This marker is located in downtown Greensboro and points out what was here during the Civil War…read more North Carolina had a number of Civil War battles and many of them in this area. The marker reads, "Set up in the First Presbyterian Church to receive wounded from Battle of Bentonville, 1865, was here." Online, there is more information. "During the winter and early spring of 1864-1865, General William Tecumseh Sherman's army wreaked destruction on Georgia and South Carolina. On March 8, his men entered North Carolina. Concerned with the ability to feed and supply his 60,000 men, Sherman divided his army into two wings: the left, commanded by Major General Henry Slocum and the right commanded by Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard. Both wings advanced in the direction of Goldsboro, as Confederate forces from across the region were cobbled together in an attempt to delay their progress. "On March 19-21, at Bentonville, Sherman's army lost 304 killed in action, 1,112 wounded, and 221 missing. The Confederates lost 239 killed, 1,694 wounded, and 673 missing. While many of the wounded were treated immediately at the numerous field hospitals established by both Federal and Confederate forces, some Southern soldiers were sent west to Greensboro. Many of these men were attended to at temporary Confederate hospitals established at the First Presbyterian Church and Edgeworth Female Seminary. The congregation of the church had offered their services and their facility to the Confederacy as early as April 1862, but it had not been used as a hospital until the latter half of March 1865. "Locals recorded their shock at the number of wounded. A local woman who was present recorded that those who died of their wounds "were laid in a semi-circle around the pulpit in their last long sleep." The exact number of those who died at the church remains unknown. A monument to them is located at Green Hill Cemetery. After the Federal occupation of Greensboro, the field hospital was converted back into the church once more." This is marker number J-30 and it was erected in 1950 by the Archives, Conservation and Highway Departments. [Review 2493 of 2024 - 3946 in North Carolina - 23505 overall]

Walking downtown looking for a place to eat and we came across this historical marker. On South Elm…read moreStreet near the corner of W. Washington. It states that the inventor of Vicks Vaporub had a pharmacy a few hundred yards from that corner. It's crazy to think that something we have been using since we were kids, was invented so close to home! If you close your eyes and think real hard......you can smell the Vicks! I have a cold at the moment so I was not able to smell anything. Oh well, heading to the nearest pharmacy to get me some! You should try it, you won't be disappointed!

I spotted this marker as I was headed to a coffee shop in Greensboro and once I'd settled in with…read moremy laptop, I looked up and learned about this inventor. Interesting stuff! The marker reads, "A pharmacist and entrepreneur, he created Vicks VapoRub in 1894 while operating a drugstore 150 yards north." Online, there is more information. "Lunsford Richardson, born in 1854 in Johnston County, was educated at the Horner and Graves Academy in Oxford and enrolled at Davidson College in 1872. His mother, who had raised Lunsford and his four siblings alone, died the following year, leaving Richardson with enough money for only three years at Davidson. Richardson graduated from Davidson in 1875--number two in his class and with medals in Greek, Latin, and debating. He served four years as a principal in Cumberland County, but left school to become a pharmacist--one of the only other jobs that he felt would be served by his Latin skills. "In 1880 Richardson purchased the only drugstore in Selma. Ten years later he moved to Greensboro, where he and partner John B. Fariss purchased W. C. Porter's drug store. At Richardson-Fariss Drug Store, he began to utilize his lifelong interest in chemistry, inventing a variety of over-the-counter medications. In order to promote his medicines, Richardson sold the drugstore and established a wholesale business, the L. Richardson Drug Company. In 1905, after disagreements with stockholders over how the operation should be run, Richardson sold the business, retaining rights to his twenty-one medicines, and opened the Vick Family Remedies Company. "Vicks Salve, developed by Richardson in 1894, offered promise, but was difficult to market with such a nondescript name. Richardson's eldest son, H. Smith Richardson, joined the family business as sales manager in 1907 and recognized the need for a more descriptive name. With the honed salesmanship of Smith Richardson and under the catchy name Vick's VapoRub, the cold remedy had garnered a national following within five years. The flu pandemic of 1918 to 1919 made Vick's VapoRub an indispensible part of medicine chests. With operations focused on VapoRub, Richardson incorporated his business in early 1919. "Ironically, Lunsford Richardson did not live to see his creation become a worldwide phenomenon, succumbing to the flu in August of that year. Richardson married Mary Lynn Smith, sister of his college classmate Henry Louis Smith. They had five children. Active in the Presbyterian Church and his community, Richardson was a champion of race relations. He was a trustee at Palmer Memorial Institute. He is buried in Greensboro's Green Hill Cemetery. During World War II, a Liberty Ship was named Lunsford Richardson in his honor." Everything had to be invented somewhere. VapoRub was invented here in Greensboro. How about that! This is marker number J-112 and it was erected in 2010 by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. [Review 2497 of 2024 - 3950 in North Carolina - 23509 overall]

