Located near the center of Warrenton, this marker points out a local who was "first" and served his…read morecommunity well. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "John A. Hyman. 1840-1891. First African American to represent N.C. in U.S. Congress, 1875-77; state Senator & member, 1868 constitutional convention. He lived 1 block west." There is more information online. John A. Hyman, born into slavery in Warren County, North Carolina in 1840, became the first African American to represent the state in Congress, elected in 1874 from the "Black Second" district. His early life was marked by hardship, including being sold and sent to Alabama, but he returned home after the Civil War and quickly rose through the ranks of Reconstruction-era politics. Hyman served in multiple conventions and the state senate, though his tenure was marred by involvement in political scandals like the Littlefield-Swepson bond fraud. After a failed congressional bid in 1872, he won election in 1874 but was denied renomination in 1876; during his term, he advocated for civil rights and voting protections. Financial troubles and controversy followed him in Warrenton, and by 1880 he relocated to Washington, D.C., where he worked modestly until his death and burial in the capital. It is marker number E-101. It was erected in 2022 by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. [Review 941 of 2025 - 4344 in North Carolina - 24496 overall]

Carrying Virginia Route 58 over Buggs Lake, the John W. Tisdale Memorial Bridge spans 4900 feet. It…read moreis 60 feet over the water (depending on how low they have drained the lake). Completed in 2005 and dedicated by the Virginia Department of Transportation under Governor Mark R. Warner, it is named for Judge John W. Tisdale who served as Mecklenburg County court judge for more than 40 years as well as the longest-tenured mayor in Clarksville town history and devoted area historian. The bridge is part of the 5.5 mile long Clarksville Bypass which is a four-lane highway that carries traffic just south of the town of Clarksville, with interchanges at U.S. 15 just east and south of town. The bridge is a great addition to the area though it's a little boring and without any fancy features. There is no toll. [Review 2142 of 2024 - 1453 in Virginia - 23161 overall]

This marker along a quiet rural North Carolina road provides some biography and points the way to…read morethe home of this former 19th century politician. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Governor, 1814-1817; state legislator and attorney general; U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Central America. Lived three miles north." Online there is more information. William Miller of Warren County rose from early legal practice to become North Carolina's attorney general, a legislative leader, and eventually a three‑term governor. His administration from 1814 to 1817 supported Madison's military needs during the final phase of the War of 1812 and backed early reforms in education, transportation, and the state's judicial system. Miller was the first governor to live in the newly completed Executive Mansion on Fayetteville Street, and his tenure saw the commissioning of the Canova statue of George Washington. After returning to private life in Warrenton, he later served in the state Senate and was appointed by President John Quincy Adams as a diplomatic agent to Guatemala. He died of yellow fever in 1825 at Key West while traveling to take up that post. It is marker number E-37 and it was erected in 1991 by North Carolina Division of Archives and History. It is an intersection and there is room to stop to read the marker. [Review 57 of 2026 - 4536 in North Carolina - 25247 overall]

If it weren't for the sign saying "Red Oak post office", I would never had known this warehouse…read morelooking building was a post office! Red Oak is another small roadside unincorporated community, in rural VA, in Charlotte County on Rt. 15. It looks like this post office used to be a garage or some sort of warehouse. One site said it used to be a home to a bottling company. Pretty interesting spot for a post office though. Research indicated a post office was opened here in 1839, but I'm not sure if this is the same one. The population is about 1,000. The inside has a vintage feel with wooden walls, wrought iron, brass mail slots and brass post offices boxes. The post master was welcoming and accommodating. Plenty of parking and a handicap ramp. Hours 11:30-3:30 M-F 8:00-12:00 Saturday

I'm starting to appreciate the North Carolina markers a bit more. Even though they have limited…read moreinformation on the marker, they have a good essay on the web page. Not so for Virginia who has more information on the marker and nothing else on the web page. This marker is placed on US-58 near Southampton High School / Southampton Middle School. The marker reads, "The Nottoways' first recorded contact with the English colonists occurred in 1650 in present-day Sussex County. By 1694, due to hostile Indian attacks and encroaching settlers, the Nottoways had moved their main settlement to the mouth of Assamoosick Swamp in Southampton County. The Nottoway were farmers and hunters and their language was related to that of the Iroquois. By 1713, the House of Burgesses set the boundaries for the Nottoway Indian reservation. Over time, due to a decreasing population and white settlers' claims, Nottoway land was sold to outsiders. The legal termination of the Nottoway Indian reservation began in 1824 and by 1878 the last parcels of land had been divided among the surviving Nottoways." Today, the Nottoway people number around 500. Many are in the vicinity of this marker. [Review 11880 overall, 1662 of 2019.]

This marker is along US-58 between I-95 and I-85 on the north side of the highway near the…read moreintersection with Westward Road. There are a couple of markers here. This one reads, "The Meherrin Indians lived in the coastal plain of Virginia and North Carolina along the Meherrin River. They farmed and hunted and spoke a language, Meherrin, that belonged to the Iroquoian language family. The Meherrin remained relatively undisturbed by the English settlements, until about 1650 when trading in furs increased their contact with settlers. By 1680 the Meherrin had become official tribute-paying subjects of the Virginia colony that temporarily gave them a protected land base around their villages. By the early 18th century members of the Meherrin had migrated along the Meherrin River to near the fork where it joins the Chowan River in North Carolina." [Review 11885 overall, 1667 of 2019.]

Located along Route 58, this marker points out some of the history of this highway from before the…read moreCivil War. There wasn't asphalt and pourable concrete back then so this is how it was done. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "he Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road was built between 1851 and 1853 and was funded by stock bought by the state as well as the public. The all-weather toll road increased the transportation of crops to market and also carried stagecoach traffic between Boydton and Petersburg. The road was constructed of pine and oak planks eight feet long, one foot wide, and three to four inches thick laid across parallel beams, slanted slightly to improve drainage. A ten-foot-wide shoulder let vehicles pass each other. By 1860 the road, except for an 1856 extension to Clarksville, was declared unsafe, due to heavy wear, poorly suited untreated lumber, and the collapse of the Meherrin River Bridge." This is marker number UL-6 and it was erected in 2001 by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. There is room here to pull over to view the marker. [Review 2149 of 2024 - 1459 in Virginia - 23168 overall]

This large historical marker on the north side of US-58 at the intersection with Buckhorn Quarter…read moreRoad recalls a time before the Civil War and the Emancipation. It reads, "On 21 Aug. 1831, enslaved preacher Nat Turner launched a revolt that resulted in the deaths of about 60 whites and a similar number of African Americans. Defeated in a skirmish outside Jerusalem (now Courtland) on 22 Aug., the rebels came to this neighborhood, site of some of the largest slaveholdings in the area. They spent the night at Maj. Thomas Ridley's Buckhorn Quarter plantation, about a mile north of here. Local whites seeking refuge spent the night elsewhere on Ridley's property. Four of Ridley's slaves joined the revolt, but other participants deserted amid fears of a white attack. The rebels left before dawn on 23 Aug. and were defeated later that day, ending the revolt." [Review 11881 overall, 1663 of 2019.]