I found a small but cared for monument overlooking a small fishing creek. The inscription was to honor a young man who died while working away from home by his devoted father. Both have been passed for almost 100 years but the marker is still present and cared for.
I was wrong about the 100 years. The son passed away in 1943. "Pvt Norman E Wasley of the 341st engineers Co. D." Monument located on Lincoln Road in Bristol VT.
My Dad worked in the Texas Highway Department Tourist industry for 37 years. He had the Historical Marker Department make up a gag marker for a friend that operated a tourist destination. It read "On this spot in 1836 during the war for Texas Independence....nothing happened".
Someone else in the comments mentioned that there seems to be a historical marker in Texas almost every 100 yards. So your comment ties in with that nicely.
There is one in a park in Grover's Mill, New Jersey that essentially commemorates that on October 30, 1938, nothing happened there... although across the country many people DID think something happened in Grover's Mill that misty fall evening.
Many yrs ago, my love of history was reignited by an undergrad history class. Our term project: find and photograph six NY state (blue/gold) historic markers, from which choose one to do a deep dive analysis of the event and why it was important to remember same. At the time, a sullen teenager, I probably thought the task 'boring', but it turned out to be anything but. I still fondly remember the teacher, his ability to make history come alive, and how he encouraged our efforts. His little term project restored my love of history, and how it surrounds us - every moment - if only we open our eyes, ears, and minds. That's what I love about this channel as well. Thank you History Guy!
When we first moved to the Asheville, NC area we spotted a historic marker on Charlotte St that spoke about one of my wife’s ancestors. It’s amazing what you can find if you take the time to look.
Vacations as a boy (parents, sibs, station wagon nation wide) Dad would always stop at every "hysterical marker" as he called them. Great cultural feature for citizens and foreign visitors.
My dad also. He'd stop at all of them. ALL. OF. THEM. As a kid just wanting to go on vacation it was frustrating. We joked that he'd even stop for a sign that said, "George Washington Pissed Here." Until one day we found a sign that said something very close to that.
heh I did the same myself. Did you notice how birth markers seem to be placed two miles from where people were actually born? That just struck me as consistently odd.
Glad I wasn't the only one doing that, I had to pause, read then go back a bit to listen. Some of the blue plaques shown were from here in the uk, We have one in Helston for Bob Fitzsimmons, the local coal man that went on to become a boxing legend, it was the first marker I remember seeing, now we have quite a few more scattered around the place.
I did the same. I even opened up another window, which allowed me to pause this video and do some quick research on some of the markers displayed here. I have never been one to seek out historical markers but if I happen to see one, I'll take the time to stop and read it.
My wife and I have driven semi for about 20 years and she loves stopping at rest areas and things like this read these plaques I was not like her about understanding and why we should know those things but through the years she helped me understand exactly what the history guy is talking about history cannot be erased we have to remember there is a lot of importance to knowing those things and make us powerful and appreciate those individuals awesome awesome again never disappointed I'm listening to the history guy thank you
It's amazing how little out of the way places contain history that at one time was news but now is pretty much forgotten. If it weren't for these markers it would be. Thanks History Guy for keeping history alive and more important interesting!
Never ignore historical moments you can find out a lot of history and stand in the same spot or at least the same vicinity. There are some wonderful ones on the interstate rest areas on the way to Washington and Oregon from right here in Ogden Utah. Wonderful content as always sir!
As a GI, had the privilege of traveling around the world (multiple times). We have a real love and appreciation for America and what it offers individuals. Wife and I are retired now, living in central MO, we travel the US via motorcycle, working our way through “the list”. Key West was latest conquest. We almost always pull off to checkout whatever is documented. Great episode to add context for our travels. Cheers
What (another) enjoyable history lessen! I want to publicly state here my profound appreciation for my parents, Dee and Ann Roberson. I was an only child born late in life to them. For some reason maybe having to do with older parents and very likely also due to living in a remote part of central Arizona, I developed a keen interest in two things, historical markers and old highway or road alignment ts. My deep appreciation to my parents who usually stopped when a historical marker came along even when it slowed progress down on the trip. Thanks Dad and Mom for nurturing a life-long passion and care for the past!
FYI, the New York markers are painted with Rustoleum #7727 Royal Blue and #7747 Sunburst Yellow, should you feel led to wire brush and repaint a marker.
I appreciate these and have even repaired , cleaned, and cleared up the surrounding area of the sign so they can be seen. Being in the lower Hudson Valley New York, these are all over the place. I almost feel like George Washington thanks me when I take care of his history.
Great episode sir! This past November and October my wife and I took a trip following Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica Pier. 7 weeks on the road and thousands of photos we collected hundreds of images that had these markers. I got interested in the history of some and started researching to see if we could do a US road trip to see them all. We are in our 70s and so that's not going to happen. It would take a lifetime to see anywhere near all of them. Thanks for your dedication to History!
@@orbyfan Funny thing about that, there are a couple of UA-camrs, Adam the Woo and The Carpetbagger, who were driving Route 66 from west to east at the same time as I was driving it from east to west.
Several years ago, I purchased a book, yes a book, that included every historical marker in the State of Georgia, where they were located & what they said. This was before the age of the internet, but I still use the book. I have loved history, especially where I came from & when making plans for a vacation, I would always look up & sometimes write to places of interest in order to know as much about a place before my visit. I have even stopped to read the markers, if the traffic was not too bad & the same goes for the weather too. Thank you History Guy for all of your research & sharing what some still hate to look into & that is about our history & that of others' too.
What was the name of the bool, if you don't mind? I'm from Georgia and would like to get a copy and do some day trips or weekends with our grandson. I don't like to rely on my phone as there are many of the more rural areas of the state that we do not have network coverage. I would hate to get close to one and not be able to find it for some reason. Thanks!
I wrote the text for an historic marker in the small town of Wellesley, Ontario. We had just completed building a walking trail along the old mill pond, and decided to record some of the historical research I had done for the opening ceremonies. My contribution to telling the story!
Many states have web sites on historic markets I have read nearly all in my state of NH. Love your videos thanks to you and your family for daily history information so we do not repeat the same mistakes deasarves to be remembered !
My favorite historical marker in my hometown is this little forgotten marker next to a brush covered gully overlooking the river. Its where a Spanish expedition "discovered" the valley where I live for the first time. I'm sure that was a surprise to the Utes who were already living there.
As a member in good standing of the ancient and honorable order of E Clampus Vitus, I am proud to say I have been part of plaquing several sites and buildings. From a brothel, to an Oddfellows Hall, to the location of an unspeakable massacre of innocent Natives. The research involved to make sure the information is accurate is painstaking. The party and celebration of the plaque is always a good time. Knowing that I'm helping history be remembered is most "satisfactory" ✊️
I am so thankful you think beyond the obvious to give credit to the obvious. Markers are indeed there for a reason. A starting point for the reader to explore more.
This is one of your all-time best posts! I cannot count all the times I stop and read one of these markers, from Gettysburg to the West coast. Thank you to all that created the markers, and to you for reminding me of them!
