This marker is located along New Hope Road a short distance north of the Interstate and in front of…read morethe Lutheran Chapel Cemetery. There is parking in the cemetery parking lot to stop and read the marker. It has the same text on both sides, reading "Textile mill owner, bank executive, philanthropist, and benefactor of present Lenoir-Rhyne University in 1923. Grave is nearby." Online, there is more information. "Daniel Efird Rhyne, business leader and benefactor of Lenoir-Rhyne College, was born on February 8, 1852, to Moses H. and Margaret Hoffman Rhyne. He grew up on a farm near Woodlawn in what was then Lincoln County, now Gaston. He eventually had a hand in renaming his hometown Mount Holly, after the textile town of the same name in New Jersey. Rhyne attended Lincoln County's common schools and, from 1871 to 1872, he pursued studies at North Carolina College, a Lutheran institution in Mount Pleasant. "Rhyne entered the cotton mill industry at age twenty-two when he and his brother Abel built the Mount Holly Cotton Mill at the confluence of Dutchman's Creek and the Catawba River. In 1887 he and his brother-in-law J. A. Abernethy erected the Laboratory Cotton Mill just south of Lincolnton, and then later the Daniel and Wampum Mills in Lincolnton. Their ventures are credited with bringing industry, business, and a population explosion to Lincoln County. Aside from cotton mills, Rhyne also owned and operated Lincoln Lithia Inn, a summer resort with celebrated healthful spring water, and he was an investor in the Piedmont Wagon Company in Hickory. His property holdings in western counties were extensive and he was an officer and substantial stockholder in several mills and banks. "Rhyne enjoyed sharing his wealth with Lutheran churches in areas near to his home and work. He is credited with significant gifts to at least twelve churches in Lincoln, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, and other nearby counties. Daniel Rhyne made generous contributions to the Lutheran-run Lenoir College in Hickory. In 1923, the school changed its name to Lenoir-Rhyne College in honor of their benefactor. Rhyne died on February 25, 1933 and was buried in the cemetery at Lutheran Chapel Church in Gastonia." [Review 186 of 2025 - 4093 in North Carolina - 23750 overall]

This marker is visible near the front gates of the prestigious University of North Carolina at…read moreCharlotte. It reads simply: Established 1946; became Charlotte College, 1949. Moved here 1961. Campus of The University of North Carolina since 1965. From the historical marker web page: The "Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944," better known as the "GI Bill of Rights" was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944. With unprecedented unemployment in postwar America, many veterans took advantage of the educational opportunities offered by the G. I. Bill, which included the payment of tuition, as well as expenses for books, fees, and subsistence. Soon the enrollment demands at colleges and universities surpassed available slots for admission. Educational facilities sprang up across the country. One such institution opened in Charlotte in 1946. Known as the Charlotte Center, it offered evening classes at the old Central High School building near downtown. In 1947 Bonnie E. Cone, a mathematics teacher, was asked to direct the center. Although the demand for such centers had decreased by 1949, Charlotte's leaders recognized the importance of having a state-supported college in town and convinced legislators to transform the center into Charlotte College, a two-year institution. Cone became the first president of the college. In 1957 Charlotte College acquired land in northeast Mecklenburg County for a larger, permanent campus, and the following year it became a part of the state's community college system. The first buildings on the new campus were opened to students in 1961. In 1963, as part of a statewide expansion, the legislature voted to make Charlotte College a branch of the newly-created University of North Carolina system. The formal transition and name change occurred July 1, 1965, when it became the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dean W. Colvard was selected to be the first chancellor.

This marker stands at the street in front of the Fish School and provides some context. There is…read moreeasy parking here though I would not recommend visiting when school is letting out or in the morning when students are arriving. The front reads, "This was the site of Fort Mill's longest operating school dedicated to African Americans. Built on a 4-acre parcel acquired in 1925, the brick school opened in 1926 and cost $12,200, a portion of which was paid by the Julius Rosenwald Fund. The school was named for George Fish (1868-1933), a white mill manager who supported its construction. African Americans were previously taught at the old Fort Mill Academy building 1 mi. SW." And the reverse, "The design of the George Fish school followed the Rosenwald Fund's six teacher floor plan and included six classrooms, an auditorium stage, and library. By the 1930s, the school enrolled grades 1-8 before adding a ninth grade and, by 1941, a high school. It remained a segregated school for African Americans until 1968, when it integrated and became Fort Mill Jr. High. The school was sold in 1986 and later demolished." This is marker number 46-68 and it was erected in 2019 by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, sponsored by Fort Mill School District. [Review 52 of 2025 - 1241 in South Carolina - 23621 overall]

