This marker is located in the downtown core of Newton NC and recalls a Civil War resident. The…read moremarker is in excellent condition and there is street parking nearby. The marker reads, "M. L. McCorkcle, 1817-1899. Superior Court judge; a founder of Catawba College; state senator & Confederate colonel. His home stood here." Online, there is more information. " Matthew L. McCorkle, judge and community leader, was born in 1817 in a section of Lincoln County that had been annexed to become part of the new Catawba County in 1842. McCorkle's family had long lived in the region and his grandfather was a distinguished Revolutionary War hero. McCorkle was first educated at home and graduated from Davidson College in 1843. After graduation, McCorkle studied law under Chief Justice Richmond Pearson and was licensed to practice in 1844. He then moved to Catawba as the county's first lawyer and was elected Clerk of Superior Court from 1846-1850. McCorkle was instrumental in the creation of Newton as the new county seat of Catawba and served as mayor and town commissioner at various times." "As soon as the Civil War began, McCorkle volunteered and organized a company of troops for the Confederacy, becoming the unit's captain. They traveled to Virginia to fight in many of the campaigns in that state. His health failed him and he was forced to return home and then organized a local guard, in which he attained the rank of colonel. After the war, he was elected multiple times to represent Catawba County in the legislature as both a representative and senator. He was appointed a Superior Court judge in 1890 and served in that position until his death." "One of his principal achievements was his involvement in the creation of Catawba College in Newton through his activity within the Reformed Church. He served the school's chairman of the trustees board until his death. The school had been chartered in 1852. McCorkle is credited as the driving force behind the creation of the school through his fundraising efforts and political connections. The school remained in Newton until 1923 when it moved to its present location in Salisbury. McCorkle died in 1899 and was buried at East View https://www.yelp.com/biz/eastview-cemetery-newton?hrid=1315Z10tFjAqwtP5jYX1DQ cemetery in Newton." [Review 15898 overall - 3114 in North Carolina - 1403 of 2021.]

This black historical marker stands in front of the elementary school but it points out what was…read morehere before it was that. The marker reads, "Startown School. Founded 1904. First graded school in what is now City of Newton. From 1914 to 1931 was site of Startown Farm Life School, an innovative state-supported high school integrating agriculture and home economics in curriculum. Continues as an elementary school." There is plenty of information on the current elementary school. There is very little information on the old Startown school. [Review 15925 overall - 3140 in North Carolina - 1430 of 2021.]

Most folks don't know why Charlotte's basketball team are called the Hornets or why the name…read more"hornets" matters so much to our fair city. I knew the story but I didn't know that there was an actual place that it tied back to. It's here off Beatties Ford Road north of Uptown. Back in 1780, the British Army occupied Charlotte under General Charles Cornwallis. Short on provisions themselves, they came to believe that the colonials had stored food and such at McIntyre's Farm near Charlotte. A foraging party of over 400 British troops was sent to the farm. And instead of being successful, they were routed by 14 (yes, fourteen) patriots under the command of Colonel George Graham. Known as the "Battle of the Bees," as the patriots defense was aided by the British troops having disturbed a hornets nest. Later, Cornwallis is alleged to have written a letter back to London asking for reinforcements. He complainted that Charlotte was "that hot-bed of rebellion, that hornet's nest, as his lordship afterwards named it." There is a marker, a dirt area for parking and a picnic bench. The marker is close to the road. There seems to be no trace of the original farm remaining. So there you go. Buzz City, indeed. [Review 12970 overall, 286 of 2020.]

