European American Experience in Burke County
Overview
The history of European settlement in Burke County, NC is foundational to the formation of the United States. The first recorded attempt to colonize the North American interior occurred in 1567 when a Spanish expedition led by Juan Pardo built Fort San Juan on what had been Joara, a regional chiefdom of Catawba tribes who were members of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture. Members of Pardo’s expedition inhabited Fort San Juan for about 18 months before it was razed by Natives and all Spanish soldiers were killed but one, thus terminating the first attempted European settlement in North America.
Europeans were hesitant to face the harsh conditions of the area again until the 1700’s when Scots-Irish, French, and German farmers started to occupy Indigenous lands under French and British colonization efforts. With the eventual success of the British colonies and the addition of growing numbers of European settlers to the local ecosystem, Indigenous people fell victim to unfamiliar diseases, food shortages, and eventually to governmental displacement and removal.
As Europeans rose to dominance and forged a new country, North Carolina became 12th of the original 13 United States of America (1789) and Burke County was officially established (1877). As of July, 2021, U. S. Census Quick Facts indicate that 86.1% of Burke County’s population identify as White alone, with 81.4% of that group further identifying as White alone non-Hispanic.
European American Culture | As seen Through…Debra Rose
I grew up in Rose Hollar, which is part of the Jonas Ridge community of Burke County. My mom’s family - the Roses - have been there since the 1770's. My family never thought of ourselves as Southerners. We were mountain folk - independent, self reliant and often distrustful of outsiders. When I was growing up, everyone on Jonas Ridge was white. So far as I can remember, everyone was also either a Baptist or Methodist and almost everyone voted Republican. (In 2022, the demographic is much the same there.) My family was very poor. We lived in a small two bedroom house on a dirt road just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We did not have an indoor bathroom until I was in high school. We didn't own a car and we didn't have a telephone or a television until I was in elementary school.
I was raised by my mom and her older sister, Elsie. My mom and Elsie were strong, resilient, resourceful and hard working women who fed and clothed nine children during a time before President Johnson’s War on Poverty established programs to help poor folks in Appalachia.
I went to school in Avery County, where almost all students, faculty and staff were white. Avery County High School enrolled about 1000 students when I was there. Five were black. I do not know if the black students who attended school with me experienced racism, but I find it hard to imagine that they did not.
Race was never discussed in our family, but my mom taught me that we were all God's children. Period. She treated everyone with kindness and respect - whether they were alcoholics, drug addicts or in trouble with the law.
Debra with her mom.
Debra with her siblings.
The Rose Hollar home Debra grew up in.
Debra with her Aunt Elsie.