This marker is at the roadside along US-21 and is a little challenging as there is not much room to…read morepull over. I was fortunate that there wasn't much traffic, but you should use caution. The marker briefly tells about a local politician who was born and lived nearby. It reads, "Born in Elk Creek, Virginia, June 29, 1821, Member of the House of Delegates, 1874-1877. Member State Senate, 1879-1882. One of the "Big Four," a group which resisted many of the proposals of the Readjusters. Died in Elk Creek, December 25, 1885." This is marker number U-23 and it was erected by the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission in 1970. Peyton Guyn Hale spent most of his life rooted in Elk Creek, where he became known as a steady and deliberate local leader long before he ever held office. He built his reputation through community involvement and a careful, methodical approach to public issues, which later shaped the way he worked in Richmond. Hale was particularly noted for his willingness to push back against political movements he believed would destabilize Virginia's finances, earning him a reputation as a firm and sometimes stubborn defender of fiscal caution. His colleagues often described him as quiet but immovable, a man who preferred principle over popularity. Even after his legislative years, he remained closely tied to the people of Grayson County, finishing his life in the same community where it began. [Review 892 of 2026 - 1543 in Virginia - 26073 overall]

I've just spotted the Robert L. Doughton marker a few miles away in Laurel Springs and now, the…read moremarker for his brother here in downtown Sparta. Yes, brothers. Rufus was the elder and spent much of his career in North Carolina state politics. The marker is in front of the Alleghany County Courthouse and reads, "Legislator, 14 terms. Lieutenant Governor, 1893-1897. Headed Revenue & Highway Commissions. Was University of North Carolina Trustee for 56 years. Office was 30 feet west." Brothers Rufus and Robert Doughton were major political figures who shaped both state and national policy, with Rufus rising through North Carolina's legislature and Robert serving long‑term in Congress. Rufus, born in 1857 in Laurel Springs and educated locally and at the University of North Carolina, built a legal career in Sparta before winning his first legislative seat in 1887 and eventually serving as lieutenant governor. He remained a powerful advocate for western North Carolina, backing the state's landmark 1921 highway bond program and later serving as Commissioner of Revenue and chairman of the Highway Commission. Rufus retired from public life in 1933 and died in 1945, leaving a legacy closely intertwined with his brother's long federal career. [Review 883 of 2026 - 4774 in North Carolina - 26064 overall]

Located at an intersection next to an office and the post office, this marker gives a tragic story…read morethat was worth the research. Marker number KC-10 was erected by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in 2000 and it reads, "Nearby was the home of James and Lovice Sage, whose five-year-old daughter Caty was abducted in 1792. Fifty-six years later her brother Charles located her in eastern Kansas after a Wyandot Indian told him that a woman, named Yourowquains, with similar features to his lived with the Wyandots. Another brother, Samuel, investigated and confirmed that she was their sister. Through an interpreter, Yourowquains told them that a "white man" abducted her. She lived with the Cherokee, before they gave her as a present to the Wyandots, who adopted her. She had three Wyandot husbands and died in Jan. 1853." Caty Sage's story is one of those frontier-era tragedies that stayed alive in local memory because it was so unusual and so unresolved for so long. She grew up in a remote part of Grayson County at a time when small children could disappear without a trace and families had almost no way to search beyond their own valley. Her disappearance became a kind of quiet legend in the Elk Creek community, with her name passed down through family lines long after anyone expected answers. What makes her story remarkable is that she lived an entire adult life inside Native communities, fully integrated, fully accepted, and known by a name that carried meaning only within that world. By the time her brothers finally found her in Kansas, she had lived through multiple migrations, marriages, and cultural shifts, and the life she described to them was one shaped far more by Indigenous identity than by the childhood she barely remembered. She died in Kansas in 1853, still known by her Wyandot name and still living among the people who had adopted her. [Review 893 of 2026 - 1544 in Virginia - 26074 overall]

This marker is located at the corner of Highway 88 and Little Peak Creek Road which makes for an…read moreeasy enough stop to read the marker. I did not venture to see if there was anything at the mines but the sign and the research was enough. Marker M-28 has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Copper mine operated intermittently, 1850s to 1962. Site of Ore Knob, boom mining town, inc. 1875. Shafts 1 mile N." Ore Knob began in 1855 after a rich copper vein was found near the New River, though the first operation collapsed quickly because hauling ore more than sixty miles to rail made the venture unprofitable. The mine roared back to life in 1873 under Clayton & Company, growing so fast that the surrounding settlement became Ashe County's largest community and was briefly incorporated. Employment peaked above 700 men in the late 1870s, supported by a deep vertical shaft that eventually reached more than 1800 feet and made Ore Knob one of the most significant copper mines in the eastern United States. Falling copper prices shut the operation down in 1883, with only sporadic activity until its final closer in 1962. The site still shows tailings, structural remnants and mineral deposits, and in 1972 a group of Ashe County businessmen purchased the property for about $240,000. [Review 880 of 2026 - 4771 in North Carolina - 26061 overall]

