Jonah Trimnal

Biography

Jonah is the Interpreter Park Ranger at Hampton Plantation State Park in South Carolina. He grew up in Western North Carolina near the Catawba River where he developed a life-long fascination with American history. That led his family to a considerable number of historic sites during their annual summer vacations, a detail his sisters still like to remind him of today.

He has lived in Guatemala and Idaho where he encountered indigenous cultures. Those experiences caused him to reflect on childhood memories of visiting family on the Catawba reservation next to the river, and the stories he heard from his father and grandfather about their ancestors. His research interests include Public History, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Atlantic World, and any historic/archaeological site that he can convince his patient wife and unwitting daughter to let him visit. He is an enrolled citizen of the Catawba Indian Nation.