The Pike-Pawnee Village Site, or Hill Farm Site, designated 25WT1 by archaeologists, is a site near the village of Guide Rock in Webster County in south central Nebraska. It was the location of a village of the Kitkehahki band of the Pawnee people, in a region of the Republican River valley that they occupied intermittently from the 1770s to the 1820s.
In 1806, the village was visited by a Spanish expedition led by Lieutenant Facundo Melgares and, soon after, by an American expedition led by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike. At the village, Pike persuaded the Pawnee leaders to haul down a Spanish flag that they had received from Melgares, and to raise the flag of the United States in its stead.
The location of the village visited by Pike was not known for many years. In the early 20th century, two sites were proposed: this one in Nebraska, and one in Republic County in northern Kansas. A dispute between the historical societies of the two states ensued, titled "The War Between Nebraska and Kansas". The dispute was eventually resolved in favor of the Nebraska site.
Investigations conducted at the site by William Duncan Strong, Waldo Wedel, and A. T. Hill were instrumental in the development of Great Plains archaeology, and of Pawnee archaeology in particular.
The site is a National Historic Landmark, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Read more about Pike-Pawnee Village Site: Description, 1806: Melgares and Pike, 1806-1833, Rediscovering The Village, Investigation History, Preservation
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