Excavation
Joseph Thoburn of the University of Oklahoma knew about the site in 1914 and excavated it in 1917. In 1926 he found a map listing a settlement, "Fernandina," in the area of the Deer Creek Site, so he concluded it was the first non-Indian settlement in the area; however, the map was created in 1860. Ethnohistorian Mildren Mott Wedel asserted in 1981 that Fernandina or Ferdinandina had no connection to the 18th century Wichita village. Excavations in 2004 found a large number of trade items.
The Deer Creek Site and the Bryson Paddock site were declared National Historic Landmarks in 1964 and 1979 respectively. The US Army Corps of Engineers currently owns the Deer Creek site. The Bryson Paddock site is under private ownership.
Read more about this topic: Deer Creek/Bryson Paddock Sites