Modern North Carolina, 1930 on
156 highway markers.
Alamance County
- G-95B. EVERETT JORDAN 1896-1974United States Senator, 1958-1973, and textile executive. Jordan Lake named for him, 1973. He lived 1 mile NE.
- G-126J. SPENCER LOVE 1896-1962Founder of Burlington Mills, 1924; success of rayon propelled world's largest textile company. "Pioneer Plant" 3/4 mi. S...
- G-81W. KERR SCOTTGovernor, 1949-1953; United States Senator, 1954-1958; N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture, 1937-1948. Birthplace is nearby...
Alleghany County
Beaufort County
- B-77EDMUND HARDING 1890-1970Humorist, storyteller, & speaker of wide renown. Key to restoration of colonial Bath, 1955-70. He lived 100 yds. S.W.
- B-56JAMES ADAMS FLOATING THEATREToured coastal towns, 1913-1941. Edna Ferber's 1925 visit to ship, then docked nearby, was basis for her novel Show Boat...
Bertie County
Bladen County
Brunswick County
Buncombe County
- P-61ASHEVILLE NORMAL SCHOOLPresbyterian. Opened 1887 as Home Industrial School. Teacher's College 1892-1944. Stood nearby.
- P-64BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGEEst. in 1933; closed 1956. Experimental school with emphasis on fine arts & progressive education. Campus was 3 mi. NW.
- P-93GEODESIC DOMESPrototype domes built nearby in 1948 & 1949 by Buckminster Fuller while he taught at Black Mountain College.
- P-99GEORGE MASA d. 1933Japanese photographer. Born Masahara Iizuka. Advocate of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Appalachian Trail. His ...
- P-94JIMMIE RODGERS 1897-1933“Singing Brakeman” lived in Asheville, 1927. Began his country music career with radio broadcasts on WWNC, then 50 yds. ...
- P-89ZELDA FITZGERALDWriter, artist, Jazz Age icon; wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. In 1948, she and 8 other patients died in fire at Highland H...
Burke County
Cabarrus County
Carteret County
Catawba County
Chatham County
Cherokee County
Clay County
Cleveland County
- O-48CLYDE R. HOEYUnited States Senator, 1945-54, congressman, governor, N.C. legislator, lawyer, editor. Home is 1 mi., grave 1.2 mi., N....
- O-43GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITYBaptist. Founded 1905 as Boiling Springs High School; junior college, 1928-1971. University since 1993.
- O-71W. J. CASH 1900-1941Author of The Mind of The South. Editor & journalist. His grave is located 1600 ft. N.
Craven County
- C-68CHERRY POINTU.S. Marine Corps Air Station activated 1941 as Cunningham Field for first USMC aviator A.A. Cunningham. MCAS Cherry Poi...
- C-78ERVIN T. ROUSE 1917-1981Fiddler and songwriter. Penned widely-recorded "Orange Blossom Special," bluegrass standard (1938). He was born 1/4 mile...
- C-74GRAHAM A. BARDEN 1896-1967Congressman, 1935-61. Secured military bases for eastern N.C.; advocated Taft-Hartley labor relations act. Grave 4 block...
- C-1JOHN WRIGHT STANLY HOUSEHome of Revolutionary War leader; and his son John, Congressman & state legislator. House moved and restored 1966-70 by ...
Cumberland County
- I-81DAVID M. WILLIAMS 1900-1975"Carbine" Williams, designer of short stroke piston, which made possible M-1 carbine rifle, widely used in WWII. Lived 2...
- I-94FT. BRAGG SCHOOL INTEGRATIONIn 1951 superindendent Mildred Poole integrated Riley School 1 mi. S.W. three years before U.S. Supreme Court mandate.
- I-55METHODIST UNIVERSITYChartered 1956 as four-year liberal arts college. Opened September 1960. University since 2006.
Dare County
Davie County
Duplin County
Durham County
- G-48PAULI MURRAY 1910-1985First African American female Episcopal priest; lawyer, activist, poet, & human rights champion. Wrote Proud Shoes, 1956...
- G-130ROSE BUTLER BROWNE 1897-1986Educator & civil rights activist. Chair, Education Dept., N.C. College for Negroes, 1948-63. Her grave is 100 yds. N.E.
- G-123ROYAL ICE CREAM SIT-INSegregation protest at an ice cream parlor on this site, June 23, 1957, led to court case testing dual racial facilities...
- G-68WILLIAM B. UMSTEADGovernor, 1953-54, U.S. Senator, congressman; Democratic leader; and lawyer. Birthplace is 6 1/2 mi., grave 5 1/2 mi., N...
Edgecombe County
- E-96JOSEPH BLOUNT CHESHIRE, JR.Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of N.C., 1893-1932; lawyer & writer. Birthplace is one block W.; grave 100 yards S.