Ebenezer Scrooge's first name is derived from a Hebrew word meaning, "stone of help" and refers to a stele that was erected to commemorate God's help to the Israelite's victory over the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7, verse 12)
My wife would always voice her displeasure when I went into a 'Tokyo Drift' to get to a marker on the other side of the road. She had no appreciation of history. 😂
I remember that in the mid 70's I unexpectedly saw a humble marker on a stone near a little league field in Oregon City, Oregon that proclaimed the end of the Oregon Trail. That is quite a contrast to the huge arch in St. Louis that hails as the beginning of the trail.
I used to drive past the "Arnold's Flight" historical marker everyday on highway 9D near Garrison, NY. The sign reads: "At Beverley Dock at the foot of this lane, Arnold, exposed as a traitor, fled by boat to the British ship Vulture off Croton Point." Benedict Arnold was in charge of West Point at the time his treason was revealed to George Washington and Garrison is on the east side of the Hudson River. I'm not sure why he was living on the opposite side of the river from West Point. I suspect most people have no clue what the sign is about because the name Benedict does not appear on it.
@@jcksnghst You're right. It's a shame more people don't take an interest in it. Mr Burke, my 5th grade history teacher took us on a field trip to several spots in the area. We walked down that lane to the place where Benedict Arnold got on board that boat. It's just north of the Bear Mountain Bridge. There are so many of those blue historical markers in the area that people don't even notice them.
I grew up near Raynham Hall, a site integral to the discovery of Arnold and Andre's plot. Also, on the topic, the Saratoga Battlefield has a monument to a boot rather than the individual to whom it was attached. The name that shall not be spoken.
So glad I came across this particular episode. Thank you for the information and also helpful links to connect with the community and history I live around and add to.
"To the expert student in our great science, history is a frog; half of it is submerged, but he knows it is there, and he knows the shape of it." Mark Twain. Thanks History Guy, for being the expert student, and for sharing.
Growing up along the shores of Lake Erie, I have read numerous markers. Many of them speak to events and places that The Lake has since eroded away or happened near shore at the time, but is now a mile or more out from where the shore currently is. They have always been interesting for me to read.
;Growing up we took many Sunday drives to Gran Quivira in New Mexico (at 515) to explore the ruins near our home, Sure brings back fond memories. Thank you very much for including it. Plenty of history to remember there.
The 1st and 2nd Battles of Bull Run or Manassas Va. use to have a plaque trail with push button audio recordings of different points in the battles. As a pre-teen in the early 80s I use to ride my bike there in the summer and spend all day riding the trails and pushing the buttons and listening to the stories. By the end of the 2nd summer I knew all of the recordings by heart. From the Stone Bridge to Henry Hill to Gen. Bee Giving Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson his name I knew almost as much as the Park Rangers.
We went there with the YMCA camping program I used to get roped into going on every year. My Mom liked a vacation from me every year. That was always an adventure because it was run by disorganized college students. I was there in the 70s and don't remember any talking signs. But it was an awfully long time ago now. I vaguely remember we got a guided tour of one of the battlefields. Pretty country as I can recall.
@@1pcfred I contacted the Manassas battlefield to confirm that I was correct there were 7 postmarkers around the battlefield As of 93 they are no longer there because of cause of old age and they stopped functioning
I grew up in Mansfield, Connecticut and in elementary school there was a lot of emphasis on local history. For example, everyone knew about the historic marker on a back road by a mill pond that said it was the site of the first silk mill in America, built by the Hanks brothers. The marker also said that the actual building had been preserved at Deerfield Village. There was a triangle of grass with a streetlight on in where two roads met that was where the school bus stopped to pick us up, and near its center was a stone carved into a steep pyramid, about knee-high. One day as I waited for the bus, I wandered over to get a better look at the stone. Engraved on one face is said "Erected on this site in (I forget the year) was the first Methodist Church in the New World." They never mentioned that in history class. If anyone wants to see if that's still there, and maybe clean it, it was at the intersection of Wormood Hill Road and Gurleyville Road in Mansfield, Connecticut. (It appears to still be there on Google Maps.)
A few years ago I drove across Texas and it seemed like there were historical makers every few hundred yards. I did get to stop and read a few of them.
One of the coolest historical markers I've come across was MILES down this extremely long road in west Texas. It was located right before that road became a very, very long dirt road. The marker was for a one room school house on Alameda creek about 40 miles outside of Marfa. I bet not even 75 people see it in a year, and most of those people live out on ranches there. That school house is filled with sand and probably any number of critters. It was a special experience.
My wife and infant son and I were totally lost in northern France, driving along on a lovely tree shaded back road out in the country on a beautiful summer afternoon, when we pulled over to take a break and study the map by a short stone tower, and there, by the side of the road , was a historical marker that informed us that we were on the site of the Battle of Agincourt. It looked EXACTLY as it is described in literature, ( minus the battle ) but it seemed to be not much larger than the playground in my home town in New Jersey. Nobody there but us and the critters and plants, if there were any ghosts, they left us in peace.
Disappointed in myself that after getting a degree in History, watching history be torn down for the last 3+ years and living in NH, MA, FL, VA & DC that I have never heard of NHMDay or the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. Thank you for the knowledge! I'll be out & about here in the Grand Tetons on 4/29 doing my part to help History be Remembered!
I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee on the East side of Missionary Ridge. I grew up with a clear understanding of history all around me from the Chickamauga Battlefield, to Point Park on top of Lookout Mountain. In my early career, I lived all over the eastern US, living in 18 states over 11 years. While living in Dayton, Ohio, I wanted to see the locations that were important in the history of the Wright Brothers. The original bicycle shop was taken apart and rebuilt in the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. The historic marker locating the spot of the old shop is hard to find, and in a rough section of town. I was fortunate enough to find the old Wright house, and three hangars where Wright Flyers were built for the US Army Air Corps. These curved wooden beam buildings were part of DELPHI Automotive "Home Avenue" plant across the Miami River from downtown. There were historical markers in front of them. The plant is now closed, and I am not sure there is access to these old hangars anymore.
Fantastic episode! I am a historical marker buff.. I grew up in Dartmouth Massachusetts in a house that was built in the 1700's and I became fascinated with historical markers. At about 16 years old I was sitting on a bridge in New Bedford Massachusetts and walked over to read the historical marker that was the site of the First Colonial officer killed in the revolution, while defending the bridge. After that it's been a never-ending stop the vehicle and read the historical markers
I own a tiny cottage directly related to the Roscommon Lumber Company marker (6:32). It belonged to the foreman of the logging company on my lake. They'd run the logs up the lake to the Muskegon River.
This is how we learned Idaho and national history. My dad loved history so growing up, every vacation we took, my parents made it a point to stop at all the historical markers that we didn't know or have stopped at previously. Afterwards, we would talk about it & be quizzed. To date, I still stop at markers.
Speaking of historical signage how about a lesson on Burma Shave signs? My husband worked in a restaurant here in Indiana and the owner managed to get his hands on a bunch of old signs and have them mounted on the cathedral ceiling. There are also a few still on the highway encouraging people to stop in the restaurant. Pretty interesting bit of History…Guy! Thanks for sharing!
My favorite marker is a small granite stone in the ground at the site of Fort Nonsense in Joliet, IL. It is in front of the school where I taught for 30 years.
