In 1986, Timothy Shaun Phillips, then 9 years old, discovered
this large, rare first-stage Hardaway corner notched point in his grandfather’s
cornfield while he and his brother were playfully chasing their dog. The
family farm was in the Drowning Creek drainage at Jackson Springs, west of
Pinehurst in western Moore County, North Carolina. 
The Hardaway is 3 1/2 inches long, extremely thin and knapped from green
silicified shale from the Carolina slate belt in central North Carolina.
The large majority of such points are much smaller and found in resharpened
or exhausted stages. The Hardaway tradition dates to the early archaic period of about 8000 BC as determined by archaeologists
in controlled excavations at stratified sites.
Young Phillips cherished his find after being told that it was a “special
Indian rock.” It remained packed away in a drawer in his home long
with his baseball card collection. In September 2003, he and his fiance saw
an article in Carolina Country written by the author with pictures of Carolina
arrowheads from the authors collection.
They emailed a picture photo of the Hardaway Timothy had found in hopes
of learning more about its age, type and approximate value. After several
months of email exchanges, Timothy and his fiance were invited to come
to Hickory, North Carolina and view the author’s
collection. After spending the better part of that afternoon viewing the collection,
Tim and his fiance concluded that his special Hardaway would best be served
displayed within the Harris collection rather than stored away in a dresser
drawer at their home.
The Phillips Hardaway is now proudly exhibited in a special frame in the
author’s collection along with the brief history of its find.