- E-112MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 1929-1968In his speech, Nov. 27, 1962, in gym 200 yards S.E., civil rights leader delivered refrain "I have a dream," used in Lin...
- E-111RURAL ELECTRIFICATIONNew Deal program set up cooperatives to bring power to farms. In N.C., first switch thrown on Apr. 17, 1937, one mi. N.
- E-125SANITATION WORKERS' STRIKELed by African American workers and civil rights coalition, 1978, against sanitation dept., here. It reshaped the labor ...
- E-119THELONIOUS MONK 1917-1982Jazz pianist, composer, and architect of bebop. Wrote “’Round Midnight” (1944). Born 1 mile S.
- E-107WESTRAY BATTLE BOYCE LONGDirector of the Women's Army Corps, 1945-1947. Legion of Merit for N. Africa service, 1943- 1944. Grave 175 yds. S.
Forsyth County
- J-83NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF THE ARTSEst. 1963; opened 1965. First state-supported school for performing arts in U.S. A campus of The University of North Car...
- J-86ROBERT M. HANES 1890-1959Banker. Economic adviser to post-World War II Europe. A founder of the Research Triangle Park. Home was 50 yds. W.
- J-115TOBACCO UNIONISMStrike by leaf workers, mostly black & female, June 17, 1943, 1/2 mile W., led to seven years of labor & civil rights ac...
Gaston County
- O-78NORTH CAROLINA ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITALState institution for crippled children, 1921-1979. R. B. Babington was its first president; O. L. Miller, founding surg...
- O-56R. GREGG CHERRYGovernor of North Carolina, 1945-1949. State legislator. Promoted good roads and rural electrification. Grave is 3 miles...
Gates County
Graham County
Granville County
Guilford County
- J-92EDWARD R. MURROW 1908-1965Radio correspondent in London during World War Two. Television interviewer & commentator. Born one mile east.
- J-80GEORGE PREDDY 1919-1944World War II fighter pilot. N.C.'s leading ace. Killed in action. Home 1 block east.
- J-28GREENSBORO MASSACREKu Klux Klan members and American Nazis, on Nov. 3, 1979, shot and killed five Communist Workers Party members one-tenth...
- J-73GREENSBORO O.R.D.World War II training camp and overseas replacement depot, 1943-1946. Over 330,000 servicemen were processed here. This ...
- J-119MARY NICHOLSON 1905-1943Early female commercial pilot. Joined the British Air Transport Auxiliary during WWII. Died in plane crash, 1943. Her gr...
- J-122POLIO HOSPITALDuring epidemic of 1948, integrated hospital built in 95 days. In 1963, it was makeshift jail for civil rights protester...
- J-56RANDALL JARRELL 1914-1965Poet & literary critic of national acclaim. Taught at UNC-Greensboro from 1947 to 1965. His grave is 120 yards southwest...
- J-120SIMKINS v. CONELandmark federal court of appeals decision 1963 involving Cone Hospital led to racial integration of hospitals in the U....
- J-79SIT-INSLaunched the national drive for integrated lunch counters, Feb. 1, 1960, in Woolworth store 2 blocks south.
Halifax County
- E-120ELLA BAKER 1903-1986Civil rights leader. She organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, April 1960, at Shaw University. Her ch...
- E-108FRANK ARMSTRONG 1898-1969Lt. Gen., U.S. Air Force. Led first U.S. bombing raids on Germany, 1943. Inspired Twelve O'Clock High, novel & film. Boy...
- E-127KEYS v. CAROLINA COACH COMPANYLandmark Interstate Commerce Commission case, 1955, helped end racial segregation in interstate transportation. Original...
- E-126LOUIS AUSTIN 1898-1971African American editor. Published Durham-based Carolina Times, 1927-71. An advocate of social justice and civil rights....
- E-106PLUMMER BERNARD YOUNGJournalist. Publisher of Norfolk Journal & Guide, 1910-1962, leading black-owned newspaper in the South. Birthplace near...
- E-53ROANOKE RIVEREarly channel of trade, its valley long an area of plantations. Frequent floods until 1952, since controlled by Kerr Dam...
- E-54ROANOKE RIVEREarly channel of trade, its valley long an area of plantations. Frequent floods until 1952, since controlled by Kerr Dam...
- E-56ROANOKE RIVEREarly channel of trade, its valley long an area of plantations. Frequent floods until 1952, since controlled by Kerr Dam...
- E-113TILLERY RESETTLEMENTEst. 1935; New Deal farm project. 350 black families from N.C., S.C., Fla., Ark., Va. purchased homesteads. Restored hou...
