This marker is located along Charlotte Ave near the Gateway Park. The marker points out the nearby…read morebirthplace of an important jurist. The marker reads, "John J. Parker, 1885-1958. Chief judge, United States Fourth Circuit, 1931-58; alternate member, Nuremberg tribunal, 1945-46. He was born one block southeast." Online, there is more information. "John Johnston Parker, jurist, was born in Monroe to John and Frances Parker. His brother Samuel I. Parker was a decorated hero of World War I. At the University of North Carolina (B.A., 1907; law degree, 1908), young Parker was a student government leader and prize-winning orator. After one year of practice in Greensboro, he returned to his hometown where he married Maria Moffitt in 1910. In that same year, at age twenty-four, Republican Parker ran for a U.S. House seat." "In 1925 Parker was appointed judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, comprising North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. During his thirty-two years as an appellate judge, Parker heard over 4,000 arguments and wrote opinions in approximately 1,500 cases." "In 1945, Parker was named the alternate judge for the United States in the Nuremberg war crimes trials. (Each of four nations--the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union--sent a judge, an alternate, and a prosecutor.) Parker believed that his role at Nuremberg was to insure that the trial was conducted in a manner acceptable to members of the American bar." "Judge Parker was long active in professional organizations. In addition, he was the recipient of several honorary degrees, a UNC trustee from 1921 to 1958, and a member of state constitutional conventions in 1931 and 1958. A devout Episcopalian, he was chairman of Billy Graham's 1957 Charlotte Crusade. At his death he was the senior appellate judge in the nation. He is buried in Charlotte." [Review 15448 overall, 952 of 2021, number 2995 in North Carolina.]

This marker is located in front of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church and is in excellent condition…read more It points out the history of this area. The marker reads the same on both sides, "This former farming community grew up around Ebenezer Presbyterian Church which had been organized by 1785. Here was located the famed Ebenezer Academy often called "The Athens of York." The first post office was established as Ebenezer Academy in 1822. The name was changed to Ebenezerville in 1837. It was discontinued in 1866. Post office here 1890-1911 was called Old Point. The town was incorporated as Ebenezer in December, 1893. Erected York County Historical Society and the Town of Ebenezer, 1960." Ebenezer was a town in northern York County, South Carolina until it was unincorporated and annexed into the city of Rock Hill in the late 1960s. [Review 16530 overall - 859 in South Carolina - 39 of 2022.]

South Carolina's historical marker 46-45 is located near the intersection of Old Nation Road and…read moreUS-21 (Business), in the shade of the trees near the fence. It's easy to miss. It points out some of the Antebellum and Civil War history of this area and the nearby home. The front reads, "This house was built ca. 1806 for planter John Springs III (1782-1853), who served in the S.C. House 1828-34 and was a partner in several banks, railroads, and textile mills before the Civil War. His son Andrew Baxter Springs (1819-1886) enlarged and remodeled this house in the 1850s. He served in the S.C. House 1852-56 and was also a delegate to the Secession Convention." And the reverse, "On April 26, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his Cabinet, making their way south from Richmond, Va., stopped here. Davis and part of his party spent the night here at the insistence of young ladies who greeted them with flowers. Springfield, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, has been headquarters of Leroy Springs & Company since 1987." The marker is in the grass and there is room to stop and read it. It was erected in 2010 by Leroy Springs and Company, Inc. [Review 520 of 2025 - 1288 in South Carolina - 24081 overall]

With Fishing Creek winding nearby as it feeds into Fishing Creek Lake, this marker points out a…read moresignificant Revolutionary War skirmish that took place. The marker is along US-21 and there is room to stop to read it. The marker reads, "At this site on August 18, 1780 General Thomas Sumter camped with captured booty and 800 men. He was surprised and defeated by Lt. Col. Tarleton and 160 soldiers. The disaster followed only two days General Gate's defeat by Lord Cornwallis at Camden. The patriots lost 150 men killed and many captured, but Sumter escaped and soon rallied another large force." It is marker number 12-3 and it was erected in 1974 by the Chester County Historical Society. Sumter's men had halted to rest after days of marching in brutal summer heat, unaware that Tarleton had crossed the Catawba River and was closing in on their position. Tarleton launched a surprise attack while the Americans were scattered, many bathing, sleeping, or tending to captured supplies, and the result was a swift and overwhelming British victory. More than half of Sumter's force was killed or captured, though Sumter himself narrowly escaped the chaos. The defeat temporarily halted his campaign against British outposts and further strengthened Tarleton's reputation as Cornwallis's most aggressive field commander. [Review 185 of 2026 - 1380 in South Carolina - 25374 overall]