This historical marker is located along busy US-74 Business but is accessible. It recalls a former…read moregovernor of North Carolina. It reads, "O. Max Gardner. 1882-1947. Governor, 1929-33; Under Secretary of U.S. Treasury; appointed Ambassador to Great Britain, 1946. Birthplace stands here, grave 300 yards north." Online, there is more information. "Oliver Max Gardner, whose political organization dominated state politics for a generation, took office only months before the stock market crash of 1929 and responded to the economic crisis with retrenchment and centralization of governmental functions. Like his brother-in-law Clyde R. Hoey part of the "Shelby Dynasty" (a term Gardner disliked), the future governor was born on March 22, 1882 in the Cleveland County town." "In 1900 Max Gardner enrolled at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (present North Carolina State University) and in 1906 he studied law at the University of North Carolina. At both schools he captained the football team." "In 1910 Gardner was elected to the state senate and four years later was returned for a second term, during which he served as president pro tem. In 1916, the year Thomas W. Bickett was elected governor, Gardner was elected lieutenant governor. In 1920 Gardner entered the race to be Bickett's successor. In the first primary Robert N. Page was eliminated but in the second Cameron Morrison, with the backing of the political machine of Senator Furnifold Simmons, defeated Gardner. The Shelby attorney returned to his law practice and to his farm. With partner O. M. Mull he founded Cleveland Cloth Mill. Gardner remained active in party politics and in 1928 was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. He defeated Republican Herbert F. Seawell handily in the fall." "For eight years, under the administrations of Cameron Morrison and Angus W. McLean, the state had witnessed relative prosperity. The onset of the Depression presented Governor Gardner with unforeseen challenges. In 1930 he authorized a study of state government by the Brookings Institution which recommended a massive shift of power from county courthouses to Raleigh with the state taking responsibility for all secondary road maintenance and public school costs. Other reforms included reduction of property taxes, limits on local bond issues, and creation of a central purchasing agency. With the governor's support, the legislature approved workmen's compensation, the secret ballot, and abolition of the chain gang system." "On racial matters, Gardner was perhaps the most progressive Democratic governor to date. While his record on race is imperfect, he seemed to genuinely care about the plight facing Black North Carolinians and championed continued improvements in education, social services, and public health." [Review 14966 overall, 468 of 2021, number 2846 in North Carolina.]

This marker is located not far from one entrance to Charlotte Douglas International Airport and…read morearound the corner from the Air National Guard site and the Sullenberger Museum. It points out the history of this site. There isn't parking nearby but it's a quiet corner where you can briefly stop to read the marker. It reads the same on both sides, "Morris Field. A U.S. Army air base, 1941-1946. Named for Maj. William Morris, WWI pilot. The 5,000 acre facility became airport at this site." Online, there is more information. "Morris Field was a U.S. Army Air Corps base at Charlotte during World War II. It was one of nine military airfields in North Carolina during the conflict. The airport began as a municipal airfield in the 1930s. Originally, Charlotte was served by a small, privately-owned airstrip known as the Charlotte Airport (later known as Cannon Field), which utilized the old airstrip constructed during World War I as part of the army base, Camp Greene. The postwar private airport provided only limited service, however, and Charlotte mayor Ben E. Douglas pushed for the creation of a municipal airfield. The city received funding for the construction of an airport by the Works Progress Administration in 1935. By mid-1937, the project was completed, and the facility was opened as the Charlotte Municipal Airport, with Eastern Airlines offering scheduled passenger service. "In April 1941, the airport was taken over by the U.S. Army Air Corps and was renamed the Charlotte Army Air Base. It was initially a small operation with only three runways. It served as a training facility for pilots and gunners and also as a center for maintenance and repair. Following the outbreak of World War II, the base was renamed in January 1942, this time as Morris Field, after Major William Colb Morris (1891-1939). A native of Harrisburg, N.C., Morris was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and had served as a flight instructor and as a pilot during World War I. "During the war, Morris Field expanded in size with many new buildings added. The Army invested over $5 million in improvements to the facility, and the base proved to be a major boost to the local economy. Various units rotated in and out of the base for periods of duty lasting several months each. The base published its own newspaper and broadcast a weekly radio show. Some commercial aviation continued to operate from the north side of the airfield. In 1946, the U.S. Army closed Morris Field and the airport reverted back to Charlotte, resuming its prewar name of the Charlotte Municipal Airport. Many of the wartime barracks and other military buildings were remodeled into apartments as the city faced a postwar housing shortage. In 1954, it was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport to honor the mayor who was responsible for the airport's original creation, and it became Charlotte Douglas International Airport in 1982. It is still in operation today." This is marker number L-118. It was erected by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History in 2021. [Review 2030 of 2024 - 3742 in North Carolina - 23051 overall]

