Rowan County
37 places on the trail: 36 highway markers, 1 battlefields and state sites.
People of Rowan County in Carolina Quotes
Colonial North Carolina, 1585-1774
- L-61FRANCIS LOCKE 1722-1796Colonel of Whig force which routed Tories at Battle of Ramsour's Mill, June 20, 1780. Home stood nearby.
- L-21GRIFFITH RUTHERFORD ca. 1721-1805Militia general. He led expedition against the Cherokee, 1776. Colonial & state official. Lived nearby on Grant's Creek.
- L-71OLD ENGLISH CEMETERYCornwallis' men buried here in 1781. Granted to city in 1770 by British government. Grave of Gov. John W. Ellis is here.
- L-60OLD STONE HOUSEBuilt 1766 by Michael Braun. One of the few remaining Pennsylvania German stone houses in North Carolina. Stands 1/2 mil...
- L-79OLD STONE HOUSEHome of Michael Braun. Built 1766; restored 1966 by Rowan Museum, Inc. Family burial ground 100 yards South.
- L-44ST. LUKE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCHParish established in 1753. Present building constructed in 1828, stands one block west.
- L-10THYATIRA CHURCHPresbyterian. Founded by 1750. Present building completed in 1860. First permanent minister was Samuel McCorkle, who is ...
Revolution and founding, 1775-1789
- L-47ANDREW JACKSONStudied law under Spruce Macay, 1784-85, at an office which stood 1 bl. W. Admitted to the bar in Rowan County, Nov. 6, ...
- L-15JOHN STEELECongressman, 1789-93, Comptroller of the United States Treasury, Federalist party leader. Home stands 2 blocks east.
- L-41THIRD CREEK CHURCHPresbyterian. Founded before 1789. Present building erected 1835. Stands 2 miles north.
- L-24TRADING FORDOn famous trading path used by Indians and early settlers. There Greene, retreating from Cornwallis, crossed on Feb. 2, ...
The young state, 1790-1860
- L-59CATAWBA COLLEGECoeducational, liberal arts. Affiliated with Evangelical & Reformed Church. Opened at Newton, 1851. Moved here, 1925, an...
- L-81GOLD HILL MINING DISTRICTGold discovered here by 1824. Extensive mining begun 1843, creating a boom town. Copper mined in district until 1907.
- L-45GRACE OR LOWER STONE CHURCHEvangelical and Reformed. Organized by early German settlers. Building erected 1795 is 2 1/2 miles south.
- L-106HARRY COWAN 1810-1904Baptist minister vital to growth of church in N.C. Founder of Mount Zion Church (1867), which is one block W.
- L-12JOHN W. ELLISGovernor, 1859-61. A leader of the secession movement in N.C. Died July, 1861, aged 40. Home stands 1 1/2 blocks south.
- L-62MATTHEW LOCKEBrigadier-General in the American Revolution. Member of the Provincial Congress. U.S. Congress, 1793-1799. Grave 1/4 mi....
- L-63MAXWELL CHAMBERS HOUSEA good example of the larger homes built about 1820. Now used by the Rowan Museum. Located 1/2 block south.
- L-46ORGAN OR ZION CHURCHLutheran. Organized by early German settlers. The building erected in 1794 is 1 1/2 mi. south.
- M-35PROSPECT CHURCH AND ACADEMYPresbyterian. Both founded in 1824. Plans for Davidson College adopted here in 1835.
- L-20SAM'L E. McCORKLEPresbyterian preacher and educator. The site of his famous academy, Zion Parnassus (about 1794 to 1798) is 3/4 of a mile...
- L-70SETZER SCHOOLRestored one-room log school of 1840's. Now located at the Knox Junior High School, 1/4 mile east.
- L-64WASHINGTON'S SOUTHERN TOURPresident Washington was a visitor in the town of Salisbury, May 30-31, 1791.
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
- L-2CONFEDERATE PRISONEnclosure, 16 acres. Once held 10,000 men. Destroyed by Federals, 1865. Site one block south.
- L-29STONEMAN'S RAIDStoneman's U.S. cavalry occupied the town of Salisbury, Apr. 12, 1865, and destroyed the Confederate warehouses, supplie...
- L-28STONEMAN'S RAIDOn their raid through western N. C., Gen. George Stoneman's U.S. cavalry fought a skirmish with Confederate troops near ...
The New South, 1878-1929
- L-14'CHRISTIAN REID' 1846-1920Pen name of Frances Fisher Tiernan, author of Land of the Sky and other novels. Her grave is 200 yards N.W.
- M-39AUGUSTUS LEAZERIntroduced bill, 1885, for industrial school, now N.C. State University. Speaker of House, 1889; prison reformer. Taught...
- L-104J. E. K. AGGREY (1875-1927) ROSE D. AGGREY (1882-1961)Born in West Africa's Gold Coast (now Ghana), James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey enrolled at Livingstone College in 1898 & later...
- L-89JOSEPH C. PRICE 1854-1893Minister, teacher, and founder of Livingstone College. Home stands here. Grave 700 ft. E.
- L-27LEE S. OVERMANUnited States Senator, 1903-30, a leading supporter of Wilson's war policies, Speaker of House of Representatives. His h...
- L-85LIVINGSTONE COLLEGEFounded as Zion Wesley Institute, 1879. Became College in 1885. Rev. J. C. Price president 1882-93. Named for British mi...
- L-17RURAL FREE DELIVERYThe first mail over an R.F.D. route in N.C. was carried out of China Grove, October 23, 1896.
Battlefields, sites and undated markers
- L-26KNOX HOMEHome of the Knox family since colonial days. James Knox, grandfather of President James Knox Polk, lived there. House st...
- SiteNORTH CAROLINA TRANSPORTATION MUSEUMTransportation history, railroad history & architecture.
- L-120PIEDMONT CREDIT UNION
- L-30TRADING PATHColonial trading route dating from 17th century, from Petersburg, Virginia, to the Catawba and Waxhaw Indians in Carolin...