Carrying US-21 across the Catawba River, the Thomas B. Spratt bridge is two lanes in each direction…read morewith a breakdown lane and a raised sidewalk for pedestrians. The bridge parallels the one that is a short distance upriver (to the west) for Interstate 77. It was completed in 2013. Thomas Spratt, also known as "Kanawha", was among the earliest settlers in this area. He migrated from Pennsylvania to the area in 1750, settling near Twelve Mile Creek. Spratt was well-known for his close relationship with the Catawba Indians, frequently accompanying them on hunting parties. He earned the nickname "Kanawha" after battling alongside the Catawbas against the Shawnees on the Kanawha River in modern-day West Virginia. Spratt played a key role in arranging land leases and treaties between Catawbas and European settlers. He also served as an officer in the American Army during the Revolutionary War. The bridge is quite plain but very serviceable. The railings are quite low. There is no toll to cross the bridge. [Review 2060 of 2024 - 1151 in South Carolina - 23080 overall]

Standing in front of the courthouse, this marker points out a World War I instance of note. Like…read moremost North Carolina markers, the text is brief but there is more information online. It has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Ferdinand Foch. Commander-In-Chief of Allied armies, 1918, made a speech at the Union County Courthouse, on December 9, 1921." In the speech, he praised America's role in the war and was joined by Governor Cameron Morrison and former Governor Thomas Bickett. Foch had recently participated in the groundbreaking of the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City alongside Vice President Calvin Coolidge. Known for his prophetic criticism of the Treaty of Versailles, Foch returned to Europe in 1922 and was later buried at Les Invalides in Paris beside Napoleon Bonaparte. [Review 1308 of 2025 - 4443 in North Carolina - 24860 overall]

This marker is located on the south side of Gateway Park and points out the history of a local…read morecitizen's bravery. The marker reads, "Lt. Samuel I. Parker. One of two North Carolinians awarded Medal of Honor for valor in World War I (France, 1918). Born 1 block southeast." Online, there is more information. "Robert L. Blackwell of Hurdle Mills in Person County and Samuel I. Parker of Monroe in Union County were the only North Carolinians to receive the Medal of Honor for service in World War I. The award, the military's highest, is for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty." Since the medal's creation during the Civil War, over 3,400 men and one woman have been so cited, thirty-three from North Carolina and eight of those in World War II." "Samuel Iredell Parker (nicknamed Si for his initials), a descendant of Supreme Court Justice James Iredell and Governor Abner Nash, attended the University of North Carolina, leaving for military service just prior to graduation in 1917. Part of the First Infantry Division of the American Expeditionary Force, he served on the front lines in France." "The deed for which Parker was cited took place on July 18, 1918, near Soissons, when he advanced directly into machine gun fire, killing the gunner with his pistol. During World War II he trained troops at Fort Benning, penned a manual entitled Follow Me, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Upon retirement in 1956, Parker moved from New York to Concord, his wife's hometown. He died on December 1, 1975, and is buried in Concord's Oakwood Cemetery." https://www.yelp.com/biz/oakwood-cemetery-concord?hrid=-QMFGcjN_VroHWLEfgrZtw [Review 15472 overall, 976 of 2021, number 3016 in North Carolina.]

Sometimes, we forget where we came from and what Charlotte was before it was skyscrapers and…read moreInterstate highways. It grew out of being a trading hub between early settlers and Native Americans. This historical marker in Pineville (it's right in front of the Waldhorn and near the President James K. Polk site) reads: Colonial trading route, dating from the seventeenth century, from Petersburg, Virginia, to the Catawba Indians in Carolina, passed here. For those who might not know, Petersburg is a solid four hours by highway from here. How'd you like to travel 280 miles (as the crow flies!) on horseback without your GPS?? Part of the story on the web site reads: In North Carolina, the early history of the colony is replete with stories of the reliance by colonists upon Indian trade and trading routes, and the consequent establishment of villages where they engaged in bartering. Such routes were well known, well marked, and well trodden. The Occaneechi Path, stretching from Petersburg, Virginia, to the Waxhaws region, was one of a hundred such trails running throughout the state and the southeast. But the Trading Path was the central highway, the most fabled route, the interstate of its day. (Its course approximates that of Interstate 85.)