My mother in law has a "Historical marker" book for Texas. Every time we went on a trip (for a few years) she would make us stop and read every one she saw in the book on the way. sometimes made a 2 hour trip into double that ;-) Thanks for the reminder about them and for sharing your vast experience and knowledge with us.
On a whim, several years ago I stopped at every marker on the Old Camino Real along a 20 mile stretch of Texas Highway 21 in Northeast Texas that ran from Nacogdoches, TX to San Antonio. I was surprised at the number of historical markers along that short stretch besides those marking the King’s Highway. Thank you for all your videos, I learn something new every time.
Liked the video. It was nice to hear again about Ezra Meeker. I grew up in a town he helped establish: Puyallup, WA. There are tours of his mansion and he is buried in the cemetary overlooking Puyallup valley.
Knowing THG's affection for the United States Coast Guard it's a pity that he didn't know about the blue plaque that we have here in Poole, Dorset, to the men of USCG Rescue Flotilla 1, who saved nearly 1,500 lives during Operation Overlord.
I always pull over and read them if circumstances permit. And back when I used to go on; and set up, road rallys they were a great source for clues ! 👍😎
Living in a small "historic" village of only a few square miles in upstate ny we have a very high number of these. Some new some in desperate need of some attention. As someone who paints vehicles for a living I always have a fleeting thought of taking their care into my own hands. I should make a project of counting these with my daughter. Many are portals in the ingress game.
I can hear my wife's eyes rolling right now!😹 it was not one of the great joys of our courtship that I would stop at every historic marker I came across. Thankfully there are apps now which use your location to show you what historic event took place without having to actually pull over, so we have compromised.
I like to travel solo on my motorcycle. That way I can travel along easily on the backroads and take it all it. I stop and read markers and see what might be there to enhance the visit. Also stopping in the small towns and just browse around and chat with the locals will gain you more knowledge of the area, and quite often more places of interest to explore. It can be done by car and with a companion that shares your desire for this type of travel. My mother lived four hundred miles away from me, and every October I ran over and stayed with her for a week. That week saw much travel and explore missions by the two of us. Mom passed away at age 103 several years back. I really miss her and our October expedition week.
@@ronfullerton3162 My 89-year-old dad has moved to Saint John, NB. I went down to visit with a friend, taking the opportunity to do a fort tour. We managed to get in 14 forts over 9 days of travel, although admittedly, some "forts" were little more than a blockhouse and an historic plaque.
@@michaelmanning5379 Even when there isn't much left, it is still not only a good stop and time well spent, but that chance to reflect upon the past. Every year there is a day long trip that I try to take. Many fun and interesting stops to make, but one is very touching to my heart. Fort McPherson in Nebraska. Nothing left at the site of the fort but historical monuments and markers. The real moving location is a little ways down the road at the cemetery. Graves from the Indian conflicts right up to recent conflicts. Hard to walk along and read the markers of all those veterans. This is just a few miles off of I-80 east of North Platte. But there is so much viewing on the back roads getting there. There are other forts in the area, some rebuilt and others with partial remains. I return to several of them from time to time. Going by backroads of course! Such an enjoyable trip.
My area in Western Pennsylvania is dotted with historic markers noting the military actions of George Washington when he was a young man. I'm indebted to them for sparking my interest in history.
I grew up not far from Morristown, New Jersey so around there every other tree it was claimed George Washington hitched his horse to it at one time, or another. Which lead to some off color jokes about the guy sleeping around a lot. In the town next door they even split a road around one such tree. I wonder if that tree is still alive? Damnedest thing you've ever seen though. A tree smack dab in the middle of the road.
I have stopped and read nanny of these markers in they US and abroad. Never thought these markers had so much history themselves. Unfortunately some critics have to bring the race issue, which never occurred to those in the past when trying to preserve history as what it is; history that n needs to be rememberred. Well done.
When my sibs and I were growing up my dad would stop and read every historical marker on family outings and vacations. Some markers’ information we memorized and would say along with Dad when we stopped at certain markers Every. Single. Time. It was a family joke. However, as we got older and had families of our own the five of us found ourselves stopping by markers with our own kids and reading/saying by heart the words of the markers to them. When Dad died the five of us recited the words of the three markers that we always had to stop at -Mississippian Marble, Remanants of an Inland Sea and The Meeting of Two Glaciers-on the way to our family’s favorite campsite up Utah’s Big Cottonwood Canyon over Dad’s grave. Some of the older grandkids joined in with us. Now some of us have grandkids and we are carrying on Dad’s tradition. When my family and I travel in the US and in foreign countries we find ourselves trying to find and read historical markers wherever we go. Thanks to Google Translate we can enjoy markers in foreign languages that we don’t already know, especially if a different alphabets are used. The UK has the most and the best historical markers program-especially in London and it’s environs. I’ve personally learned so much from historical markers that bring “history that deserves to be remembered” to life because I’ve learned so much more about a particular place and it’s people than if I’d just read a book or even picked up a pamphlet about local places of interest. Many thanks History Guy for this episode! You’re the best!
Watching your video got me wondering about something you and I were old enough to remember; the burma shave signs. I would love a video about that if you have time.
My favorite historical marker is located in Manton, Michigan and denotes the battle for political power in Wexford County. The marker reads: Battle of Manton In 1881 Manton became the Wexford County seat as a result of a compromise between Cadillac and Sherman. Those towns had quarreled over the issue for years. Cadillac partisans renewed the feud and won the county seat at an election in April, 1882. After the election a sheriff's posse left Cadillac for Manton by special train to seize the county records. An angry crowd confronted the Cadillac men and drove them out of town. Collecting several hundred lumbermen, a supply of whiskey and a brass band, the sheriff returned to demand the records. Manton residence barricaded the courthouse, but the posse broke through the doors and windows and returned to Cadillac triumphant. Cadillac was victorious, but the battle of Manton left injured and hard feelings.
In the 1980s, I worked for Parks Canada and created the first computer database of National Historic Sites and Monuments in the province of Ontario. All the nearly 1000 locations across the country (~300 in Ontario) have markers. That does not include locations of provincial and local significance. The National Historic Sites and Monuments Board was created in 1919, but there would have been markers pre-dating this year. Fun fact: I created the dBase3 database on the Ontario office's first personal computer with a hard drive (an IBM AT with a 10MB HD) and I had to go to another floor to use it. People would always come by and ask me what I was doing.
We must remember our nations history. We must educate our children and grandchildren. I've traveled all over the world and other countries keep historical markers up and hold tours. As Americans we must do the same so we do not repeat history.
The museum I work at has a marker that came with the fire tower we have (the fire tower was replaced so our museum got it and it's old sign). It's super neat because while I've seen a million of them from the road this was the first time I saw one of the oldest ones upfront. It was one of the first put up in New York by the DEC. There are a ton of little details with some beavers, hemlock, and sugar maple on the edges of the sign, all symbols of New York state.
I grew up in Phillips county AR. The northwest corner has a marker out in the swamp off Hwy 49 that says it was determined by a east-west line from the mouth of the St. Francis river and North-south from the mouth of the Arkansas river and that this point was used to survey the entire Louisiana Purchase.
Anyone would have a hard time convincing me that there is still a desire to preserve and remember our shared history. In recent years the destruction of monuments and other historical sights have been removed or destroyed. While not all monuments and historical artifacts reflect good intentions or policies of those who have come before us it is still our history, and all history should be remembered.
