Friday afternoon in Jefferson gave me a quiet look at the Ashe County Courthouse and the…read moreapproaching drive up the hill absolutely adds curb appeal before you even step out of the car. The building was closed and locked but that worked in my favor with easy parking and no foot traffic. This is the county's modern Colonial Revival courthouse, finished around 2000, all red brick with a tall columned portico and the green roof that softens the civic look. This is the fifth courthouse to serve the county. With the place closed, I had time to walk the grounds and take pictures without anyone around. The Honor Roll memorial sits quietly out front, and the Charters of Freedom installation is a thoughtful touch that makes the stop feel like more than just a photo op. It's not the most ornate courthouse in North Carolina but it's well kept, easy to reach and the hilltop approach alone makes it worth a few minutes if you're already in Jefferson. Ashe County is named for Revolutionary patriot and superior court judge who served as the ninth governor of North Carolina (1795-1798). The city is named for Thomas Jefferson who at the time was serving as Vice President under John Adams. [Review 873 of 2026 - 4764 in North Carolina - 26054 overall] [Ashe County is number 80 of my quest to visit all 100 North Carolina County Courthouses. See https://www.yelp.com/collection/bgSlwoF6jU6MHqVx1fJ_oA/.]

The 1908 Grayson County Courthouse in Independence has that proud early twentieth-century presence…read morethat feels both formal and handmade, its Classical Revival design by Frank Milburn* giving it the symmetry, brick massing, and columned entry that Virginia counties favored when they wanted to project stability. Grayson County itself was named for William Grayson, a US Senator from Virginia in the 1780s and the town's name, Independence, was chosen to mark the nation's spirit after the revolution. It hasn't always been the county seat. That honor originally belonged to Greenville, but won the seat in the early nineteenth century as settlement shifted westward and the community grew into a more central civic hub. By the time I visited on Friday afternoon, the courthouse was closed, which actually made the experience better. With the sunset hitting the brick and no one around, I could walk right up to the building and appreciate the details without interruption. The grounds still have the expected and familiar Confederate monument, but since this building is no longer the active courthouse, it feels more like a historical artifact than a statement. Today, the structure serves administrative and community functions rather than full judicial operations, and wandering the quiet grounds made it easy to admire the architecture without the bustle of modern court traffic. [Review 886 of 2026 - 1537 in Virginia - 26067 overall] *I've seen many of Milburn's courthouses including the 1904 Wilkes County in Washington GA, 1907 Rockingham County in Reidsville NC, 1909 Swain County in Bryson City NC, 1914 Rowan County in Salisbury NC, Boyd County in Catlettsburg KY and more than 250 other major buildings across the South.

This marker is on the corner of the Grayson County Courthouse and points out the history of this…read morecity. It has the same text on both sides. It reads, "This place became the county seat of Grayson County in 1850; the first case was tried in the newly erected courthouse in 1851. The present courthouse was built in 1908. Independence was incorporated in 1934." Independence began taking shape in the early nineteenth century as settlement pushed into the highlands of what had recently become Grayson County, and it was officially named to reflect the young nation's patriotic spirit. The town became the county seat after Greenville lost the role, a shift driven by Independence's more central location and growing civic activity. In 1908, the community built the landmark Classical Revival courthouse, designed by Frank P. Milburn, which has anchored the town's identity for more than a century. Independence also played a role in regional commerce as a stop along early roads linking th New River valley to the North Carolina line. The Civil War didn't sweep directly through what is now Independence and no major engagements took place in the immediate area. Grayson County was geographically tucked into the highlands, away from the primary Shenandoah Valley campaigns and the major east‑west troop movements. When I was here, the marker was in very poor condition. Maybe they cleaned it up in the last couple of weeks since my visit? [Review 889 of 2026 - 1540 in Virginia - 26070 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]

This marker stands at a three-way intersection with plenty of room to stop and read. It points out…read morethe home of a powerful twentieth-century legislator. It has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Congressman, 1911-1953. Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee, 1933-1947, 1949-1953. Home 2/10 miles southeast." I'm not sure why they chose 2/10 and not 1/4 but hey, whatever. As is customary with North Carolina markers, there is more information online. Robert Lee Doughton was born in 1863 in Laurel Springs and grew up in Alleghany County before beginning public service as a farmer‑turned‑state official in the early 1900s. He entered Congress in 1911, ultimately serving twenty‑one consecutive terms and becoming the longest‑tenured chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Doughton played major roles in passing the Social Security Act of 1935 and in securing the creation of the Blue Ridge Parkway. He married twice, raised three children, and died in 1954 at his home in Laurel Springs, where he is buried in the Laurel Springs Baptist Church Cemetery. It is marker M-34 and it was erected in 1987 by the Division of Archives and History. [Review 881 of 2026 - 4772 in North Carolina - 26062 overall]

Note: I added this as "Wythe County / Grayson County Historical Marker" but the Yelp machine…read moredecided to truncate it. *shrug* This marker is located along US-21 during a curved part of the road at Dry Run Gap. There is minimal space to pull over but if you're careful, you can read the marker. It is marker number Z-88. On the one side, "Wythe County. Formed in 1789 from Montgomery, and named for George Wythe, signer of the Declaration of Independence. New River flows through this county." and on the reverse, "Grayson County. Formed in 1792 from Wythe, and named for William Grayson, one of the first two United States Senators from Virginia. Headwaters of New River are in this county." Wythe County feels more settled and established, with its long history tied to the New River corridor and the early development of Southwest Virginia. Grayson County, by contrast, has a more rugged character shaped by its mountains, its scattered communities, and its deep ties to the highlands around Mount Rogers. Crossing the line on US‑21, you move from a county known for its courthouse town of Wytheville and its transportation routes into one defined by small valleys, old farms, and a quieter pace. Wythe County has long been a regional hub, while Grayson has kept a more rural identity anchored in places like Independence and Elk Creek. The border marker sits at a point where those two personalities meet, giving you a quick sense of how different neighboring counties can feel in this part of Virginia. [Review 894 of 2026 - 1545 in Virginia - 26075 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]