This marker is located on Franklin Blvd in front of the Loray Mill building, which has been…read moreconverted from manufacturing to offices and lofts. Back in the day, it was once the largest factory under one roof in the world. The marker recalls a specific incident. It reads, "Loray Strike. A strike in 1929 at the Loray Mill, 200 yards S., left two dead and spurred opposition to labor unions statewide." Online there is detail on those deaths (one, the chief of police) and information on the backers of the union. "The National Textile Workers Union, widely acknowledged to be under Communist influence, exploited the situation by sending activist Fred Beal and others to Gastonia... The strike dragged on through the summer and fall of 1929. Moderate labor leaders denounced the NTWU and some workers returned to the job. Still, violent incidents increased. O. F. Aderholdt, Gastonia's chief of police, was shot and killed in June. Ella May Wiggins, ballad singer and union sympathizer, was killed in September. Beal and several fellow Communists were convicted of Aderholdt's murder, but there were no convictions for the assaults on union backers. The strike and associated violence dealt a setback to union efforts, bolstering anti-union sentiment both locally and, owing to the wide press coverage, across the state and region." [Review 12616 overall, 2408 of 2019.]

Camp Green was a US Army training camp here. In 1917, both the 3rd Infantry Division and the 4th…read moreInfantry Divisions were first organized and assembled at this camp. It was named for Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Green. Major General Greene was the Continental Army major general who forced the British out of the Carolinas. Charlotte was selected over other cities due to the land, weather, and infrastructure to accommodate a camp, as well as a location on a major rail line, giving the city a logistical edge in transporting soldiers and munitions to New York City for the eventual trip abroad. Camp Greene is a massive facility by early 20th-century standards. Its 2,500 acres of forest and cotton fields, bought from families like James Dowd, are eventually expanded to 6,000 acres, which stretch from the cusp of downtown, on what is now Wilkinson Boulevard, west to the Catawba River and Gaston County. There is plenty of room to dig five miles of trenches, to simulate the preferred method of ground combat in Europe. At its peak, more than 60,000 soldiers live on base. The 41st Infantry Division, which trains for 16 weeks, is the first to ship off to France as part of the American Expeditionary Force, followed by the 3rd and 4th Divisions. Today, the only camp remnants that survive are the Dowd family's farmhouse -- now designated as a historic site -- and a couple of rectangular barracks that are converted into permanent housing. And this marker at the corner of Wilkinson and Monument Street. The marker was erected by the Mecklenburg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. It lists the names of the different brigades trained her and the dates, July 12 1917 to June 30, 1919. [Review 16684 overall - 3189 in North Carolina - 196 of 2022.]

As your GPS tells you "Welcome to North Carolina" between Clover and Gastonia, you might notice…read morethis marker that's just a touch north of the gas station. The marker reads, "NORTH CAROLINA / Colonized, 1585-87, by first English settlers in America; permanently settled c. 1650; first to vote readiness for independence, Apr. 12, 1776" and on the other side, "SOUTH CAROLINA / Formed in 1712 from part of Carolina, which was chartered in 1663, it was first settled by the English in 1670. One of the 13 original states." Maybe you're wondering why we have two Carolinas? On the Highway Markers site, there is more information... "Referred to as "the Carolinas" by many today, North and South Carolina since 1712 have been separate entities. Residents and surveyors have disputed and worked to settle the boundary line from the earliest days to the present. The Carolina Charter of 1663 established "Carolana" in the New World and King Charles II granted the land to eight men, called the Lords Proprietors, as thanks for their assistance in returning him to the throne after a short-lived revolution. The two colonies grew and developed distinct histories because of geography, the nature of their settlers, and agricultural products." "By 1710, the Lords Proprietors recognized that the northern and southern sections of the Carolina colony were operating separately and successfully petitioned the crown to divide the colony by 1712. The dividing line between the two began about 30 miles below the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina and the line has been in dispute ever since. A multitude of surveys and border disputes have helped to shape the long history of the dividing line between the two states. For example, the formation of the Catawba Indian Reservation in South Carolina in 1763 is responsible for the sharp angles found south of Charlotte. Even as late as 2001, surveyors were climbing mountains in the far western reaches of both states to settle the boundary issues using GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) technology." [Review 12621 overall, 2413 of 2019.]