I live in Broome County, NY. It's about 180 miles Northwest of NYC. I love historical markers. We have quite a few here and I'm sure that I haven't seen them all. Just gotta keep my eyes open.
I sometimes drive on the road that was used for the Bataan Death March here in the Philippines. Along every kilometer of that road there is a marker commemorating that awful event.
Just noticed a marker was put up across the street from my shop denoting the street's namesake Barin Field, an auxiliary airfield of Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL that served as major cornerstone of pilot training during WWII. During the war the field became known as "Bloody Barin" due to it having the highest fatalities of any Navy/Army airfields. The field is much smaller today but the Navy still uses it as I have training aircraft flying at treetop level throughout the workday which may get annoying to some but I've always found cool.
AS ALWAYS THE HISTORY GUY, AN EXCELLENT VIDEO!! I wasn't aware that the history of historical markers went back as far as it did. A comment from a Texan said that there seemed to be a marker every hundred yards. It's same in Gettysburg, Pa. From the edge of town to the battlefield is a marker honoring an event before, during, and, after the battle. 🌞🌞🌞✌✌✌✌
6/18/2024 This video just goes to show that all "History Deserves to be Remembered", no matter how small, local, or seemingly unimportant. Without these SIGNS and plaques much of history is forgotten, quite quickly.
Well-done, THG! The late journalist Charles Kuralt liked to point-out that the Interstate Highway System makes it possible to traverse the whole of the United States, & NOT SEE ANYTHING. So if you can't hook-up with one of the guided Historical tours, then I'd recommend that on your next long road trip, stay off the Interstates as much as you can!. Take the two-lane State Roads, & build enough slack into your schedule that when you see that tell-tale sign, "Historical Marker Ahead," Stop & read it!
As always, I enjoyed your video, but this one almost made me fall out of my chair. At 8:44 you included the Lincoln in Lawrenceville historical marker, in my hometown. I travel all over the eastern half of the U.S. and have often stopped and read and photographed them. Thank you for your videos!
Most of our markers in New Jersey were put up by various historical commissions and societies at the county or municipal level. But there are a few state sponsored markers scattered around the state. They were put out by the New Jersey Commission on Historic Sites. They are quite elaborate, and are made of white metal. I'm guessing they date to sometime in the 1920s, or possibly the 30s. I have no idea how many exist in total, but I have only found 9 in the southern counties, so far.
Thanks for including the Henry Clay’s Birthplace marker. I live about 2 miles down the road from it. Our county emblem has long contained the words “Birthplace of Patrick Henry and Henry Clay.”
There is a New Yorker cartoon that is very popular with my family because my late father loved to collect extremely minute details of historical events and would insist on dominating conversions in order to tell everyone about them. The cartoon shows a winding mountain road where a family has pulled over to inspect a roadside historical marker. While the family is busy reading the marker the father looks down the road and sees a house with an old man sitting on the front porch. Next to the old man is his version of that marker that has the headline, "WHAT REALLY HAPPENED!...".
I went out to Seneca Falls, NY to check out the docks for a boat trip. Didn't know that little town was the location of the FIRST CONVENTION ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS (1848) until I saw the historic marker. Now I read all the markers.
During the lock down I tried to see every historical marker around northern nevada and California, and I do try and stop at a few when I travel. Having that time during lock down helped me learn so much about the shaping of Nevada. It’s a beautiful tragedy, one of my best friends is a Paiute/Shoshone of local Tribes out here, and he sadly didn’t know much about his own heritage but getting to learn that really brought us together. I study history not as a scholastic study but I feel it’s our collective human story that should be understood. It’s not about knowing hard dates but just understand the progressive flow of time and the developments of all Life in those periods of time. It’s just a big story that we are all included in, and its important to understand it’s flow.
In the cemetary at Frankfort Kentucky, many many markers and famous folks buried there but one marker, in front of a grave, is in Red and Gold..its the marker for LT Presley Nevill's O'bannon USMC, he was the first one to raise the U.S. flag over foreign soil when they captured Tripoli during the Barbary Wars. The Corps of Discovery departed but 2 miles from where I live on their trip to the Pacific. Many many historical sites in this area.
I live in the area of Minnesota where the Dakota conflict of 1862 started. Which led to the rest of the Indian wars out west in the 1870s and '80s. So I have all kinds of historical markers detailing the conflict around my hometown and the area and they are fascinating. Of course they were written by the victors. But either way it definitely gives you an insight to what happened in the past. On a different note also a historical marker dedicated to the Blizzard (1888- 1889?)that you spoke of in an earlier episode in my area.
I found a small but cared for monument overlooking a small fishing creek. The inscription was to honor a young man who died while working away from home by his devoted father. Both have been passed for almost 100 years but the marker is still present and cared for.
I was wrong about the 100 years. The son passed away in 1943. "Pvt Norman E Wasley of the 341st engineers Co. D." Monument located on Lincoln Road in Bristol VT.
My Dad worked in the Texas Highway Department Tourist industry for 37 years. He had the Historical Marker Department make up a gag marker for a friend that operated a tourist destination. It read "On this spot in 1836 during the war for Texas Independence....nothing happened".
Someone else in the comments mentioned that there seems to be a historical marker in Texas almost every 100 yards. So your comment ties in with that nicely.
There is one in a park in Grover's Mill, New Jersey that essentially commemorates that on October 30, 1938, nothing happened there... although across the country many people DID think something happened in Grover's Mill that misty fall evening.
Many yrs ago, my love of history was reignited by an undergrad history class. Our term project: find and photograph six NY state (blue/gold) historic markers, from which choose one to do a deep dive analysis of the event and why it was important to remember same. At the time, a sullen teenager, I probably thought the task 'boring', but it turned out to be anything but. I still fondly remember the teacher, his ability to make history come alive, and how he encouraged our efforts. His little term project restored my love of history, and how it surrounds us - every moment - if only we open our eyes, ears, and minds. That's what I love about this channel as well. Thank you History Guy!
When we first moved to the Asheville, NC area we spotted a historic marker on Charlotte St that spoke about one of my wife’s ancestors. It’s amazing what you can find if you take the time to look.
Im related to Nathanial Townsend of Texas Colony fame. He has markers and a town not far from where I live. Its cool reading about old family.
Is that the one the "woke" nitwits tried to remove? There's quite a few of them in Asheville.
I love the X on the ground where people use to jump off the building. Its Macomb and great at the same time.
Vacations as a boy (parents, sibs, station wagon nation wide) Dad would always stop at every "hysterical marker" as he called them. Great cultural feature for citizens and foreign visitors.
My dad also. He'd stop at all of them. ALL. OF. THEM.
As a kid just wanting to go on vacation it was frustrating. We joked that he'd even stop for a sign that said, "George Washington Pissed Here." Until one day we found a sign that said something very close to that.
My dad did too, now I do.
Had to pause just so I can read all the markers, This episode is a treat for history hunters like me.
heh I did the same myself. Did you notice how birth markers seem to be placed two miles from where people were actually born? That just struck me as consistently odd.
