This marker is located at the side of US-74 in front of Anson High School…read more The marker reads, ""Father of soil conservation." First chief of the Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1935-1952. Born 4 miles southwest." Online there is more information. "Among soil conservationists and agronomists, Hugh Hammond Bennett, nicknamed "the Chief" or "Big Hugh," is a legend. Widely credited with selling the benefits of soil conservation to a dubious public, Bennett is known as the "father of soil conservation." Born on a 1,500-acre farm in Anson County, in the drainage basin of the Pee Dee River, Bennett at the age of ten realized the woeful effects of erosion and benefits of conservation." "Sheet erosion, he reasoned, was the problem and preservation of the topsoil was the key. Soil conservation could be pursued through terracing, strip cropping, contour plowing, grassed waterways, and crop rotation, among other means. Bennett promoted the planting of covers such as kudzu and lespedza grass." "In 1951 the News and Observer wrote of Bennett that "When history finally sets up the measure of the contributions of the men of our times, it may very well be that so far as North Carolina is concerned Hugh Bennett of Wadesboro will be recognized as the most important North Carolinian of this generation."" [Review 13953 overall, 1275 of 2020, number 2596 in North Carolina.]

There are multiple markers pointing out where Union General Sherman's troops marched across the…read moresouth and in some places, they haven't forgotten. This marker points out one spot where the army passed through. The marker is on US-74 and reads, "Invading North Carolina, Sherman's army occupied Fayetteville, Mar. 11-14, 1865, destroying the Confederate Arsenal, which stood 1 mile W." There is more information online. " In late 1864, Union General William T. Sherman began moving his forces, some 60,000 battle-hardened soldiers strong, northward from Atlanta to "divide the Confederacy in two." The plan was to march the Union forces through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina in order to squeeze Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee in Virginia between Sherman's men to the south and those of General Ulysses S. Grant to the north. Along the way, Sherman hoped to disrupt Confederate supply lines and break the will of southerners on the home front. This "total war" assault on civilians - women and children included - by Union forces was a break from traditional warfare that had, up until this time, focused largely on military targets." "As planned, Sherman's army moved into Fayetteville and occupied the city as he rested his troops and horses for three days beginning on March 11, 1865. Fayetteville was an intermediary goal between Sherman's entry into the state and Goldsboro, his primary objective. The leading Union lines encountered little resistance as they entered the city. Confederate forces in the area had barely left the area before the Union arrival and were planning to mass their numbers to confront Sherman at either Goldsboro or Raleigh. Sherman set up temporary headquarters at the former United States Arsenal and directed his men to construct pontoon bridges across the Cape Fear River to speed their advance to Goldsboro. Sherman also ordered the destruction of the area's key facilities that supported the Confederate army including railroad trestles, mills, factories and the "utter destruction" of the arsenal and its supplies. The city's residents were also thoroughly ransacked with all supplies, money and valuables taken by Union bummers." This is marker number I-18 and it was originally cast in 1940. There is an intersection here where you can stop to read the marker. [Review 2022 of 2024 - 3738 in North Carolina - 23044 overall]

This marker is standing in front of a KFC and points out a structure that is not far away. It…read morereads, "Eighteenth-century house built by Patrick Boggan, Revolutionary soldier & a founder of Wadesboro. Now historical museum. Located 2 blocks south." Online, there is more information. "The fully restored Boggan-Hammond House sits in the Anson County seat of Wadesboro two blocks from the town square. Built in the late eighteenth century by Revolutionary War veteran and town founder Patrick Boggan (1725-1817), the house is a simple one-story frame structure built on a hall-parlor plan. During the Revolution, Captain Boggan commanded the minutemen of the Salisbury District, serving together with Thomas Wade, his brother-in-law." "Appended to the Boggan-Hammond House is the Alexander Little Wing, constructed by jurist Alexander Little at some point after his acquisition of the property in 1839. The renovation of the house and wing were projects of the Anson County Historical Society." [Review 13956 overall, 1278 of 2020, number 2598 in North Carolina.]

