A Road to the Past

At the southwest corner of Hillsborough and Dawson in Downtown Raleigh L. O'B. Branch. Full name: Lawrence O'Bryan Branch. Also not one of my best pictures (granted, it was definitely one of the first pictures I took when I initially conceived the idea for this blog). Anyways, Branch was born on November 28, 1820, in Enfield, North Carolina, the youngest of six children. I initially thought he was a bit of an obscure character, as I couldn't find a lot of online-based sources discussing his biography. But I was wrong! This post ended up being pretty fun to research! However, I'll be using some book sources to support my discussion, and they are cited as the following: The Battle of Hanover Court House: Turning Point of the Peninsula Campaign, May 27, 1862 , by Michael C. Hardy Letters of Lawrence O'Bryan Branch , edited by A.R. Newsome (when I cite the pages for this one, it's the page number of the larger journal, not of this specific article) The Publ

Near the southeastern corner at the intersection of  Churton Street and Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC Billy Strayhorn! The cool this about this blog is that I discover things I never knew, even about the area I grew up in for years. This post is definitely one of those. It was enjoyable to write, because I got to listen to good jazz music while doing it😀 Billy Strayhorn ( Source ) Billy Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio, on November 29, 1915, and he and his family moved to Pittsburgh shortly thereafter. So why did I find a sign on him here in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and not in Dayton, Ohio? Granted, I don't know whether a sign on him exists at all in Dayton, but I believe if I searched for one, I would find one. But we do know that his mother would send him to Hillsborough for extended visits with his grandmother here, as a way to protect him from his abusive father.  It was while he would be with his grandmother, who encouraged him to play on the keyboard (he

West side of North Wilmington between East Edenton and New Bern Place in Downtown Raleigh Ok, so this may be my shortest post ever. My bad guys. The Experimental Railroad! It was a horse-drawn railroad created in 1833 mainly to move stone from a quarry to where the Capitol building now stands. The quarry was located 1.25 miles southeast of the sign, and according to a quick view of Google Maps, was located next to what is now the state's Correctional Institute for Women (makes sense, I think). It's considered one of the first railroads in operation in the state. it was not the first experimental one created; that honor goes to an experimental railroad that the NCGA chartered in 1830 across many railroads including the Fayetteville Rail Road Company. That railroad went from Fayetteville to Campbellton further up the Cape Fear River, and was also horse-drawn. Campbellton had joined with Crossed Creek to create Fayetteville in 1783 , so I don't know what Campbellton

Next to the main building of the Georgetown campus, which is near the corner of US 113 and  Bridgeville Road And we step back out of state again for this post! This may be a relatively short post (though after the last post, that may be a low bar). I found this sign on the way to the beach with relatives. My mother was amazing in letting me pull the car over to take this picture next to a building on US 113, which is a pretty rural US highway along the east coast. So thank you, Mom! And now onwards! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delaware Technical and Community College is the state's only community college , with school colors of blue and green. The College operates four campuses : the Georgetown Campus for Sussex County (where the above photo was taken), the Dover, DE, campus for Kent County, and the Stanton and Wilmington campuses for New Castle County. The College offers degrees

Just south of the southwest corner of  West Jones and North McDowell streets in downtown Raleigh This is definitely a more somber post. The Eugenics Board was a state-sponsored group that discussed the sterilization of thousands of North Carolinians, either by their choice or coercion. The sign also states that they met after 1939 one block east of the sign. Looking around there with a modern map, I don't have a lot of locations worthy of such a meeting...except that the State Legislative Building is located nearby. Most likely that's where they met, but I can't access maps of Raleigh circa 1939, so I can't confidently confirm that this was the case. Reader, you're welcome to read no further, as I will elucidate on what policies instigated the Board's existence below. This is your warning; anything below the line may cause discomfort. But I personally believe that it must be said so people know and prevent such things from happening in the future (maybe ev

Dear Readers, Thank you for bearing with me! When I started this blog, I hoped to post more frequently than I have been. A once-a-month frequency was what I expected of myself. Except that grad school happened and got in the way for a good two years. But it's nice to see that people are interested in what signs I find and what research I produce. I know some of you by name, but many of you I don't. Regardless, thank you! I have a favor to ask. When I started, I liked the idea of being able to take road trips and seeking out these signs on my own. The problem is that many states have such signs, and as much as I would like to fly out to Nevada, for example, I don't have the time or money to afford such a trip. So if you see such signs, please take pictures and send them my way! You can send them via this website (there's a contact form on the right). If you know me more personally, you probably know of other methods of communication. Regardless, I can't do this o

North side of campus, between University Hall and Bancroft Street. Credit: Bradley Menard The University of Toledo! We're taking a side trip quickly up to Ohio to give us a break from all things North Carolina. For now. I got plenty of Carolina afterwards. Thanks, Bradley, for the picture! I know my request was sudden, but it's not easy to travel to all these markers myself! Note: I couldn't find a lot of sources and stories on this post. So this will be more like a timeline and less like a story about a university in Ohio (I'd prefer the latter, if I could, and I know many readers would agree with me). So help me out and send me some more interesting history/information! EDIT: A source told me that if you ever visit Toledo, eat all the Middle Eastern food, go visit the zoo (second best in the country!) and check out the art museum. See?? The Midwest is interesting! It's not just cornfields! Go Rockets! ( Source ) University of Toledo! In...well, To

So as you, my few readers, may have noticed, I just posted about Duke University of Durham, North Carolina. If you are from the Tobacco Road area, you are very familiar with the rivalry between Duke and UNC, which I discussed a bit on my very first post of this blog. Even if you aren't from the Chapel Hill-Durham area, you've heard of this rivalry, especially during basketball season. It's in the air we breathe around here. So without further ado, I bring you: ( Source ) THE UNC - DUKE RIVALRY ( Source ) [By the way, the color used to highlight UNC is the WRONG color. Technically, the blue used for Duke is also wrong, but they're more willing to use royal blue as "Duke blue". However, "Duke blue" is a different, darker shade of blue than royal blue. Fun fact.] So the first matchup between the two schools happened in basketball on January 24, 1920 . That's all that started it. That, and the fact that there two distinctly diffe

Duke University - west corner of Campus Drive, the main drive entrance to East Campus Ahh...Duke University. THAT school. All I have to say is GTHD! GO HEELS! Alright, enough of rivalry. On to the point of this post. BTW, long one ahead: there's a lot towards this one. Source: Duke University Wikipedia Page Duke University is in Durham, North Carolina. It's home to the Blue Devils, Eruditio et Religio, a championship Division 1 men's basketball team (which I hate to admit sometimes), and a damn good education. It's private, so unlike the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (go Heels, y'all), it has more out-of-state students than UNC. Which isn't a good or bad thing; it's just what it is. Beautiful campus though! Da Blue Devils...ew ( Source ) While the sign mentions Trinity College, its very first incarnation was a subscription school founded by a group of Methodist and Quaker families in 1838 (sidenote - subscription