This marker is located near the center of the town of Leasburg and it's in very good condition. The…read moreoriginal marker was erected in 1954 but appears to have been updated. It reads, "Solomon Lea. First president Greensboro College, 1846-47. Founder and master of the Somerville Female Institute, 1848-1892. Home stands 100 yds. N." Online there is more information. "Solomon Lea, first president of Greensboro College, was born in 1807 to William and Sarah McNeil Lea. Lea grew up in Caswell County town of Leasburg that was named for his ancestors who had been pioneer settlers. He attended the University of North Carolina, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1833 and a master's degree in 1838. While teaching school at Warrenton Academy in 1834 he fell in love with the music teacher, Sophia Ainger. The two were married in 1837. After leaving Warrenton, he taught at Boydton Female College (later Randolph Macon College) in Boydton, Virginia, until 1841 when he left to become president of Virginia's Farmville Female School. "On February 1, 1846, Lea became the first president of Greensboro Female College. He also served as a professor of mathematics and ancient languages. Due to difficulties with a faculty member and the lack of support from trustees, Lea resigned his post as president in December of 1847. He and his wife then returned to Leasburg where in 1848 Lea opened the Somerville Female Institute. He named the preparatory school for Mary Somerville, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer. At the school's peak, it employed four teachers and enrolled fifty to seventy-five students from several states. Among the teachers were his wife Sophia, and eventually his daughters. "The school operated for forty-four years, until Lea's health required him to retire in 1892. Solomon Lea had received his license to preach from the Methodist church in 1848. While he never held a pastorate, he assisted on the Leasburg circuit and served as a guest minister for fifty years. Lea passed away just months before his ninetieth birthday on April 30, 1897. He is buried in the Leasburg Cemetery." There is room to stop here to read the marker and now you can learn about what this man achieved. [Review 2476 of 2024 - 3930 in North Carolina - 23488 overall]

This marker is located on US-70 (Business) which is known as Churton Street here. It is south of…read morethe center of Hillsborough towards I-85 and there is a bit of room to pull over to read the marker. Like more North Carolina historical markers, there is little text here but it is the same on both sides. It reads, "Thomas Ruffin, 1787-1870. Jurist and agriculturist. Chief Justice of North Carolina Supreme Court, 1833-1852 and 1858-1859. Grave 3/10 mile east." There is more information online. Ruffin was born in Virginia in 1787, studied at Princeton, and began his legal career in Hillsborough, where he also served in the state legislature and as a Superior Court judge. Ruffin played a key role in stabilizing the State Bank of North Carolina and authored over 1,400 judicial opinions, including landmark cases like Hoke v. Henderson and State v. Mann. Though he supported secession, he viewed it as a revolutionary act rather than a constitutional right, and he opposed the Ku Klux Klan for its violations of constitutional law. Beyond his judicial legacy, Ruffin was a leader in agricultural reform and a devoted Episcopalian, donating land for St. Matthew's Church, where he was buried in 1870. This is marker number G-11 and it was erected in 2011 by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. [Review 1378 of 2025 - 4487 in North Carolina - 24930 overall]