Glad I wasn't the only one doing that, I had to pause, read then go back a bit to listen. Some of the blue plaques shown were from here in the uk, We have one in Helston for Bob Fitzsimmons, the local coal man that went on to become a boxing legend, it was the first marker I remember seeing, now we have quite a few more scattered around the place.
@@1pcfred Some spots here in Texas are in private lands and are a good ten miles from the original site but yes i noticed.
@@aust1ntexas235 I don't know if everyone was born in Texas.
I did the same. I even opened up another window, which allowed me to pause this video and do some quick research on some of the markers displayed here. I have never been one to seek out historical markers but if I happen to see one, I'll take the time to stop and read it.
My wife and I have driven semi for about 20 years and she loves stopping at rest areas and things like this read these plaques I was not like her about understanding and why we should know those things but through the years she helped me understand exactly what the history guy is talking about history cannot be erased we have to remember there is a lot of importance to knowing those things and make us powerful and appreciate those individuals awesome awesome again never disappointed I'm listening to the history guy thank you
It's amazing how little out of the way places contain history that at one time was news but now is pretty much forgotten. If it weren't for these markers it would be. Thanks History Guy for keeping history alive and more important interesting!
Never ignore historical moments you can find out a lot of history and stand in the same spot or at least the same vicinity. There are some wonderful ones on the interstate rest areas on the way to Washington and Oregon from right here in Ogden Utah. Wonderful content as always sir!
As a GI, had the privilege of traveling around the world (multiple times). We have a real love and appreciation for America and what it offers individuals. Wife and I are retired now, living in central MO, we travel the US via motorcycle, working our way through “the list”. Key West was latest conquest. We almost always pull off to checkout whatever is documented. Great episode to add context for our travels. Cheers
Key West is an interesting place. The beach sucks though.
Can't let a mention of Key Wesy go by without noting Hemmingway's six toed cats. It is the internet, after all.
I love how you go back to ancient times to put the subject into historical perspective.
What (another) enjoyable history lessen! I want to publicly state here my profound appreciation for my parents, Dee and Ann Roberson. I was an only child born late in life to them. For some reason maybe having to do with older parents and very likely also due to living in a remote part of central Arizona, I developed a keen interest in two things, historical markers and old highway or road alignment ts. My deep appreciation to my parents who usually stopped when a historical marker came along even when it slowed progress down on the trip. Thanks Dad and Mom for nurturing a life-long passion and care for the past!
FYI, the New York markers are painted with Rustoleum #7727 Royal Blue and #7747 Sunburst Yellow, should you feel led to wire brush and repaint a marker.
I appreciate these and have even repaired , cleaned, and cleared up the surrounding area of the sign so they can be seen. Being in the lower Hudson Valley New York, these are all over the place. I almost feel like George Washington thanks me when I take care of his history.
Great episode sir! This past November and October my wife and I took a trip following Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica Pier. 7 weeks on the road and thousands of photos we collected hundreds of images that had these markers. I got interested in the history of some and started researching to see if we could do a US road trip to see them all. We are in our 70s and so that's not going to happen. It would take a lifetime to see anywhere near all of them. Thanks for your dedication to History!
Did you get your kicks on Route 66? I get the impression that it's the world's longest one-way street; no one ever seems to take it heading eastward.
That sounds like a fabulous trip. Idea: Create a website and download your images. THEN - let us know the web address here please.
@@orbyfan Funny thing about that, there are a couple of UA-camrs, Adam the Woo and The Carpetbagger, who were driving Route 66 from west to east at the same time as I was driving it from east to west.
@@JeffDeWitt So it does run both ways...thanks for the info.
Several years ago, I purchased a book, yes a book, that included every historical marker in the State of Georgia, where they were located & what they said. This was before the age of the internet, but I still use the book. I have loved history, especially where I came from & when making plans for a vacation, I would always look up & sometimes write to places of interest in order to know as much about a place before my visit. I have even stopped to read the markers, if the traffic was not too bad & the same goes for the weather too. Thank you History Guy for all of your research & sharing what some still hate to look into & that is about our history & that of others' too.
What was the name of the bool, if you don't mind? I'm from Georgia and would like to get a copy and do some day trips or weekends with our grandson. I don't like to rely on my phone as there are many of the more rural areas of the state that we do not have network coverage. I would hate to get close to one and not be able to find it for some reason. Thanks!
I used to, and wish I still did, have that great book.
I wrote the text for an historic marker in the small town of Wellesley, Ontario. We had just completed building a walking trail along the old mill pond, and decided to record some of the historical research I had done for the opening ceremonies. My contribution to telling the story!
Many states have web sites on historic markets I have read nearly all in my state of NH. Love your videos thanks to you and your family for daily history information so we do not repeat the same mistakes deasarves to be remembered !
My favorite historical marker in my hometown is this little forgotten marker next to a brush covered gully overlooking the river. Its where a Spanish expedition "discovered" the valley where I live for the first time. I'm sure that was a surprise to the Utes who were already living there.
It's needed right now more than ever. Pray will again have pride in our country and treasure our history again.
As a member in good standing of the ancient and honorable order of E Clampus Vitus, I am proud to say I have been part of plaquing several sites and buildings. From a brothel, to an Oddfellows Hall, to the location of an unspeakable massacre of innocent Natives. The research involved to make sure the information is accurate is painstaking. The party and celebration of the plaque is always a good time. Knowing that I'm helping history be remembered is most "satisfactory" ✊️
I am so thankful you think beyond the obvious to give credit to the obvious. Markers are indeed there for a reason. A starting point for the reader to explore more.
This is one of your all-time best posts! I cannot count all the times I stop and read one of these markers, from Gettysburg to the West coast. Thank you to all that created the markers, and to you for reminding me of them!
Ebenezer Scrooge's first name is derived from a Hebrew word meaning, "stone of help" and refers to a stele that was erected to commemorate God's help to the Israelite's victory over the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7, verse 12)
Great tidbit. I collect such and that is part of why I like the History Guy. A lifelong passion for history too of course. :-D
Nice how we are always made into " bad guys" in name like " Judas" and in Merchant of Venice et al.
שלום
Never drive too close behind historians and geologists, always veering off the road suddenly to look at something interesting! 😆
My wife would always voice her displeasure when I went into a 'Tokyo Drift' to get to a marker on the other side of the road. She had no appreciation of history. 😂
Or bird watchers, for that matter! Totally guilty of looking up at a hawk while driving 70 on an interstate lol
I remember that in the mid 70's I unexpectedly saw a humble marker on a stone near a little league field in Oregon City, Oregon that proclaimed the end of the Oregon Trail. That is quite a contrast to the huge arch in St. Louis that hails as the beginning of the trail.
Didn't the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon trails start in July independence, Missouri... On the opposite side of the state?
I love just finding them. Little surprises everywhere.
I used to drive past the "Arnold's Flight" historical marker everyday on highway 9D near Garrison, NY. The sign reads: "At Beverley Dock at the foot of this lane, Arnold, exposed as a traitor, fled by boat to the British ship Vulture off Croton Point." Benedict Arnold was in charge of West Point at the time his treason was revealed to George Washington and Garrison is on the east side of the Hudson River. I'm not sure why he was living on the opposite side of the river from West Point. I suspect most people have no clue what the sign is about because the name Benedict does not appear on it.