I spotted this marker in Jefferson and stopped to photograph it. As I was doing so, I'm thinking…read morethat the subject seems very familiar and as I'm doing my research for the review, I see that I reviewed an Asa Gray marker in Bakersville in 2025. That's about 60 miles from here! This marker has the same text as the other and it also has the same on both sides. It reads, "American botanist and Harvard professor. In July 1841, investigated the region's flora. Headquarters was in house that stood 50 yds. N." Born in 1810 in New York, Gray initially trained in medicine but shifted his focus to botany, eventually becoming a leading figure in the field. His journey through Ashe and Mitchell counties involved collecting plant specimens and retracing paths once taken by French botanist André Michaux. Gray's findings contributed to his 1842 Botanical Textbook, which became a foundational science resource and helped secure his position at Harvard. Over the next 45 years, he published extensively, helped found the National Academy of Sciences, and served as a Smithsonian regent. Gray also corresponded with Charles Darwin, becoming a key American supporter of evolutionary theory until his death in 1888. [Review 877 of 2026 - 4768 in North Carolina - 26058 overall]

"We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident" feels like the right line to have in mind when you walk…read moreip to the Charters of Freedom installation at the current Ashe County Courthouse in Jefferson. There are a number of these around the US and this set was installed here in 2014. It sits on the hilltop approach in front of the courthouse. The replicas of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights are arranged so that you can take your time with them before you even reach the front steps. I stopped by on a quiet Friday afternoon and with the building locked up, it made for easy parking and uninterrupted photos. The installation is clean, well maintained, and fits naturally with the Honor Roll memorial nearby. It's a thoughtful addition to the courthouse grounds and a nice reminder of the documents that shape the work happening inside. [Review 874 of 2026 - 4765 in North Carolina - 26055 overall]

Brinegar Cabin is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Doughton Park. I originally expected just a…read morequick photo stop, but I was in for a wonderful treat and got a fascinating glimpse into early Appalachian life. The cabin has its own dedicated parking lot, and then you need to walk down a path to reach the structure, which is steep and uneven in some places. Martin Brinegar originally purchased the land in 1876 for $200 and married Caroline two years later. It took him about five years to clear the rocky hillside and build this hand-hewn white pine log homestead, hand-shaving cedar shakes for the roof, stacking two fieldstone chimneys, and building a drystone retaining wall. The couple went on to successfully raise three children on the 125-acre mountain farm, where they grew rye, oats, sorghum, buckwheat, and corn. They also managed a large apple orchard of 25 to 30 trees, while their free-roaming livestock and poultry foraged in the woods. The family was incredibly resourceful. Martin was a local cobbler who set up a shoemaking bench inside the cabin to custom-make shoes for neighbors, charging roughly one dollar per pair depending on the size of the customer's foot. Caroline was a master weaver who grew her own flax and kept sheep for wool, spinning and dyeing her own yarn with native mountain roots, bark, and flowers. To earn extra money, Caroline and the children spent weeks foraging the wilderness mountainsides to collect wild native roots and medicinal herbs. They dried and sold roots like bloodroot, mayapple, and black snakeroot to traveling drug merchants who came from Boone and Jefferson, NC. During my visit, a National Park Service ranger was inside the cabin actively demonstrating the craft on Caroline's original historic loom, which was wonderful to see! Caroline fiercely maintained the farm alone for ten years after Martin passed away in 1925. In 1935, when the federal government started buying mountain land to build the Blue Ridge Parkway, the state purchased the homestead from Caroline and donated it to the National Park Service [nps.gov]. The springhouse, log structures, and root cellars were beautifully restored during the Great Depression by workers from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to ensure it would stand as an authentic outdoor museum. Finding these hidden artistic and historical gems tucked away on the Parkway makes the whole road trip special & memorable!

The current Grayson County Courthouse in Independence is a solid, practical government building…read morethat does exactly what a modern rural courthouse is supposed to do without trying to compete with the 1908 historic courthouse a short distance away. This building was completed in 1979, designed by J. Everette Fauber & Associates, and it follows a straightforward Modernist civic architecture style. Red brick, clean lines, no ornament, and a layout meant for offices rather than ceremony. Inside, you'll find the working heart of the county's government including the Clerk of the Court, Circuit Court, General District Court and many administrative offices that keep the county running. It is not a building you visit or tour for architectural drama. Instead, it is efficient, easy to navigate, and clearly built for function over flair, which fits Independence just fine. You'll find the drama and ornamentation at the historic courthouse nearby. [Review 891 of 2026 - 1542 in Virginia - 26072 overall]