A historical marker about a historian seems a little meta but here we go with your history lesson…read more This marker is located on the main street that joins downtown Hillsborough towards the interstate exit and is near the Orange County Historical Society. The marker reads, "J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, 1878-1961. Historian, professor, and founder of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC. Born 1/2 block west." Online, there is a lot more information. "Born in Hillsborough, N.C. on August 6, 1878, Joseph Gregoire de Roulhac Hamilton came from a family with deep South roots. His great-grandfather was Nullification governor of South Carolina. His father came to North Carolina to teach at Hillsborough Military Academy and remained to fight in the 13th N.C. Regiment. Hamilton studied first at home and then did college work at the Sewanee: University of the South graduating with the M.A. degree in 1900. He taught at the Horner Military School at Oxford before continuing his education at Columbia University (1902-4) with historian William Archibald Dunning, and was awarded the Ph.D. degree in American history in 1906. Hamilton, as did many Dunning students, wrote his dissertation about reconstruction in his home state (NC) which was then published as a history book, Reconstruction in North Carolina in 1914. "Hamilton returned to teaching, first at the Wilmington (NC) High School (1904-1906) and then, in 1906, he was appointed an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina. He served UNC until his retirement in 1951. He was among the important historians of his era, however, like many in his time, his writings were slanted to the Lost Cause mythos of Civil War and Reconstruction history, favoring a narrative crafted to support white racial ideology over actual events. His monograph on North Carolina Reconstruction was not refuted for half a century. "While Hamilton's work as an historian supported white supremacist narratives, it was his work as a nascent archivist for special collections at the University of North Carolina that built a collection to memorialize that narrative. In 1927 he announced plans for what he initially called the "National Southern Collection." In 1930, Sarah Graham Kenan gave a gift to establish the Southern Historical Collection. Hamilton was named as the first director. His manuscript-collecting travels across the South, placing almost a million miles on a series of Ford coupes, are legendary. Some states attempted to block his efforts and he came to be known as "Ransack" Hamilton for his gathering practices. While he gathered and built an amazing collection of southern history materials, it was singular in focus on the history of white southerners. Recent writings in 2020 argue his tenure was dedicated to shaping the university (and collections) to the benefit of white supremacy. "Nonetheless, some credit the renaissance in southern history in the mid-twentieth century to Hamilton's foresight (in the collecting of what materials he did gather). In partial recognition of that fact, and his contributions to the field of history, the 1972 new building occupied by the UNC History Department was named for him. After a reevaluation of his career and contributions, the History Department building was recommended in 2020 for a name change. "Hamilton passed away on 10 November 1961. He is buried in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery on the campus of the university." There is parking at the police department. This is marker number G-103. It was erected in 1989 by the Division of Archives and History. [Review 106 of 2025 - 4075 in North Carolina - 23673 overall]

Traveling through Hillsborough, it was nice to spot a marker that denoted something other than…read moreColonial or Civil War history. This one is much more modern. The marker reads, "Bill Strayhorn. 1915-1967. Jazz composer & pianist. Wrote "Take the A Train" and other songs for Duke Ellington Orchestra. Boyhood home site 1/4 mi. W." Online is more information. "William Thomas ("Billy" professionally) Strayhorn, Duke Ellington's longtime collaborator, was among the most influential figures in American jazz. A versatile composer, arranger, and pianist, Strayhorn joined Ellington's orchestra at age 22 in 1939 and worked with the bandleader the rest of his life. Ellington publicly acknowledged the central role Strayhorn played in his success, writing the band's theme "Take the A Train" and penning popular and widely recorded songs such as "Lush Life" and "Satin Doll." Strayhorn was a formative influence on an entire generation of musicians. Living in New York City most of his adult life, he was actively involved in the civil rights movement and was a personal friend of Martin Luther King Jr.. "Although Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio, his roots ran deep in Orange County and, importantly, his frequent stays in Hillsborough as a boy were essential to his musical development. His father and grandfather both worked at the Eno Mill. His grandparents, who owned a piano, lived in a house (now gone) at the corner of Margaret Lane and Hillsborough Avenue. Returning with his mother and siblings to North Carolina from Ohio regularly from age five, Strayhorn attended his first year of school while in Hillsborough; a classmate remembered him as "small and bright." He spent breaks and summers in North Carolina through his early teenage years (by then the family had moved to Pittsburgh) and often took the train to visit an uncle in Durham. "Biographer David Hajdu contends that North Carolina became the young man's spiritual home, the place he was introduced to music. Initially gospel tunes drew him to the piano. He often wandered through the slave cemetery across from his boyhood home and walked along the Eno River. At Strayhorn's death at age 52 in 1967, Ellington said his friend "had no aspirations to enter into any kind of competition, yet the legacy he leaves, his oeuvre, will never be less than the ultimate on the highest plateau of culture." In 2007 Strayhorn was the subject of a PBS documentary." This is marker number G-125. It was erected in 2008 by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. [Review 102 of 2025 - 4072 in North Carolina - 23669 overall]

