or statue in her memory and to honor all Native Americans. It would be fitting if this monument was crafted from the naturally occurring black granite found in abundance on the south end of Ridges Mountain.

More than 125 acres of land located on the southern pinnacle of Ridges Mountain is being leased from Mr. Crotts by John Wesley College for preservation and educational use.