This historical marker points out the early plans of settlers which did not manage to survive into…read morethe present. The marker reads, "Sneedsborough. Laid out 1795. Promoted as inland port town on Pee Dee River by Archibald D. Murphey. Only graveyard remains, five miles southeast." Online, there is more information. " In 1795 a town called Sneedsborough was founded in Anson County on the land of Richard Edgeworth. Sneedsborough was developed as an inland port town, to be connected to the Pee Dee River by a series of canals. The town expanded after its conception and became a small merchant center close to the North Carolina - South Carolina border. he canals proved impossible to build though, stalling the development and growth of industry and the town itself. By the Civil War the town had been abandoned and its remnants were destroyed by Union troops." When you zoom out and look at how far the Pee Dee River is from the coast, you can kind of understand that. [Review 14333 overall, 1657 of 2020, round number 2700 in North Carolina.]

Thankfully, the Confederate Monument was removed from the entrance to the Anson County Courthouse…read morein Wadesboro, NC back in 2020. What remains is a granite monument to the Confederate flag. I'm not sure why that was kept. In front of the Courthouse is a memorial to WWI; WWII; Korean War and Vietnam Veterans. The courthouse has two bronze plaques on the outside of the courthouse one for African American soldiers and another for the white men and women who served in WWI. Pinwheels were in the lawn for child abuse prevention.

Anson County doubles down on the Confederate Memorial debate by having not one, but two memorials…read moreon the grounds of the Anson County Courthouse in Wadesboro. Wadesboro is the county seat of Anson County and the largest city in the county. Anson County was formed in 1750 as part of Bladen County. It is named for Baron George Anson, a British admiral, who circumnavigated the globe from 1740 to 1744, and later became First Lord of the Admiralty and purchased land in the state. The first monument was installed in 1906 and is a all, multi-tiered white granite base and column which used to support a bronze Confederate Common Soldier that was removed in 2020. An ornate, darker granite section rests on top of the first three tiers of the base, and the four sides of this darker granite face are inscribed. Each corner of this section is framed by a Roman-style column, capped with acanthus leaves. "By this monument we / translate our homage / for the soldiers of / Anson County / who served in the war / between the government / and the Confederate / states." Means business there. The second monument is lower and stands to the right. More of a memorial than a tribute, it has the Confederate flag at the top and a long poem. "Not long ago, unfurled was I known for fate was against me but I flashed over a pure cause and on land and sea, so fired the hearts of men unto heroism the the world honors me, within my folds, the dead who died under them, lie nobly shrouded and my tattered colors crowded with a thousand shining victories have become the people who loved me, a glorified memory." Welcome to the South, y'all! [Review 15455 overall, 959 of 2021, number 2999 in North Carolina.]

This marker is located in front of the Richmond County Court House here in Rockingham and points…read moreout a sign that is six miles away. That seems to be the usual, but if it was there then no one would see it. So here it is. The marker reads, "Cameron Morrison, 1869-1953. Governor, 1921-1925; State legislator; United States Senator & Congressman; mayor of Rockingham. Birthplace was 6 miles south." Online, there is more information. "The fifty-year public career of Cameron Morrison, governor and United States Senator and Representative, illustrates the duality of North Carolina's reputation during the coinciding Progressive and Jim Crow eras. On the one hand, Morrison was long celebrated for internal improvements which earned North Carolina a reputation as the most progressive Southern state in the 1920s and earned him the nickname of the "Good Roads Governor." On the other hand, Morrison was also a participant in, and career beneficiary of, the state's brutal white supremacist campaigns of the turn of the century which marked the backwardness of racial relations in the region and in much of the country as a whole." "Born in 1869, Morrison was the son of a Confederate veteran who had joined the Republican Party after the war. He attended school in his native Richmond County. He did not attend college but in 1892 studied law with Judge Robert Dick of Greensboro. That same year he passed the bar and returned to Rockingham to practice." "Morrison devoted himself to internal improvements, endorsing practically all of the goals of the Good Roads movement. By generating widespread grassroots support, Morrison prompted the 1921 legislature to fund construction of 5,500 miles of hard-surface roads. Swift action and fiscal daring shocked Morrison's conservative backers, who warned that the plan would bankrupt the state. Morrison also persuaded the legislature to fund improvements for higher education and the state's charitable institutions. Despite his earlier history, Morrison sought to improve race relations, but did so within a context that took the continuation of white supremacy for granted. His most notable achievement in this area was his successful use of force to all but suppress lynching in the state." "Morrison died in Quebec on August 20, 1953, and is buried in Charlotte's Elmwood Cemetery." https://www.yelp.com/biz/elmwood-cemetery-charlotte?hrid=ziKrTvynz2DXqDXAVkNp8w [Review 15509 overall, 1013 of 2021, number 3051 in North Carolina.]

