Jones County is the 97th largest county in North Carolina out of the total of 100. The population…read moreof the county is less than 1% of the number of my own county, Mecklenburg (Charlotte). Despite the small size of the county, it has an impressively large courthouse. The Jones County Courthouse was completed in 1939 and is the third to serve after each of the earlier ones were destroyed by fire. It is a two-story Flemish bond brick and concrete structure with a symmetrical façade featuring six vertical pillars and a wide pediment at the roofline. A white cupola crowns the center of the roof. Jones County is named for Willie Jones, who opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution and declined an invitation to the Constitutional Convention. The county was officially formed in 1779, carved from Craven County and later expanded with portions of Carteret and Dobbs Counties. The town of Trenton became the county seat in 1784, originally known as Trent Bridge. There is easy street parking in Trenton, just be sure to look for marked spaces. [Review 757 of 2025 - 4189 in North Carolina - 24317 overall]

I spent about a half of a day in downtown Kinston. If you are visiting downtown, that's about all…read moreyou really need to spend here. My disclaimer when rating towns and cities, is I rate based on cities of similar size. So I do not compare Kinston to Atlanta for example. Kinston is in the eastern part of NC. Population ~ 20K. Located right on the Neuse river. Several parks in the area. The closest larger city is Greenville. If it wasn't for the Chef and the Farmer, I doubt I would have ever visited Kinston. It just isn't easy to get to, at least for me. Now I was impressed with the downtown area. Most of the buildings were occupied. Several decent shops to see. Art galleries as well. A lot of the shops close around 5 PM so keep that in mind if you visit. Not a lot of bars, but there are places to get a drink, including Mother Earth Brewery. Restaurant scene is decent with low end, diners, middle of the road restaurants and higher end. There is free parking in lots right in downtown. If you are into Civil War history, the CSS Neuse museum is right in downtown. I found downtown safe and not real congested. There were even scooters on the sidewalks for rent. We don't have scooters in Wilmington and they have the here. Crazy.

Downtown Kinston has a lot of potential from restaurants to museums to art galleries to stores. But…read morea lot of these businesses are not open during the advertised hours. There were signs that said "open" but the doors are locked. Then others were "closed" but the opening hours were to be open during that time. At least some businesses were open the day I was in town so I could shop and dine.

Greene County is the 79th largest county in North Carolina (out of 100). It was originally part of…read morea 1663 land grant from King Charles II, the area was settled around 1710 by immigrants from Maryland, Virginia, and other parts of North Carolina. In 1713, the Tuscarora War took place which effectively ended organized Native resistance in the region. The county itself was officially formed in 1791, carved from Dobbs County and originally named Glasgow County in honor of James Glasgow, North Carolina's Secretary of State. It was renamed Greene County in 1799 to honor General Nathanael Greene, a Revolutionary War hero known for his role at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The county seat is here in Snow Hill and has been since 1828. The courthouse was built in 1935 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the courthouse replaced an earlier structure from 1878 that had succumbed to fire. The building reflects the Classical Revival style popular in public architecture of the time. It is a three-story brick and concrete structure with a commanding Doric portico on its west-facing façade. The portico features four columns rising to a pediment There is street parking nearby in the center of Snow Hill and there are lots in the vicinity. Definitely try to tour the courthouse if you can - the iron staircase to the courtroom on the second floor is impressive. [Review 755 of 2025 - 4187 in North Carolina - 24315 overall]

The TM-61C was the second version of the surface-to-surface U.S. Air Force Matador cruise missile…read more Built by Martin, it carried a nuclear warhead, flew at subsonic speeds at an altitude of up to 13 kilometers (8 miles), and had a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). After being boosted during its launch by a short-firing solid-fuel rocket engine, a jet engine then powered the missile the rest of the way to the target. Ground-based microwave emitters assisted the missile in finding its target. The TM-61C was deployed at various sites in Europe and Asia from 1957 to 1962 and was replaced by the more advanced Mace cruise missile. Now sitting in the parking lot of a church the location used to be a local airport (Big Daddy's Airport) and was originally painted red and used as signage for the first location of the Big Daddy's restaurant chain. There is no caption near the missile, which is completely approachable. I was unable to discern how this obsolete nuclear warhead came to be here. [Review 15488 overall, 992 of 2021, number 3031 in North Carolina.]

This marker is not far from the center of Goldsboro and is located in front of a small office strip…read moremall so there's parking for you to stop and read the marker. It has the same text on both sides. It reads, "Kenneth C. Royall. Last Secretary of War & first Secretary of Army, 1947-49. Attorney; state senator; brigadier general, 1943-45. Led military justice reform. Home was here." Kenneth Claiborne Royall, born in Goldsboro in 1894, was a distinguished lawyer and military officer who became the last U.S. Secretary of War and the first Secretary of the Army. After graduating from the University of North Carolina and Harvard Law School, he served in World War I and later built a successful legal career in North Carolina. His public service included a term in the state Senate and leadership of the North Carolina Bar Association before rejoining the Army during World War II, where he rose to brigadier general and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Appointed Secretary of War by President Truman in 1947, Royall transitioned to become the first Secretary of the Army when the Department of Defense was created later that year, serving until 1949. He then joined a New York law firm, retiring in 1968 and settling in Raleigh. Royall died in Durham in 1971 and was buried in his hometown of Goldsboro. He married Margaret Best in 1917, and they had two children. It is marker number F-52 and it was erected in 1977 by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History. [Review 844 of 2025 - 4274 in North Carolina - 24401 overall] [2/20]

