The memorial is comprised of a central fountain surrounded by four granite pillars. The eleven-foot…read moretall pillars are inscribed with the names of the 788 North Carolinians who were killed or listed as missing in action during the Korean War. Too many names. There is ample parking as the memorial is part of the Mint Hill Veterans Memorial Park but is separate. The memorial grounds are handicapped accessible. [Review 307 of 2024 - 3563 in North Carolina - 21341 overall]

Very cool urban "archaeological" find...nobody but locals "in the know" seem to be aware it's even…read morethere! Found out about it from the very nice & informative bartender at Dust Off Brewing (check out doing to the YoCo Brew Trail; check into 6 breweries on the app & get a t-shirt). He couldn't quite remember how to get to it, but after some intensive research, found the geo coordinates. That was honestly the only way to find this place, plus a little guts & guesswork. You can quasi see some portion of the rockwork of the ruinous remains from the paved Riverwalk trail. The "easiest" way to get to the ruins is to follow the Riverwalk Piedmont Medical Center Trail to just before mile marker 1.25; you will see this steep wooden thing with awkwardly placed planks. You basically have to rock-wall climb your way up. From there you are on a mountain biking trail. Follow the arrows for just over a quarter mile and you will see some indicators of the ruins before they open up in front of you. You will most likely have the place to yourself. Really cool to wander around and take it all in. Just be careful with holes and don't walk on or within the actual ruins as they are pretty sketch & unsteady. There are spiders, snakes, and flying insects galore, so put on repellent and stay vigilant cuz it is deep woods! You can either get back down the way you came; I found this gray rock slope that I found easier to navigate than sliding down the wood thing I climbed up. Either way, really neat find and I'm so glad I explored to find it! The paved walkway along the Catawba is also a nice walk to and from!

The James K. Polk Historic Site is a neat little historical attraction approximately thirty minutes…read moreoutside of Charlotte. It is the location of Polk's North Carolina childhood home. There is a small visitors center with a museum detailing Polk's times, his campaign, and the events of his administration, which included the entrance of several new states and the Mexican-American War. I can almost guarantee that you will learn something new about President Polk, especially since he and so many of his era are forgotten to popular history. Adjacent to the museum there are several log cabins and structures which have been reconstructed to depict what the Polk homestead would have looked like in its day. While these structures sit on the original site, you may want to know that they are recreations only and not the originals. Guided tours are typically offered but were unavailable at the time of our visit due to COVID restrictions. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly and the grounds were well kept. The James K. Polk Historic Site is an interesting little slice of history. It's nothing you would plan a trip around, but if you are in Charlotte or passing through, I'd recommend it to any history lover.

The employee who did our tour was very knowledgeable. And it was only $4. So just do it. I love…read morevisiting different historical places and learning about the times before. It's not a huge place but held a great deal of information. Definitely worth stopping in if you're in the area.

We did a history, graveyard walking tour. Our tour guide was great informative and very animated…read more We learned a lot about the history of this particular graveyard. For instants, the gravesites/stones that we saw where from the graves a wealthy people. They were buried on top and then the grave started trickling down to what they believe is layers and layers and layers surrounding the cemetery. They are at sidewalk level, what they believe is that the poor people were buried on top of each other, they don't know how deep or how many are buried there. I went back the next day to get some better pictures, I WOULD recommend a tour of this place to get the history.

Very historical and interesting for sure, lots of older souls to see. Hope you get the same resultread more