Harnett County
Haywood County
Hertford County
Hoke County
Hyde County
- B-76HYDE COUNTY SCHOOL BOYCOTTAfrican Americans boycotted public schools for the 1968-1969 year, challenging desegregation plan to close black schools...
- B-58MATTAMUSKEET NAT'L WILDLIFE REFUGEThe refuge, observation tower, and hunting lodge were rehabilitated by Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees, 1934-42.
Iredell County
Jackson County
Johnston County
Martin County
Mecklenburg County
- L-105CHARLOTTE SPEEDWAY"Strictly Stock" race, June 19, 1949, launched NASCAR sanctioned series. 3/4-mile dirt track was 200 yds. W.
- L-112HARRY GOLDEN 1902-1981Journalist, humorist, & civil rights advocate. He published, 1944-68, The Carolina Israelite. He lived one block N.E.
- L-118MORRIS FIELDA U.S. Army air base, 1941-1946. Named for Maj. William Morris, WWI pilot. The 5,000 acre facility became airport at thi...
- L-113ROMARE BEARDEN 1911-1988African American artist and writer. Many of his collages were inspired by childhood memories of N.C. Born 1 block N.W.
- L-86UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHARLOTTEEstablished 1946; became Charlotte College, 1949. Moved here 1961. Campus of The University of North Carolina since 1965...
Montgomery County
Nash County
- E-110HAROLD D. COOLEY 1897-1974U.S. House, 1934-1967. As chairman, Agriculture Committee, for 14 years, shaped postwar federal farm policy. Lived here.
- E-124KAY KYSER 1905-1985Bandleader, radio & TV personality, and host of the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge," 1938-1950. Childhood home of "Ol' Pe...
- E-72NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGEMethodist. Liberal arts, senior co-educational college. Chartered Oct., 1956; opened 1960.
- E-118OPERATION DIXIEBlack leaf house workers in eastern N.C. unionized in 1946. First pro-union vote, at tobacco factory 1 block W., precurs...
New Hanover County
- D-98BROMINE EXTRACTIONEthyl-Dow plant, which operated here, 1934-1945, pioneered extraction of bromine from sea water. Element used in Ethyl, ...
- D-96NORTH CAROLINA SHIPBUILDING CO.Constructed 243 vessels at shipyard one mile west, 1941-1946. Its first Liberty Ship, the S.S. Zebulon B. Vance, launche...
- D-80UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT WILMINGTONEst. 1947 as Wilmington College. Moved here in 1961. A campus of The University of North Carolina since 1969.
- D-86USS NORTH CAROLINAWorld War II battleship. Launched, June 13, 1940. Served in Pacific, 1942-1945. Decommissioned, 1947. Berthed here, 1961...
Northampton County
- E-109BERNICE KELLY HARRIS 1891-1973Novelist, playwright, & storyteller of rural eastern N.C. Author, Purslane (1939), Sweet Beulah Land (1943). Grave 600 y...
- E-45GEORGE V. HOLLOMAN 1902-1946Colonel U.S. Air Force, World War II. Pioneer in developing automatic devices for airplane control. Home 150 yds. W.
Onslow County
- C-46HOFMANN FORESTNamed for J. V. Hofmann. Research forest of 80,000 acres in Jones & Onslow counties. Acquired, 1934, for use by North Ca...
- C-73MONTFORD POINTRecruit training depot for black Marines, 1942-1949. In 1974 renamed Camp Johnson for Sgt. Gilbert Johnson, drill instru...
- C-88WOMEN AIRFORCE SERVICE PILOTSFifty-two highly skilled WASP flew training and test missions, 1943-44, from airstrip ¾ mi. N.
Orange County
- G-132ASTRONAUT TRAININGMorehead Planetarium trained NASA astronauts in celestial navigation for Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab missions, 1960-...
- G-125BILLY STRAYHORN 1915-1967Jazz composer & pianist. Wrote "Take the A Train" and other songs for Duke Ellington Orchestra. Boyhood home site 1/4 mi...
- G-133CARL T. DURHAM 1892-1974Congressman, 1939-1961. A druggist, he shaped pharmaceutical legislation & chaired atomic energy committee. Lived 1 mi. ...
- G-129ELIZABETH COTTEN 1893-1987“Libba” Cotten composed, recorded “Freight Train” (1958). Key figure, 1960s folk revival. Born and raised on Lloyd Stree...
- G-127JOURNEY OF RECONCILIATIONIn 1947 the Congress of Racial Equality & local citizens, black & white, protested bus segregation. Setting out from Was...
- G-135NAVY B-1 BANDIn May 1942 a group of 44 African American musicians broke U.S. Navy's color barrier, enlisting at general rank. Barrack...
