Topics Related to Historical Markers
Morehead Planetarium trained NASA astronauts in celestial navigation for Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab missions, 1960-75. Dome 450 ft. S.
Delegates debated U.S. Constitution, July 21-Aug. 4, 1788, & voted to delay ratification until bill of rights was added. Met 100 yards S.W.
Educator & civil rights activist. Chair, Education Dept., N.C. College for Negroes, 1948-1963. Her grave is nearby.
“Libba” Cotten composed, recorded “Freight Train” (1958). Key figure, 1960s folk revival. Born and raised on Lloyd Street.
Orange County sheriff in War of Regulation, 1770-1771; brigadier general, N.C. militia, 1777-84. Lived ¼ mi. N.
In 1947 the Congress of Racial Equality & local citizens, black & white, protested bus segregation. Setting out from Washington, D.C., "freedom riders" tested compliance with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring segregation on interstate buses. On April 13, riders arrived at local bus station then 20 yards west. A mob attacked one rider. Four others were arrested and sentenced to 30 days on chain gangs.
Founder of Burlington Mills, 1924; success of rayon propelled world's largest textile company. "Pioneer Plant" 3/4 mi. S.
Jazz composer & pianist. Wrote "Take the A Train" and other songs for Duke Ellington Orchestra. Boyhood home site 1/4 mi. W.
Textile mill 100 yds. N.E. target of strike, 1958-61. Effort failed, led to bombings that bolstered antiunionism.
Segregation protest at an ice cream parlor on this site, June 23, 1957, led to court case testing dual racial facilities.