This marker is located along Charlotte Ave near the Gateway Park. The marker points out the nearby…read morebirthplace of an important jurist. The marker reads, "John J. Parker, 1885-1958. Chief judge, United States Fourth Circuit, 1931-58; alternate member, Nuremberg tribunal, 1945-46. He was born one block southeast." Online, there is more information. "John Johnston Parker, jurist, was born in Monroe to John and Frances Parker. His brother Samuel I. Parker was a decorated hero of World War I. At the University of North Carolina (B.A., 1907; law degree, 1908), young Parker was a student government leader and prize-winning orator. After one year of practice in Greensboro, he returned to his hometown where he married Maria Moffitt in 1910. In that same year, at age twenty-four, Republican Parker ran for a U.S. House seat." "In 1925 Parker was appointed judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, comprising North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. During his thirty-two years as an appellate judge, Parker heard over 4,000 arguments and wrote opinions in approximately 1,500 cases." "In 1945, Parker was named the alternate judge for the United States in the Nuremberg war crimes trials. (Each of four nations--the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union--sent a judge, an alternate, and a prosecutor.) Parker believed that his role at Nuremberg was to insure that the trial was conducted in a manner acceptable to members of the American bar." "Judge Parker was long active in professional organizations. In addition, he was the recipient of several honorary degrees, a UNC trustee from 1921 to 1958, and a member of state constitutional conventions in 1931 and 1958. A devout Episcopalian, he was chairman of Billy Graham's 1957 Charlotte Crusade. At his death he was the senior appellate judge in the nation. He is buried in Charlotte." [Review 15448 overall, 952 of 2021, number 2995 in North Carolina.]

Located on a high pole just outside the main entrance to the large hospital, this marker points out…read morethe World War II history of the area. It reads, "Camp Sutton. World War II army camp, trained 13,000 engineers. Named for R.C.A.F. pilot Frank Sutton of Monroe, killed December 7, 1941. Camp was here." Online, there is more information. " Soon after the United States entered World War II in December 1941, North Carolina assumed a prominent role in preparing the country's armed forces for duty overseas. Along with Camp Butner, Camp Davis, and Fort Bragg, Camp Sutton was among the largest military training facilities in North Carolina (and the nation) during the war." "Camp Sutton was organized as a training site for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and opened as a temporary "tent" camp in the spring of 1942. The base covered 2,296 acres about three miles east of Monroe in Union County. Located on U.S. Highway 74, Sutton was naturally divided into two halves by Richardson's Creek, and a railroad line also ran through the camp." "The installation was named in honor of Frank H. Sutton, a Monroe native who was killed over Libya in 1941 while serving as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force." "Camp Sutton was deactivated in January 1945, but the last of the German POWs were not shipped out until the spring of 1946 (nearly a year after the war ended). After the war, buildings on the property housed facilities used to treat polio patients." [Review 15430 overall, 934 of 2021, number 2978 in North Carolina.]

This marker alongside the road denotes a historic school that sadly no longer exists. This is a…read morecounty marker rather than a state one, so it's not in the state database. The marker reads, "Site of Plato Price School 1915-1966. Mecklenburg County school for African Americans, Greads 1-12. Notable attendees included Philip P. Berry, Chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, and U.S. Congressman Mel Watt. Erected September 2006." Congressman Watt was my Congressman for a period of time until he stepped down to take an administrative role in the Obama administration. [Review 12963 overall, 279 of 2020.]

South Carolina is part of the South and as happened in much of the South during the 1960's, there…read morewas a fight for civil rights and equality for black citizens. One of those fights happened here in Rock Hill and this marker remembers the circumstances. On one side, "This building, built in 1901, was occupied by McCrory's Five & Dime from 1937 to 1997. On February 12, 1960, black students from Friendship Jr. College in Rock Hill were denied service at the McCrory's lunch counter but refused to leave. Their "sit-in" was one of the first of many calling attention to segregated public places in downtown Rock Hill. These protests lasted for more than a year." On the other side, "Many Rock Hill protesters were arrested, convicted, and fined. On January 31, 1961, ten students from Friendship Jr. College were arrested when they refused to leave McCrory's. Nine would not pay their fines and became the first Civil Rights sit-in protesters in the nation to serve jail time. This new "Jail No Bail" strategy by "the Friendship Nine" was soon adopted as the model strategy for the Freedom Rides of 1961." The marker was erected in 2007 by the Culture and Heritage Museums of York County and the City of Rock Hill. McCrory Stores was a chain of stores based in York, Pennsylvania (no relation to York County, South Carolina). Founded in 1882, it was acquired by Ames Stores in 1989. Ames became defunct in 2002. [Review 13022 overall, 339 of 2020.]