Driving north on US-601, it would be easy to miss the cemetery that dates back to the Colonial Era…read morebut the historical marker should draw you in as it did for me. This is the final resting place of Squire and Sarah Boone who passed in 1765 and 1777, respectively. Parents of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone who settled here in the 1750s. The cemetery is formerly known as the Burying Ground Ridge, was one of the earliest cemeteries in Davie County. Squire Boone's grave is the oldest known grave in Joppa Cemetery, and also the oldest known grave in Davie County. It is easy to spot as they have done a fine job of preserving the headstone in a larger brick stone and adding a plaque so that it's easy to pay your respects. [Review 595 of 2026 - 4684 in North Carolina - 25776 overall]

Marker M-33 is located on the north side of US-64 and isn't an easy spot to reach. There is a bit…read moreof a space to pull over but this isn't a quiet road so you'll want to use caution if you stop. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Hinton R. Helper, Author of 'The Impending Crisis', a bitterly controversial book which denounced slavery; U.S. Consul at Buenos Aires, 1861-66. Born 150 yards north" It was erected in 1975 by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History. Hinton Rowan Helper rose from a modest North Carolina upbringing to become one of the most controversial Southern-both critics of slavery, gaining national attention with his 1857 book which used census statistics to argue that slavery crippled the South's economy and denounced slaveholders in incendiary terms. His work was banned across the South, helped intensify sectional tensions, and was credited by some contemporaries with aiding Abraham Lincoln's 1860 election, after which Helper served as US consul to Argentina. [Review 592 of 2026 - 4681 in North Carolina - 25773 overall]

I have seen a number of markers pointing to the history of Stoneman's Raid across North Carolina -…read morein Statesville, Mount Airy and Wilkesboro - that point out just how wide this raid was across the state, ensuring not only the destruction of the South to expedite the close of the Civil War. A time when "total war" on civilians and civilian infrastructure was a combat strategy. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "On a raid through western North Carolina Gen. Stoneman's U.S. cavalry fought a skirmish with southern troops at Shallow Ford, April 11, 1865." It is marker number J-20 and it was erected in 1940 by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History. It is one of two markers in along this stretch of Shallowford Road and there is room to pull over here. [Review 609 of 2026 - 4697 in North Carolina - 25790 overall]

Shallowford Road's bridge over the Yadkin River looks like a simple modern crossing at first…read moreglance, but once you drop down the dirt path on the west back, you might feel like you're standing beside a spot that has shaped travel in this region for nearly three centuries. The historic Shallo Ford sits just south of the bridge, the only wagon road crossing used by settlers heading down the Great Wagon Road, by Patriot militia in 1780, by Cornwallis in 1781, and by Stoneman's cavalry in 1865. Today you can drive right down to the riverside and park under the bridge with the water sliding past and the concrete overhead humming, and it's wild to think that all that history unfolded just a short walk away. The river access itself has that low key local feel, with a small boat launch, plenty of bank space for fishing, and the kind of ticked away vibe that probably makes it a favorite make out spot after dark. It's quiet, easy to reach and hidden enough to feel like you found something. A Forsyth County sheriff did roll through while I was there, so it's clearly on someone's radar, but that didn't take away from the charm. For a quick stop at a place where the past and the present sit almost on top of each other, it's a surprisingly peaceful bend in the Yadkin. [Review 607 of 2026 - 4695 in North Carolina - 25788 overall]