Chatham County sites in the NC Highway Historical Marker program.
- H-10
Captain Johnston Blakeley
After many victories, War of 1812, was lost at sea with his sloop Wash. Lived at “Rockrest”, 3 miles east.
Location: NC 87 at SR 1545 (Chicken Bridge Road) northwest of Pittsboro - H-12
John Owen 1787-1841
Governor, 1828-1830, state legislator, and Whig party leader. His grave is 400 yards W.
Location: US 15/501 (Hillsborough Street) at Salisbury Street in Pittsboro - H-14
Granville Grant
Formed northern half of colony of North Carolina. Southern boundary was surveyed to a point just south of here in 1746.
Location: US 1 at Deep River bridge - H-15
Tory Raid
David Fanning and his Tories captured many Whig leaders here at old Chatham Courthouse, July 1781.
Location: US 15/501 (Sanford Street) in Pittsboro - H-16
Charles Manly
Governor, 1849-51. Whig Party leader. His law office, relocated & restored, stands 70 yds. N.
Location: US 64 (East Street) at Masonic Street in Pittsboro - H-17
James I. Waddell
Commander of the famous Confederate cruiser, “Shenandoah,” lived in a house which stands 3 blocks west.
Location: US 15/501 (Hillsborough Street) in Pittsboro - H-18
Ramsey’s Mill
Cornwallis, following the battle of Guilford Courthouse, spent several days building a bridge over Deep River, at point 300 yards N.W.
Location: SR 1011 (Old US 1) at SR 1012 (Moncure Road) at Moncure - H-24
Wilcox Iron Works
Important source of munitions during the American Revolution, operated occasionally since. Furnace was 100 yards southwest.
Location: SR 1176 (Old US 421) at Mt. Vernon Springs - H-72
Abraham Rencher
Congressman; Minister to Portugal; Governor of the Territory of New Mexico, 1857-1861; poet and essayist. Buried two blocks West.
Location: US 15/501 (Hillsborough Street) at Salisbury Street in Pittsboro - H-73
Rocky River Church
Baptist, organized about 1757. Used by Regulators for meetings after 1768. Stands 200 yards east.
Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard northeast of Siler City - H-78
O’Kelly Chapel Christian Church
Organized, 1794, by Jas. O’Kelly, founder of the denomination. Present building fourth on site.
Location: NC 751 south of Chatham/Durham county line - H-84
Rocky River Friends Meeting
Established under care of Cane Creek Meeting, 1753; a Monthly Meeting since 1908. Fourth building was constructed in 1926.
Location: SR 1300 (Foust Road) north of Siler City - H-88
Henry A. London 1846-1918
Lawyer, state senator. Author of 1901 “London Libel Law.” Editor of Chatham Record, 1878-1918. Home was here.
Location: US 15/501 (Hillsborough Street) in Pittsboro - H-108
George Moses Horton
Slave poet. His The Hope of Liberty (1829) was first book by a black author in South. Lived on farm 2 mi. SE.
Location: US 15/501 at SR 1700 (Mount Gilead Church Road) north of Pittsboro - H-114
Paul Green 1894-1981
Playwright, teacher, & humanitarian. Awarded Pulitzer Prize, 1927. His 16 outdoor dramas included The Lost Colony (1937). Lived 1 mile E.
Location: US 15/501 at SR 1724 (Old Lystra Road) south of Chapel Hill - H-123
Coal Glen Mine Disaster
State’s worst mining accident occurred on May 27, 1925, when explosions killed 53 men. Shaft 1 1/2 mi. SW.
Location: US 15/501 at southern intersection with Walter Bright Rd. north of Sanford - Lynching in Chatham County
Memorializing several Black individuals who were terrorized and lynched by white mobs between 1885 and 1921 in Chatham County. The victims were Jerry and Harriet Finch, John Pattishall, Lee Tyson, Henry Jones, and Eugene Daniel. No mob participants were held accountable for lynching these individuals.
Location: Outside the Chatham County Government Annex at 12 East Street in Pittsboro.