Pasquotank County
Pender County
Pitt County
- F-49GEN. ALLEN HAL TURNAGE 1891-1971Led U.S. Marine Corps Third Division assaults on Bougainville & Guam, 1943-44. Received Navy Cross. Born 1 block S.E.
- F-60ROBERT LEE HUMBER 1898-1970Led effort in 1947 to establish N.C. Museum of Art; attorney & legislator; advocate of world federation. Lived here.
- F-67VOICE OF AMERICACold War broadcasts relayed from Greenville to Europe, Africa, and Latin America, 1963-89, via station 2 mi. S.W.
Richmond County
- K-31JOHN COLTRANE 1926-1967Jazz saxophonist and composer; influential stylist. Work spanned bebop to avant garde. Born one block S.W.
- KK-2TOWN CREEK INDIAN MOUND STATE HISTORIC SITESite of American Indian civic-ceremonial village, with platform mound, dating to circa 1,000 C.E. Studied by archaeologi...
Robeson County
Rockingham County
- J-93CHARLIE POOLE 1892-1931Pioneer country music recording artist. With N.C. Ramblers, 1918-31, popularized old-time music. Grave 1/2 mi. SW.
- J-114GLENN T. SETTLE 1894-1967Founder of Wings Over Jordan Choir and Negro Hour radio show, 1937. He promoted traditional spiritual music & racial har...
- J-113INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION CENTERSAs forerunners of state community colleges, 1958-1963, boosted vocational training. First in N.C. operated 200 yards E.
- J-67LUTHER H. HODGES 1898-1974Governor, 1954-1961; U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 1961-1965. A founder of Research Triangle Park. Home is 100 yards east.
- J-121ROBERT OPIE LINDSAY 1894-1952Fighter pilot. State's only WWI ace. Shot down 6 German planes, 1918. Born 1 mi. SW.
Scotland County
- I-90EDWIN GILL 1899-1978State treasurer, 1953-77; commissioner of revenue, 1942-49. Secretary, Gov. O. Max Gardner, 1931-33. Lived one block N.
- I-85GERALD JOHNSON 1890-1980Journalist and author. Progressive observer of the South and politics. Moved to Baltimore in 1926. Born 1 mile E.
- K-63LAURINBURG-MAXTON ARMY AIR BASEU.S. Army Air Force glider base, 1942-45. Trained units active in D-Day assault, June 6, 1944. Field 3 mi. N.
Surry County
Swain County
Transylvania County
Union County
Vance County
Wake County
- H-105C. C. CRITTENDEN 1902-1969Historian, archivist, & editor. Promoted "History for all the people" as head of N.C.'s state historical agency, 1935-19...
- H-116EUGENICS BOARDState action led to the sterilization by choice or coercion of over 7,600 people, 1933-1973. Met after 1939 one block E.
- H-59JOSIAH W. BAILEYUnited States Senator, 1931-1946. A Baptist leader and editor of "The Biblical Recorder." Home was here.
- H-94LAMAR STRINGFIELD 1897-1959Musician and composer. First conductor of the N.C. Symphony, 1932-38. Boyhood home 3 blks. E.
- H-76NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ARTOutgrowth of N.C. Art Society. In 1947 state funded purchase of art. Museum opened, 1956. Moved here, 1983.
- H-121ST. AGNESHospital. First nursing school in N.C. for African Americans, 1896-1961. Founded by Sarah Hunter. Building four blocks N...
- H-107STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEECivil rights organization, an outgrowth of sit-in movement, had origins in conference at Shaw University, Apr. 15-17, 19...
- H-64WILLIS SMITHUnited States Senator, 1950-53, speaker N.C. House of Representatives, president American Bar Assn. Home is 100 yds. W.,...
Warren County
Wayne County
- F-71DAN BULLOCK 1953-1969Youngest American to be killed in Vietnam War, at age 15. Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps. Grave 1 mi. SW.
- F-52KENNETH C. ROYALLLast Sec'y of War & first Sec'y of Army, 1947-49. Attorney; state senator; brig. gen., 1943-45. Led military justice ref...
- F-43MOUNT OLIVE COLLEGEOriginal Free Will Baptist. Chartered in 1951 as junior college. Moved here, 1953. Senior college charter granted in 198...
- F-70NUCLEAR MISHAPB-52 transporting two nuclear bombs crashed, Jan. 1961. Widespread disaster averted; three crewmen died 3 mi. S.
- F-74RUTH W. WHALEY 1901-1977Pioneer female African American lawyer. First to be licensed in N.C., 1933. Was Secretary of N.Y.C. Board of Estimate, 1...
- F-59SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASEField used, 1942-46, for flight training by Army Air Forces; reopened in 1956. Named for Seymour Johnson, naval aviator ...