This marker is located adjacent to the new Union County Courthouse building and is in very good…read morecondition. There is street parking nearby. The marker reads, "David F. Houston. Secretary of Agriculture and later of the Treasury under Wilson. College president and author. His birthplace stood 60 yards north." Online, there is more information. "Author, university administrator, U.S. cabinet official, and businessman David Franklin Houston had his beginnings in Union County. Houston was born in Monroe on February 17, 1866, the youngest child of William Henry and Cornelia Anne Stevens Houston. His family left North Carolina for Darlington, South Carolina, in 1872. He graduated from the College of South Carolina in 1887 and after a year of graduate school, served as superintendent of public schools in Spartanburg, South Carolina. From there he went on to receive a Masters of Arts from Harvard University in 1892." "Woodrow Wilson appointed Houston to the post of Secretary of Agriculture in 1913. The legacy he created while serving in that position derived from his work to change the department of agriculture's emphasis on bolstering production to one of improving marketing, prices, and distribution of products. He served as Secretary of the Treasury from February 1920 to March 1921 and then was elected chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In 1924 he was mentioned as a potential Democratic candidate; however, Houston was ready to end his political career." "Out of politics Houston stayed involved in the corporate world and in education. He was president of Bell Telephone Securities Company and financial vice-president of American Telephone & Telegraph Company from 1921 to 1927. From 1927 to 1940 he was president of Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. Meanwhile he served as a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard and as a trustee of Columbia University. David Franklin Houston died on September 2, 1940, and was buried in New York's Cold Spring Harbor Memorial Cemetery. [Review 15440 overall, 944 of 2021, number 2987 in North Carolina.]

This two-sided historical marker is adjacent to an empty lot and a couple of buildings that look…read morelike small warehouses. It recalls a more recent history that has passed along. On the front side, "Barnett Brothers Circus, 1929-1945. This site was the winter quarters of the Barnett Brothers Circus, briefly known as the Wallace Brothers Circus, from 1929 through 1945. Founded by Ray W. Rogers (1889-1946), the circus was one of the first to travel by truck instead of by train. That freedom helped it succeed during the Depression and World War II. It began its tour each March or April with a performance in York, then returned in November." And on the back side, "Barnett Brothers Circus, 1929-1938. A highlight of the York Christmas parade was Santa Claus riding an elephant. In 1929 five sons of C.P. and Olive Bennett, living nearby, started their own circus with encouragement from Ray Rogers, who loaned them his big top and a few animals. All six Bennett sons and two daughters participated, along with other local children. Their circus performed in York, Rock Hill, Clover, and Sharon through 1938." It must have been quite a sight. [Review 13887 overall, 1209 of 2020, number 647 in South Carolina.]

In a commercial district of Kannapolis and in front of a Wells Fargo branch, this marker points out…read morethe earliest history of "North Carolina" before it was even settled. The marker reads, "Granville Grant. Formed northern half of colony of North Carolina. Southern boundary surveyed to a point near here in the fall of 1746." The online essay has more information. "On March 24, 1663, King Charles II granted eight men, the Lord Proprietors, the charter for a tract of land called Carolina in the American colonies. The charter was renewed in 1665. By 1729, seven of the eight Proprietors (or their heirs) had sold their interests back to the English government. The eighth Proprietor, John Lord Carteret, inherited from his grandfather the title of Earl Granville and one-eighth of the Carolina territory, which ranged from modern-day Virginia to Florida and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Granville refused to sell his territory back to King George II, and his one-eighth of Carolina became the Granville District." This is marker number L-13 and you can park in the bank lot to read it. [Review 1145 of 2024 - 3640 in North Carolina - 22169 overall]

I'm not sure why this plaza honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. is located next to a roundabout in…read moreConcord but its here. Laid with bricks and with three marble benches facing five stones carved with the man's face and number of important phrases from his speeches that reference Truth, Hope, Dream, Unity and Peace. There is no parking nearby so I'm still puzzled. [Review 13178 overall, 495 of 2020.]

This marker is under a tree and so it's not in great condition. It's also hard to read if you're…read morezipping by. I was able to park in the nearby church lot and walk over. The marker reads, "Whig general, was killed at Cowan's Ford, Feb. 1, 1781. Davidson College and Davidson County are named for him." Davidson College: https://www.yelp.com/biz/davidson-college-davidson Online, as is usual with North Carolina's brief markers, there is more information. "William Lee Davidson, for whom both Davidson County and of Davidson College are named, was born in 1746 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the son of George Davidson, an Irish immigrant. William's mother apparently died in childbirth, and George Davidson joined the migration from Pennsylvania to the Piedmont of North Carolina, eventually settling along Davidson's Creek in Iredell County. When his father died in 1760, William was placed under the care of Alexander Osborn and John Brevard, two of the wealthiest men in the area. Under their patronage, Davidson attended Sugaw Creek Academy near Charlotte and studied under Alexander Craighead. In 1767, Davidson married Mary Brevard, John's daughter, and sister of Ephraim Brevard, one of the authors of the Mecklenburg Resolves." "On February 1, 1781, Davidson's militia forces attempted to delay Cornwallis's crossing of the Catawba River at Cowan's Ford. His men held against a vastly numerical superior force until Davidson fell dead from multiple gunshots." "Davidson's death was much lamented in the American ranks. Described as the "chief instrument relied upon by Greene for the assemblage of the militia," Davidson was remembered as "a man of popular manners, pleasing address, active and indefatigable." His pistols, sword, and wallet were taken by British forces and given to Cornwallis after the skirmish. They are on display at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro." Quite the Continental hero. Much respect. [Review 13393 overall, 712 of 2020.]