Site of James Burke’s Garden
Burke’s Garden is named for James Burke who
surveyed the region with James Patton by
1750. According to tradition, Burke buried
some potato peelings in the region’s fertile
soil during a survey expedition. Sometime
later another group camped at the same site
and discovered the potatoes, resulting in the
area becoming known as Burke’s Garden. Burke
built a cabin nearby and lived here from about
1753 until 1756 when hostilities began during
the French and Indian War. Burke’s Garden is
a topographically rare elongated basin rimmed
entirely by the Garden Mountain.
Marker is on Burkes Garden Road (County Route 623) just north of Mapleton Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
