Archaeology has been completed on the porch areas and on the foundation of the ca. 1790 smoke house at Fort Defiance. Caldwell County has over 300 prehistoric and historic archaeological sites recorded in the Historic Preservation Office's statewide inventory.
The county has had a reconnaissance level survey as part of a regional western North Carolina project. This survey conducted in 1986 was a cooperative local-state project accomplished with grants and staff assistance from the Historic Preservation Office.
Federal grants totaling $91,000 assisted restoration and archaeological study of Fort Defiance, and state grants totaling $244,800 have aided such projects as Fort Defiance, the Rev. Jesse Rankin House, and the Chapel of Rest, as well a county reconnaissance architectural survey and archaeological study of the Nelson Mound. A 1997 state grant of $30,000 was awarded for the preparation of National Register nominations in Happy Valley.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Five individual National Register properties and one National Register historic district include the Caldwell County Courthouse and Fort Defiance.
The Historic Preservation Office reviewed and provided restoration technical services for the former Lenoir High School, an income-producing tax credit project in Lenoir, which has been completed with a construction investment of $1,439,700. One residential renovation project is underway to utilize the new state tax credit for non-income-producing historic structures.
Technical renovation and restoration assistance has been provided by the Historic Preservation Office to many projects throughout the county including Fort Defiance, Caldwell County Courthouse, Lenoir High School, and Chapel of Rest.