When reading the "Arnold's Flight" marker if more than one American doesn't automatically identify said marker with the traitor it's a crying shame.
@@jcksnghst You're right. It's a shame more people don't take an interest in it. Mr Burke, my 5th grade history teacher took us on a field trip to several spots in the area. We walked down that lane to the place where Benedict Arnold got on board that boat. It's just north of the Bear Mountain Bridge. There are so many of those blue historical markers in the area that people don't even notice them.
I grew up near Raynham Hall, a site integral to the discovery of Arnold and Andre's plot.
Also, on the topic, the Saratoga Battlefield has a monument to a boot rather than the individual to whom it was attached. The name that shall not be spoken.
I have always loved stopping by and reading the national hysterical markers
Some of them are pretty hysterical aren't they?
Thank you History Guy for being our historical marker.
So glad I came across this particular episode. Thank you for the information and also helpful links to connect with the community and history I live around and add to.
"Always Read the Plaque." If I see them, I read them, and that includes markers. One can learn a lot if you stop to read one in a place you're new to!
"To the expert student in our great science, history is a frog; half of it is submerged, but he knows it is there, and he knows the shape of it." Mark Twain.
Thanks History Guy, for being the expert student, and for sharing.
Growing up along the shores of Lake Erie, I have read numerous markers. Many of them speak to events and places that The Lake has since eroded away or happened near shore at the time, but is now a mile or more out from where the shore currently is. They have always been interesting for me to read.
;Growing up we took many Sunday drives to Gran Quivira in New Mexico (at 515) to explore the ruins near our home, Sure brings back fond memories. Thank you very much for including it. Plenty of history to remember there.
They're everywhere here in York in the UK. They're great for a bit of information about the history of what's around you.
The 1st and 2nd Battles of Bull Run or Manassas Va. use to have a plaque trail with push button audio recordings of different points in the battles. As a pre-teen in the early 80s I use to ride my bike there in the summer and spend all day riding the trails and pushing the buttons and listening to the stories. By the end of the 2nd summer I knew all of the recordings by heart. From the Stone Bridge to Henry Hill to Gen. Bee Giving Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson his name I knew almost as much as the Park Rangers.
We went there with the YMCA camping program I used to get roped into going on every year. My Mom liked a vacation from me every year. That was always an adventure because it was run by disorganized college students. I was there in the 70s and don't remember any talking signs. But it was an awfully long time ago now. I vaguely remember we got a guided tour of one of the battlefields. Pretty country as I can recall.
@@1pcfred I contacted the Manassas battlefield to confirm that I was correct there were 7 postmarkers around the battlefield As of 93 they are no longer there because of cause of old age and they stopped functioning
@@PHXDOG I never said you were wrong. I was there in the 1970s and just don't remember seeing anything like it.
THG has made his Marker on History via UA-cam. We wouldn't be the same without him.
I grew up in Mansfield, Connecticut and in elementary school there was a lot of emphasis on local history. For example, everyone knew about the historic marker on a back road by a mill pond that said it was the site of the first silk mill in America, built by the Hanks brothers. The marker also said that the actual building had been preserved at Deerfield Village.
There was a triangle of grass with a streetlight on in where two roads met that was where the school bus stopped to pick us up, and near its center was a stone carved into a steep pyramid, about knee-high. One day as I waited for the bus, I wandered over to get a better look at the stone.
Engraved on one face is said "Erected on this site in (I forget the year) was the first Methodist Church in the New World."
They never mentioned that in history class.
If anyone wants to see if that's still there, and maybe clean it, it was at the intersection of Wormood Hill Road and Gurleyville Road in Mansfield, Connecticut. (It appears to still be there on Google Maps.)
A few years ago I drove across Texas and it seemed like there were historical makers every few hundred yards. I did get to stop and read a few of them.
Were there any without bullet holes through them? ;)
One of the coolest historical markers I've come across was MILES down this extremely long road in west Texas. It was located right before that road became a very, very long dirt road. The marker was for a one room school house on Alameda creek about 40 miles outside of Marfa. I bet not even 75 people see it in a year, and most of those people live out on ranches there. That school house is filled with sand and probably any number of critters. It was a special experience.
I had to pause when I saw the marker at 5:42. The marker is about two miles from where my mother was born and grew up. Thank you.
Historical markers are history that deserves to be remembered 😁
Just some very cool stories on your channel
My wife and infant son and I were totally lost in northern France, driving along on a lovely tree shaded back road out in the country on a beautiful summer afternoon, when we pulled over to take a break and study the map by a short stone tower, and there, by the side of the road , was a historical marker that informed us that we were on the site of the Battle of Agincourt. It looked EXACTLY as it is described in literature, ( minus the battle ) but it seemed to be not much larger than the playground in my home town in New Jersey. Nobody there but us and the critters and plants, if there were any ghosts, they left us in peace.
Disappointed in myself that after getting a degree in History, watching history be torn down for the last 3+ years and living in NH, MA, FL, VA & DC that I have never heard of NHMDay or the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. Thank you for the knowledge! I'll be out & about here in the Grand Tetons on 4/29 doing my part to help History be Remembered!
As an over the road truck driver, I would stop whenever I could safely and read these markers. I called them "readables" lol
It's free wordage!
Thanks for mentioning the work done by Ezra Meeker to memorialize the Oregon Trail. He is a distant relative on my Paternal Grandmother's side.
Thanks so much for these videos, History Guy! As someone who lives in a historical town, I love these markers. :)
I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee on the East side of Missionary Ridge. I grew up with a clear understanding of history all around me from the Chickamauga Battlefield, to Point
Park on top of Lookout Mountain. In my early career, I lived all over the eastern US, living in 18 states over 11 years. While living in Dayton, Ohio, I wanted to see the locations that were important in the history of the Wright Brothers. The original bicycle shop was taken apart and rebuilt in the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. The historic marker locating the spot of the old shop is hard to find, and in a rough section of town. I was fortunate enough to find the old Wright house, and three hangars where Wright Flyers were built for the US Army Air Corps. These curved wooden beam buildings were part of DELPHI Automotive "Home Avenue" plant across the Miami River from downtown. There were historical markers in front of them. The plant is now closed, and I am not sure there is access to these old hangars anymore.
A fantastic video! I enjoy reading the marker and stop to when ever possible. Thank you!
Thanks for including so many from Arizona. My parents spent my childhood vacation hours stopping at darn near every one in the state.
Fantastic episode! I am a historical marker buff.. I grew up in Dartmouth Massachusetts in a house that was built in the 1700's and I became fascinated with historical markers. At about 16 years old I was sitting on a bridge in New Bedford Massachusetts and walked over to read the historical marker that was the site of the First Colonial officer killed in the revolution, while defending the bridge. After that it's been a never-ending stop the vehicle and read the historical markers
I own a tiny cottage directly related to the Roscommon Lumber Company marker (6:32). It belonged to the foreman of the logging company on my lake. They'd run the logs up the lake to the Muskegon River.
This is how we learned Idaho and national history. My dad loved history so growing up, every vacation we took, my parents made it a point to stop at all the historical markers that we didn't know or have stopped at previously. Afterwards, we would talk about it & be quizzed. To date, I still stop at markers.
