Perry Memorial Library is a large library. It doesn't appear as large as it is from the outside. It…read moreis two stories and there are stairs and an elevator available. Restrooms on both levels. Library cards are free for Vance County residents and $10 for everyone else. So that is nice that residents from other counties can borrow books here. They have a large section of books you can buy. Hardcovers were just $1 and everything else was less. The library is colorful and has a lot of windows so that brings in light. If you have trouble finding anything in the sections, just ask the friendly library staff. They have meeting rooms and plenty of seating throughout the library. There is a computer section near the stairs. Perry Memorial Library is part of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program. The library offers a notary service if you are in need. I think it was $6.

Rode the trail from Berry Hill estate access, to the West end. Checked out the Diamond Hill slave…read morecemetery. For grave markers, there are only small rocks as headstones. The Boy Scouts had made a bench, which I thought was very nice. At the end of the bike trail on the West end, there were a couple of picnic tables, and a post to tie horses.

Its very well marked but there was a dead animal half way like it had been there for a while so…read moreclearly no one takes care of things. Other wise the greenery was lush and beautiful.

This marker is located in front of the Masonic Home for Children and points out the currently…read moreoperating facility. There isn't really room to park but the wide driveway of the orphanage has space for a quick stop and photo. The marker reads, "Opened by Masons, 1873, with John H. Mills first head, in plant of St. Johns College, which they had operated, 1858-1861." Online, there is more information. "The Oxford Orphanage began when the statewide organization of Masons, the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, passed a resolution in 1847 indicating that a seminary of learning should be created to educate children, whether poor or rich, whether orphan or not. The committee assigned to create the school proposed that astronomy, natural philosophy, chemistry, geology, electricity and application to machinery, various processes of manufactures, metallurgy, natural history and engineering be taught. The Masons wanted the students at their school to have as good an education as could be attained anywhere in the nation. On June 24, 1855, the anniversary of the birth of St. John the Baptist, the cornerstone of St. John's College was laid. The building was completed in December 1857 and opened on July 13, 1858. From the outset the school was unsuccessful. The campus was offered to the state for use as a military school, but, during the war years, served only to house squatters or war refugees. "John H. Mills in December 1872 suggested that the school should be turned into an orphanage. Trustees accepted his proposal and the former St. John's College became the first permanent orphanage in North Carolina. Mills moved onto campus and remained in the post until 1884. In February 1873 the first orphans, Robert L. and Nancy Parrish and Isabelle Robertson, took up residence. In the first year of operation, the orphanage welcomed 136 children, 109 of whom remained at the close of the year. The name of the institution was changed in 1923 to Oxford Orphanage and, in 1994, to the Masonic Home for Children. In 2000 the home launched an ambitious campaign to attain state licensing, improve and expand services, and construct a set of new, handicapped-accessible one-story cottages." This is marker number G-7 and it was first cast in 1936. [Review 2129 of 2024 - 3797 in North Carolina - 23148 overall]

Oxford Orphanage gets and deserves a 5 STAR - GREAT rating. Why someone would give it a 3 star…read morerating shows just how low our humanity has sunken. Take my word for it. I grew up there over 40 years ago. I left with a good head on my shoulders and have made myself a wonderful and productive life. I am educated, upper middle class, contribute to the community and world I live in, treat everyone as with dignity and respect. I am an E-level manager in the corporate world as many of my former classmates are. Most importantly, I left there with a sense of purpose and am happy with life and live in the present. I'm 60 now, but will never forget my roots as Oxford Orphanage paved the way for me to live a life that is reflective of it's founders back in 1873. One of contribution, caring for my fellow human beings, and a drive to be the best I can be in this world. I encourage those at the now MHCO to do what I did. Dream the biggest dream you can....and go for it. God bless all the Masons of NC for creating this magnificent place to begin a wonderful journey. I left with 100 dollars and a new suitcase the evening I graduated and have built a rich life full of love and contribute to my church, community, fellow-man, and the world I live in. Yelp, please remove the 3 star rating left by Bruce K. He obviously doesn't have a soul. THANK YOU to all my counselors, teachers, and administrators that taught me the respect for humanity and to have a spine. Kindly, Eric Earle / Class of 1984

This marker is along North Carolina Route 150 and it points out the home of politician who served…read morethe state. It is in front of his home. The marker reads, "Speaker of the N.C. House and Senate. He cast deciding vote for North Carolina Railroad, 1849. He lived here." Online, there is more information. "Calvin Graves, state legislator, was born on January 3, 1804 in Caswell County, the son of Azariah and Elizabeth Williams Graves. The son and grandson of state legislators, Graves was sent to Bingham School, for his education. In 1823 he entered the University of North Carolina, before withdrawing a year later to study law with his brother-in-law Thomas Settle. Shortly thereafter, Graves left Settle for the tutelage of Leonard Henderson. He studied with Henderson until he was admitted to the state bar in 1827. "Graves opened a law practice in Yanceyville, which he operated until entering politics as a Caswell County delegate to the North Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1835. Five years later he was elected from Caswell County to the General Assembly, the first session to meet in the newly constructed state capitol building. Reelected to the house in 1844-1845, he was elected to the state senate in 1846, where he served two consecutive terms. "Graves was appointed speaker of the senate in 1848, and in the following session cast the deciding vote on whether to allow the expansion of railroads within the state. Going against his party's wishes, Graves voted to approve the east-west North Carolina Railroad confident that North Carolina's economic future was at stake. The courageous move cost him his political career. After leaving the assembly in 1849, Graves joined Governor John Motley Morehead on a tour of the state to drum up support for the railroad. Governor Charles Manly later appointed him a commissioner on the Board of Internal Improvements as a result, and in 1854 he was reappointed to the board by Governor David S. Reid. "Aside from politics, Graves held strong beliefs in the importance of religion. He supported the construction of Dorothea Dix's proposed insane asylum on moral and religious grounds, and was as a trustee of Wake Forest College from 1844 to 1862. In 1858 his wife, Elizabeth Lea Graves, died after a two-year illness. Graves subsequently retired to his plantation, Locust Hill, and focused his energy on agricultural pursuits. With Elizabeth Graves he fathered two sons and two daughters. He remarried in the early 1860s to Mary Wilson Lea, his first wife's niece, but had no further children. He died on February 11, 1877, and is buried in the family cemetery near Yanceyville." This is marker number G-43. It was erected in 1948 by the Archives, Conservation, and Highway Departments. [Review 2480 of 2024 - 3934 in North Carolina - 23492 overall]

Easy access to this visitor center off highway. Nice place for stretch break and clean bathrooms.read more

This is a wonderful visitor center a bit off the highway. Clean restroom and lovely gift shop and…read moregarden- worth the stop!!

This marker is along US-158 just outside Leasburg. It points out the history of someone who was…read moreborn here and went on to serve in government both in the United States and the Confederacy. The marker reads, "Jacob Thompson. Secretary of Interior, 1857-1861, Confederate secret agent in Canada, U.S. Representative from Mississippi. Birthplace stands 100 yds. southeast." Online, there is more information. "Jacob Thompson played a little remembered role in the Civil War. Appointed a Confederate ambassador to Canada, he operated a spy network and helped orchestrate several failed schemes to attack the United States from across the Great Lakes." There is some room to pull over here to read the marker. [Review 2475 of 2024 - 3929 in North Carolina - 23487 overall]

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 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.]