Was it only last year that we all got into a tizzy with the eclipse that was visible from Texas to…read moreMaine? People went NUTS. So I totally get that this marker is here, to an earlier eclipse and in a part of the country that was well populated. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which dispatched a team to Wadesboro, North Carolina, chosen for its optimal viewing conditions. Photographer Thomas Smillie rigged cameras to seven telescopes and captured eight glass-plate negatives of the solar corona--some as large as 30 by 30 inches. These images were considered groundbreaking for both photography and astronomy. The U.S. Weather Bureau selected Newberry, South Carolina for a meteorological study, based on historical cloudiness data. Their goal was to observe how the eclipse affected atmospheric conditions. Their gamble paid off: skies were clear, temperatures moderate, and pressure high, allowing for ideal observations. The eclipse's duration increased as it moved eastward, from about 72 seconds in New Orleans to roughly 100 seconds near Norfolk, Virginia. It is a black marker with white text. It has the same on both sides, reading , "In 1900, hundreds of astronomers and newspaper reporters from around the world descended on Wadesboro, the perfect place to view and report on a total solar eclipse that occurred on May 28 at 1:54 PM. The goal was the rare opportunity to study the corona around the sun at total eclipse. Preeminent scientists came from around the world, among these representatives from the University of North Carolina, University of Chicago-Yerkes Observatory, Princeton, Yale, the Smithsonian, and the British Astronomical Association. Newspaper reporters from the Charlotte Observer and Charlotte News, the New York Sun, the New York World and New York Journal, the Chicago Times-Herald, the Chicago Tribune. the Philadelphia Press, the London Times, and the local Anson Independent and the Messenger and Intelligencer covered the event. "The event, which lasted precisely 2 minutes and 10 seconds, took years of planning, months of preparation, days of anticipation and hours of waiting. Tens of thousands of pictures and measurements taken that day would be studied for years to come." The marker was erected in 2017 by the Anson County Historical Society. The eclipse was one of the first eclipses to be widely documented by both scientists and the public, marking a turning point in eclipse science and public engagement. [Review 1330 of 2025 - 4449 in North Carolina - 24882 overall]

Located in gas station parking lot along US-1, this marker points out something nearby. I guess…read moreyou're probably not heading down Caddell Road, so it's here. The marker reads, "Cameron Morrison School. State home and school for boys, opened 1925. Gives academic, vocational and agricultural training. Three miles west." Online, there is more information. "Work for the care of delinquent youth in North Carolina began in 1890 when the State Board of Public Charities passed a resolution calling for the appointment of a committee to formulate plans for a juvenile reform school for offenders. In 1907 the legislature passed an act creating the Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and Industrial School in Cabarrus County. In 1909 the school opened to serve 120 white male adolescents." "By the 1920s Thad Tate, a black barber and civic leader from Charlotte, was voicing his concern about the large number of black youths being placed on chain gangs as punishment for committing crimes. Tate approached one of his clients, Cameron Morrison, then a candidate for governor, and suggested a training school be established for young black men in trouble with the law. His proposition was that, just as at the Stonewall Jackson School, offenders could learn a trade and be given a new start in life." "In 1925, during Cameron Morrison's term as governor, the Cameron Morrison Training School for Negroes was opened on a 700-acre farm in the community of Hoffman in Richmond County. The school's core curriculum included English, social studies, mathematics, and science. Vocational education courses offered included shoe repair, electricity, carpentry, brick masonry, auto mechanics, barbering, arts and crafts, vocational agriculture, and graphic arts. As stated in the Second Annual Report of the Morrison Training School "the school committed itself to the task of making citizens rather than punitive repression." By the end of the school's first year in operation the school's population had grown from thirty-seven to sixty-two and by 1956, the enrollment had risen to 228. The school closed during the 1970s and the property was turned over to the Department of Correction." And yes, it is now the Morrison Correctional Institution. [Review 15005 overall, 507 of 2021, number 2867 in North Carolina.]