Speaking of historical signage how about a lesson on Burma Shave signs? My husband worked in a restaurant here in Indiana and the owner managed to get his hands on a bunch of old signs and have them mounted on the cathedral ceiling. There are also a few still on the highway encouraging people to stop in the restaurant. Pretty interesting bit of History…Guy! Thanks for sharing!
There's one in my friend's front yard and it is good to know the history.
What's it say?
My favorite marker is a small granite stone in the ground at the site of Fort Nonsense in Joliet, IL. It is in front of the school where I taught for 30 years.
A Troy school alum waves hi! No markers in Shorewood that I know of, though.
The famous Fort Nonsense is in Morristown New Jersey. I've been there. I grew up about 10 miles from it.
@@1pcfred Yes. I can’t even find a picture online of the Joliet marker due to all of the NJ Nonsense.😆
@@valerieschoen7494 Mo Town is a silly place.
My mother in law has a "Historical marker" book for Texas. Every time we went on a trip (for a few years) she would make us stop and read every one she saw in the book on the way. sometimes made a 2 hour trip into double that ;-) Thanks for the reminder about them and for sharing your vast experience and knowledge with us.
On a whim, several years ago I stopped at every marker on the Old Camino Real along a 20 mile stretch of Texas Highway 21 in Northeast Texas that ran from Nacogdoches, TX to San Antonio. I was surprised at the number of historical markers along that short stretch besides those marking the King’s Highway. Thank you for all your videos, I learn something new every time.
Liked the video. It was nice to hear again about Ezra Meeker. I grew up in a town he helped establish: Puyallup, WA. There are tours of his mansion and he is buried in the cemetary overlooking Puyallup valley.
Knowing THG's affection for the United States Coast Guard it's a pity that he didn't know about the blue plaque that we have here in Poole, Dorset, to the men of USCG Rescue Flotilla 1, who saved nearly 1,500 lives during Operation Overlord.
I luv the History Guy ! No surprise I knew exactly what he was about to say in his opening . Lance is a LEGEND in my house !!!!!
Remember, teach, and preserve history. Not change it, like some people are trying to do.
Well, there is preserving history, and preserving one side's view of history. Sometimes it isn't as simple as 'preserving history.'
I always pull over and read them if circumstances permit. And back when I used to go on; and set up, road rallys they were a great source for clues ! 👍😎
Living in a small "historic" village of only a few square miles in upstate ny we have a very high number of these. Some new some in desperate need of some attention. As someone who paints vehicles for a living I always have a fleeting thought of taking their care into my own hands. I should make a project of counting these with my daughter. Many are portals in the ingress game.
I can hear my wife's eyes rolling right now!😹 it was not one of the great joys of our courtship that I would stop at every historic marker I came across.
Thankfully there are apps now which use your location to show you what historic event took place without having to actually pull over, so we have compromised.
My wife pronounced that we could visit every fort in North America ONCE. She came to regret that commitment.
I like to travel solo on my motorcycle. That way I can travel along easily on the backroads and take it all it. I stop and read markers and see what might be there to enhance the visit. Also stopping in the small towns and just browse around and chat with the locals will gain you more knowledge of the area, and quite often more places of interest to explore.
It can be done by car and with a companion that shares your desire for this type of travel. My mother lived four hundred miles away from me, and every October I ran over and stayed with her for a week. That week saw much travel and explore missions by the two of us. Mom passed away at age 103 several years back. I really miss her and our October expedition week.
@@ronfullerton3162 My 89-year-old dad has moved to Saint John, NB. I went down to visit with a friend, taking the opportunity to do a fort tour. We managed to get in 14 forts over 9 days of travel, although admittedly, some "forts" were little more than a blockhouse and an historic plaque.
@@michaelmanning5379 made me laugh. My wife insisted we stop at Ticonderoga.
@@michaelmanning5379 Even when there isn't much left, it is still not only a good stop and time well spent, but that chance to reflect upon the past. Every year there is a day long trip that I try to take. Many fun and interesting stops to make, but one is very touching to my heart. Fort McPherson in Nebraska. Nothing left at the site of the fort but historical monuments and markers. The real moving location is a little ways down the road at the cemetery. Graves from the Indian conflicts right up to recent conflicts. Hard to walk along and read the markers of all those veterans. This is just a few miles off of I-80 east of North Platte. But there is so much viewing on the back roads getting there. There are other forts in the area, some rebuilt and others with partial remains. I return to several of them from time to time. Going by backroads of course! Such an enjoyable trip.
It is a treat to read these markers. Trying to include a book of information in less than 100 words or so is a challenge to any writer.
In the future history markers will contain hash tags, I'm sure. Maybe QR codes?
My area in Western Pennsylvania is dotted with historic markers noting the military actions of George Washington when he was a young man. I'm indebted to them for sparking my interest in history.
I grew up not far from Morristown, New Jersey so around there every other tree it was claimed George Washington hitched his horse to it at one time, or another. Which lead to some off color jokes about the guy sleeping around a lot. In the town next door they even split a road around one such tree. I wonder if that tree is still alive? Damnedest thing you've ever seen though. A tree smack dab in the middle of the road.
I have stopped and read nanny of these markers in they US and abroad. Never thought these markers had so much history themselves. Unfortunately some critics have to bring the race issue, which never occurred to those in the past when trying to preserve history as what it is; history that n needs to be rememberred. Well done.
When my sibs and I were growing up my dad would stop and read every historical marker on family outings and vacations. Some markers’ information we memorized and would say along with Dad when we stopped at certain markers Every. Single. Time. It was a family joke. However, as we got older and had families of our own the five of us found ourselves stopping by markers with our own kids and reading/saying by heart the words of the markers to them. When Dad died the five of us recited the words of the three markers that we always had to stop at -Mississippian Marble, Remanants of an Inland Sea and The Meeting of Two Glaciers-on the way to our family’s favorite campsite up Utah’s Big Cottonwood Canyon over Dad’s grave. Some of the older grandkids joined in with us. Now some of us have grandkids and we are carrying on Dad’s tradition. When my family and I travel in the US and in foreign countries we find ourselves trying to find and read historical markers wherever we go. Thanks to Google Translate we can enjoy markers in foreign languages that we don’t already know, especially if a different alphabets are used. The UK has the most and the best historical markers program-especially in London and it’s environs. I’ve personally learned so much from historical markers that bring “history that deserves to be remembered” to life because I’ve learned so much more about a particular place and it’s people than if I’d just read a book or even picked up a pamphlet about local places of interest. Many thanks History Guy for this episode! You’re the best!
Watching your video got me wondering about something you and I were old enough to remember; the burma shave signs. I would love a video about that if you have time.
Great video. Its not every day that you get the double benefit of a History Guy video and the opportunity to read about some local history too.
My favorite historical marker is located in Manton, Michigan and denotes the battle for political power in Wexford County.
The marker reads:
Battle of Manton
In 1881 Manton became the Wexford County seat as a result of a compromise between Cadillac and Sherman. Those towns had quarreled over the issue for years. Cadillac partisans renewed the feud and won the county seat at an election in April, 1882. After the election a sheriff's posse left Cadillac for Manton by special train to seize the county records. An angry crowd confronted the Cadillac men and drove them out of town. Collecting several hundred lumbermen, a supply of whiskey and a brass band, the sheriff returned to demand the records. Manton residence barricaded the courthouse, but the posse broke through the doors and windows and returned to Cadillac triumphant. Cadillac was victorious, but the battle of Manton left injured and hard feelings.