This marker is located in downtown Hillsborough and points out a local citizen who earned the ire…read moreof other locals thanks to his abuse of ower. The marker is legible and in good condition. There is parking nearby. The marker reads, "Edmund Fanning, 1737-1818. Judge and local official. Target of Regulators who ransacked and destroyed his nearby home, 1770." There is more information online. "One of the most despised figures in North Carolina history, Edmund Fanning was born in Suffolk County, New York in 1737. Fanning, a Loyalist and colonial official between 1760 and 1771, held a variety of positions while living in Hillsborough. Because of his abuse of his office, Fanning became a prominent target of the Regulators. After leaving North Carolina in 1771, Fanning served as a Loyalist commander, a General in the British army, and a Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. "Fanning attended Yale University, graduating in 1757 before attending Harvard College and King's College (present-day Columbia University). In 1760, he moved to Childsburgh, renamed Hillsborough in 1766, and soon thereafter was elected town commissioner, a position he held until 1771. Fanning developed mercantile partnerships and gained additional power in Orange County, beginning as a representative to the General Assembly. Slowly, Fanning supplemented his position as assembly representative with other positions, so that between 1766 and 1768 he served simultaneously as assemblyman, register of deeds, a Superior Court Judge and a Colonel in the militia. "The public was outraged at Fanning's abuse of power, but probably more angered by his close personal friendship with Governor William Tryon. Fanning's authority was challenged in 1768, when he was sued for taking excessive fees as the register of deeds. Although he was found not guilty on all charges, the acquittal did not assuage the rapidly growing ranks of Orange County Regulators. They fired warning shots through the roof of Fanning's house, but did no further damage, dispersing after Governor Tryon called out the militia. "By 1770, the Regulator Movement again gained strength in Orange County, leading to riots in September of that year. The Regulators destroyed Fanning's house, but his law offices were left unharmed and overran the courthouse, physically abusing members of the "Courthouse Ring," which included Edmund Fanning. With Fanning's urging, Governor Tryon again called out the state militia, who defeated the Regulators at the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771. Fanning led the left wing of Tryon's army during the engagement. "Soon after the Battle of Alamance, Edmund Fanning left the state, following Governor Tryon to New York as his private secretary. He then served as a colonel in the Loyalist militia throughout the Revolutionary War, during which time he was wounded twice. After the conflict, Fanning was made a Colonel in the British army and appointed Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. In 1786 he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, a position he held until his retirement in 1805. Promoted to major general in the British army in 1793 and full general on April 25, 1808, Edmund Fanning died at his home in London in 1818." I am unable to find where Fanning is laid to rest. With the above history, it's not here in Hillsborough. [Review 104 of 2025 - 4073 in North Carolina - 23671 overall]

Part of a proud constellation of historical markers, this one support Hillsborough's claim in…read moreshaping the early American story. The name at the top struck me instantly and before I even read the inscription, I could tell it belonged to someone of great significance. The marker reads, "One of North Carolina's three signers of the Declaration of Independence. His home is 150 yards west. Was buried a few yards west." It is marker number G-4 and it was erected in 1975 by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History. Hooper was one of 56 delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence, I've seen his name on the Charters of Freedom installations around the country. He was born in Boston in 1742 and educated at Harvard, becoming a prominent lawyer and political figure in North Carolina after relocating to Wilmington in 1764. A staunch advocate for colonial rights, he played a key role in opposing the Regulator movement, helped form North Carolina's first Committee of Correspondence, and was elected as one of the colony's initial delegates to the Continental Congress. He later contributed to designing North Carolina's state seal. After resigning from Congress in 1777, Hooper served in the state legislature and endured personal and political setbacks during and after the Revolutionary War, including the British occupation of Wilmington and a failed bid for office in Hillsborough. Plagued by declining health and disappointment over being excluded from the 1788 Constitutional Convention, he died in Hillsborough in 1790 at age 48. His legacy is honored with a statue at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, where his remains were reinterred in 1894. [Review 1418 of 2025 - 4491 in North Carolina - 24969 overall]