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Location: US 15 in StovallCounty: GranvilleOriginal Date Cast: 1936(Note: The John Penn marker was the first sign erected under the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, on January 10, 1936.)The life of John Penn (1740-1788) provides an early example of the American dream. With nothing more than a rudimentary education, Penn rose through legal and political circles to ultimately become one of three North Carolinians to sign the Declaration of Independence.
On December 27, 1857, Republican Congressman, educator, and conservative and diplomatic advocate for racial equality Henry Plummer Cheatham was born with slave status near Henderson.
On January 10, 1936, the first state highway marker was dedicated. The first marker was placed in the small Granville County town of Stovall to commemorate the life of John Penn, an early political leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence.Though not authorized until 1935, the program has its roots in the 1903 legislation creating the North Carolina Historical Commission, which noted the lack of markers “commemorating the services of eminent sons of the state, or marking the sites of historic events.”