When I spotted this tall granite obelisk on the grounds of the Lenoir County Courthouse, I fully…read moreexpected that it was going to be another memorial to the Confederate soldiers from this area who served in the Civil War. But it's not that! Instead, this marker memorialized North Carolina's first (and fifth) governor! Richard Caswell was born near Baltimore Maryland and was a surveyor and lawyer then served in the Continental Congress. He was president of the provincial congress that drafted North Carolina's first constitution in 1776, and he took the oath of office as the State's first governor in 1777. The original monument was erected at the intersection of Queen and Caswell Streets in 1881. It was damaged by fire in 1895 and replaced in 1908. In 1929 the Daughters of the American Revolution erected an iron fence around the monument. And in 1934 the second monument was damaged in street paving and subsequently removed to the city landfill. Sections of the monument were subsequently recovered and reassembled, and today the monument sits in front of the Lenoir County Courthouse. The marker is inscribed as follows: Front: Richard Caswell, / their first Governor / under a free Con- / stitution. / Called to / the head of af- / fairs in North Caro- / lina in the struggle with Great / Britain for Independence, he gave / himself up to the service of his country / without stint and without compensation. Side: Born August 3d, 1729, / Died 10th of November, 1789; / An accomplished surveyor, and able / lawyer, a skillful financier, a successful / soldier, a profound statesman, a devoted / patriot and an honest man - the an- / nals of North Carolina for forty years attest his virtue, his /capacity and his services. Side: Deputy Surveyor of the Colony, Member / of the Colonial Assembly, Colonel of / the Colonial Forces, Member of the / Provincial Congresses, Delegate to / the Continental Congress, Pub- / lic Treasurer, Colonel of the / Revolutionary Forces, Brig- / adier-General, President / of the Congress that / framed the first State / Constitution, four / times elected / Governor of / North Carolina, / Comptroller Gen- / eral, elected Delegate / to the Convention to / frame the Federal Constitution, Member of the / State Convention to ratify the / Federal Constitution. Awesome stuff! [Review 15478 overall, 982 of 2021, number 3021 in North Carolina.]

This green and gold historical marker is located in the parking lot of the visitor's center. It is…read morenot an official state marker and indicates that it is "privately funded and erected in honor of R.C.Gatlin." The marker reads, "Richard Caswell Gatlin, January 18 1890 - September 8, 1896. Kinston Native, West Point Graduate, US Army Officer, Confederate General. Born at Red House Plantation two miles west of Kinston. Grandson of North Carolina's first State governor, Richard Caswell. Served in the Black Hawk War 1832, Indian Territory 1832-1839, 2nd Seminole War 1839-1842 and Mexican War 1845-1848 where he was wounded and decorated for meritorious service at the Battle of Monterrey. Commanded US Army posts in Florida, Arkansas, Nebraska, Utah and New Mexico before resigning to service his home state during the Civil War. Commanded Confederate Department of North Carolina 1861-1862 and was NC State Adjutant General 1863-1865. Kinston/Lenoir County's first West Point graduate and only Confederate General. Buried in Fort Smith National Cemetery, Arkansas." Online, there is more information. "Richard Caswell Gatlin, soldier, Confederate officer, and farmer, was born at Kinston, Lenoir County. His father was John S. Gatlin, the son of John Gatlin who was one of the early settlers of Kinston; his mother was Susannah Caswell, the youngest child of Governor Richard Caswell." "While on a visit to Fort Smith, Ark., he was captured by Arkansas State forces on 23 Apr. 1861 when the state was on the verge of secession. After his parole, he resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and offered his services to North Carolina. He was first made adjutant general of the state, with the rank of major general of militia; later he received the rank of colonel of infantry in the regular Confederate Army and was given command of the Southern Department, in charge of coastal defense, with headquarters at Wilmington." "After the war Gatlin moved to Arkansas where he engaged in farming in Sebastian County until 1881, when he moved again to Fort Smith. He died at Mount Nebo, Yell County, Ark., at the age of eighty-seven, and was buried in the National Cemetery at Fort Smith." [Review 15465 overall, 969 of 2021, number 3009 in North Carolina.]

This marker stands at one of the busiest intersections in Kinston and points out a piece of the…read moreCivil War that happened here. There is a motel parking lot if you want to stop. The marker reads, "Foster's Raid. On a raid from New Bern to Goldsboro, the Union troops led by General J. G. Foster passed through Kinston, Dec. 14, 1862." Online, there is more information. "On July 6, 1862, Gen. Ambrose Burnside and two divisions departed New Bern for Virginia, leaving his longtime friend Gen. John G. Foster in charge of the Department of North Carolina. Anchored to the New Bern area due to his small numbers, Foster oversaw the strengthening and construction of defenses and fortifications. Work crews, comprised largely of refugee slaves, constructed a line of defensive works from the Trent River to the Neuse intersected by Forts Totten, Rowan, and Dutton." "The responsibility of confronting the invaders was left to the few North Carolina regiments remaining in the state, but their limited numbers seriously hampered their ability to dislodge the enemy. A surprise attack on the Federal force at Washington on September 6 had initial success with the Confederates capturing three field guns and supplies and destroying a ship. But the arrival of Federal reinforcements turned the tide of the battle. A separate attack on Federally occupied Plymouth in December had similar results." The Federals attempted a raid of the Goldsboro railroad and believed that they had done significant damage however the damage done to the railroad was not extensive enough to disable it for long. Confederate engineers and work crews had the railroad running regularly by the dawn of the new year. The raid's only lasting success was the thorough stripping of resources all along its path through the countryside. [Review 15532 overall, 1036 of 2021, number 3071 in North Carolina.]