Great video. I live in Breathitt County KY. about 5 miles from the Bloody Breathitt marker seen early in the video. Things are much better now
In the 1980s, I worked for Parks Canada and created the first computer database of National Historic Sites and Monuments in the province of Ontario. All the nearly 1000 locations across the country (~300 in Ontario) have markers. That does not include locations of provincial and local significance. The National Historic Sites and Monuments Board was created in 1919, but there would have been markers pre-dating this year.
Fun fact: I created the dBase3 database on the Ontario office's first personal computer with a hard drive (an IBM AT with a 10MB HD) and I had to go to another floor to use it. People would always come by and ask me what I was doing.
So is there’s marker for the first PC in the department?
@@jeopardy4100 ;-)
Stop and read a lot of them, one in Alton Illinois dedicated to the daughter of a civil war vet., another good one to stop and see is Mother Jones!
We must remember our nations history. We must educate our children and grandchildren. I've traveled all over the world and other countries keep historical markers up and hold tours. As Americans we must do the same so we do not repeat history.
The museum I work at has a marker that came with the fire tower we have (the fire tower was replaced so our museum got it and it's old sign). It's super neat because while I've seen a million of them from the road this was the first time I saw one of the oldest ones upfront. It was one of the first put up in New York by the DEC.
There are a ton of little details with some beavers, hemlock, and sugar maple on the edges of the sign, all symbols of New York state.
Always something I look out for while traveling!
Your intros impress me for their variety and quality
I grew up in Phillips county AR. The northwest corner has a marker out in the swamp off Hwy 49 that says it was determined by a east-west line from the mouth of the St. Francis river and North-south from the mouth of the Arkansas river and that this point was used to survey the entire Louisiana Purchase.
Anyone would have a hard time convincing me that there is still a desire to preserve and remember our shared history. In recent years the destruction of monuments and other historical sights have been removed or destroyed. While not all monuments and historical artifacts reflect good intentions or policies of those who have come before us it is still our history, and all history should be remembered.
Well said.
I live in Broome County, NY. It's about 180 miles Northwest of NYC. I love historical markers. We have quite a few here and I'm sure that I haven't seen them all. Just gotta keep my eyes open.
I sometimes drive on the road that was used for the Bataan Death March here in the Philippines. Along every kilometer of that road there is a marker commemorating that awful event.
TRUTH MATTERS. HISTORY IS A ONE SIDED STORY.
Just noticed a marker was put up across the street from my shop denoting the street's namesake Barin Field, an auxiliary airfield of Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL that served as major cornerstone of pilot training during WWII. During the war the field became known as "Bloody Barin" due to it having the highest fatalities of any Navy/Army airfields. The field is much smaller today but the Navy still uses it as I have training aircraft flying at treetop level throughout the workday which may get annoying to some but I've always found cool.
AS ALWAYS THE HISTORY GUY,
AN EXCELLENT VIDEO!!
I wasn't aware that the history of historical markers went back as far as it did.
A comment from a Texan said that there seemed to be a marker every hundred yards. It's same in Gettysburg, Pa. From the edge of town to the battlefield is a marker honoring an event before, during, and, after the battle. 🌞🌞🌞✌✌✌✌
I love this channel so much really like this episode thank you
6/18/2024
This video just goes to show that all "History Deserves to be Remembered", no matter how small, local, or seemingly unimportant. Without these SIGNS and plaques much of history is forgotten, quite quickly.
Well-done, THG! The late journalist Charles Kuralt liked to point-out that the Interstate Highway System makes it possible to traverse the whole of the United States, & NOT SEE ANYTHING. So if you can't hook-up with one of the guided Historical tours, then I'd recommend that on your next long road trip, stay off the Interstates as much as you can!. Take the two-lane State Roads, & build enough slack into your schedule that when you see that tell-tale sign, "Historical Marker Ahead," Stop & read it!
My 2 favorite America-based travel books are Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck, and Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon.
As always, I enjoyed your video, but this one almost made me fall out of my chair. At 8:44 you included the Lincoln in Lawrenceville historical marker, in my hometown.
I travel all over the eastern half of the U.S. and have often stopped and read and photographed them.
Thank you for your videos!
Most of our markers in New Jersey were put up by various historical commissions and societies at the county or municipal level. But there are a few state sponsored markers scattered around the state. They were put out by the New Jersey Commission on Historic Sites. They are quite elaborate, and are made of white metal. I'm guessing they date to sometime in the 1920s, or possibly the 30s. I have no idea how many exist in total, but I have only found 9 in the southern counties, so far.
Thanks for including the Henry Clay’s Birthplace marker. I live about 2 miles down the road from it. Our county emblem has long contained the words “Birthplace of Patrick Henry and Henry Clay.”
"Give me librium or give me meth." Patrick Henry circa 1775
There is a New Yorker cartoon that is very popular with my family because my late father loved to collect extremely minute details of historical events and would insist on dominating conversions in order to tell everyone about them. The cartoon shows a winding mountain road where a family has pulled over to inspect a roadside historical marker. While the family is busy reading the marker the father looks down the road and sees a house with an old man sitting on the front porch. Next to the old man is his version of that marker that has the headline, "WHAT REALLY HAPPENED!...".
I went out to Seneca Falls, NY to check out the docks for a boat trip. Didn't know that little town was the location of the FIRST CONVENTION ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS (1848) until I saw the historic marker. Now I read all the markers.
During the lock down I tried to see every historical marker around northern nevada and California, and I do try and stop at a few when I travel. Having that time during lock down helped me learn so much about the shaping of Nevada. It’s a beautiful tragedy, one of my best friends is a Paiute/Shoshone of local Tribes out here, and he sadly didn’t know much about his own heritage but getting to learn that really brought us together. I study history not as a scholastic study but I feel it’s our collective human story that should be understood. It’s not about knowing hard dates but just understand the progressive flow of time and the developments of all
Life in those periods of time. It’s just a big story that we are all included in, and its important to understand it’s flow.
In the cemetary at Frankfort Kentucky, many many markers and famous folks buried there but one marker, in front of a grave, is in Red and Gold..its the marker for LT Presley Nevill's O'bannon USMC, he was the first one to raise the U.S. flag over foreign soil when they captured Tripoli during the Barbary Wars. The Corps of Discovery departed but 2 miles from where I live on their trip to the Pacific. Many many historical sites in this area.
I live in the area of Minnesota where the Dakota conflict of 1862 started. Which led to the rest of the Indian wars out west in the 1870s and '80s. So I have all kinds of historical markers detailing the conflict around my hometown and the area and they are fascinating. Of course they were written by the victors. But either way it definitely gives you an insight to what happened in the past. On a different note also a historical marker dedicated to the Blizzard (1888- 1889?)that you spoke of in an earlier episode in my area.
Love the markers often stop seen many when i worked on the road for twenty years always a great place to stop n dmoke one.
I love historic markers. Texas has TONS of them and any time I pass one I try to make it a point to get back to it, if not then, then on the way back.