Historical Marker Database

@hmdb

Public history cast in metal · carved on stone · permanently marked

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By the way, if you check out the #MarkeroftheWeek on HMdb.org (the main page) you can usually see a different picture than just a closeup of the marker. This week’s is the wide shot of the marker.

Third Lederer Expedition Marker (wide shot).
Photographed by J. J. Prats, September 19, 2009

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 26

#OtD in 1932, Country Music Legend Johnny Cash was born! www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=235196

In the early morning hours of May 11, 1965, Johnny Cash was arrested for public drunkenness after he was found picking flowers on this site following a show at Mississippi State University the previous evening. Cash, who spent the night at the Oktibbeha County Jail, memorialized the incident through the song “Starkville City Jail,” which he most famously performed at another correctional institution; it was captured on his 1969 album Live at San Quentin.

Johnny Cash was known for his rebellious nature, which was expressed through advocacy for the underdog, an independent stance in the music industry, and also, for a time, his personal behavior. “There is that beast there in me, and I got to keep him caged, or he’ll eat me alive,” he told the New York Times in 1994, when the success of his album American Recordings prompted a resurgence of his career. Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas, on February 26, 1932, and grew up across the state in the Dyess Colony, a Depression-era federal project for cotton farmers. Obsessed with music as a child, Cash developed his skills while serving in the Air Force in Germany as a radio intercept operator. After his discharge he settled in Memphis, where he created his signature sound together with guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant.

Cash began touring widely in 1955 following the success of his first singles for Memphis’ Sun Records, and his reputation was solidified with #1 hits including “I Walk the Line,” “Guess Things Happen That Way,” and “Ballad of a Teenage Queen.” A regular visitor to Mississippi, he played the prestigious Jimmie Rodgers Festival in both 1957 and 1959. His hit-making streak continued through 1965, when his arrest following his show at Mississippi State University received national attention; one Associated Press headline referenced his cover of a song by his childhood hero Jimmie Rodgers—“Johnny Cash is in the jailhouse now.” Cash was able to post bond, and after appearing in court performed the following day on the campus of the University of Mississippi.

Cash recorded many songs about incarceration, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” inspired by the film Walls of Folsom Prison and the loneliness he felt during his military service in Germany; “In the Jailhouse Now;” “I Got Stripes;” “Austin Prison;” “San Quentin;” “Starkville City Jail;” and “There Ain’t No Good Chain Gang,” a duet with Waylon Jennings that warns, “You don’t go writing

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 17

#OtD in 1883, the west side of the Diamond Mine in Illinois collapsed www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=6868 #IllinoisHistory #MineSafetyHistory #historicalmarker

The Diamond Mine of the Wilmington Coal Mining and Manufacturing Company, located near Braidwood on the Grundy-Will County line, was the site of a major mine disaster in Illinois.

The mine was on a marshy tract of land that had no natural drainage. At midday of February 16, 1883, the east side of the mine collapsed from the weight of melting snow, ice, and heavy rains. An alarm was sounded, and miners who were near the escapment shaft hurried to the surface. The main passage to the shaft flooded rapidly, and the weight of the water sealed the ventilation doors in the tunnels. Escape became impossible, and rescue attempts were futile.

Other mines in the area suspended operations, and their workers helped build a dam on the site. For thirty-eight days seven steam pumps removed water from the mine. Volunteers descended the shaft on March 25, and the first bodies were recovered on March 26. The recovery effort was hampered by accumulations of debris and gas as well as by falling rock. Several days later the mine was sealed with the remaining forty-six bodies entombed.

Numerous men and boys died in the disaster; two were thirteen years of age, and two were fourteen. Contributions for families of the victims were received from across the United States and totaled more than $42,000, including $10,000 appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly. In 1898 the United Mine Workers of America placed a monument at the site.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 16

#MarkeroftheWeek Methodist Church in Cahaba, Alabama www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=112410 @blackhistorydb.bsky.social @blackhistoryfacts.bsky.social @alabamahistory.bsky.social @unitedmethodist.bsky.social #AlabamaHistory #MethodistHistory #BlackHistory

These ruins were once a place of worship for members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Built in 1849, it was the first single denomination church in Cahawba. An earlier church for the common use of all denominations was erected about 1840. Previous to that date, public worship was held in Alabama's Statehouse or in the Dallas County Courthouse.

Although not a member of the church at the time, William Curtis, one of Cahawba's oldest citizens, donated this land so a Methodist Church could be built. The first minister assigned to the church, Rev. James L. Cotten, fell in love with Curtis' youngest daughter Lucy.

Mr. Curtis opposed their marriage because of Cotten's “want of education, indolence, excessive levity, transient life, and manners" - also because he had 'paid attentions to Miss Brown!" Despite her father's opinion, Lucy eventually accepted Rev. Cotten's proposal. They were married on March 7, 1853.

St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church
During his first year in Cahawba, Rev. James L. Cotten's congregation was composed of eighty-three whites and one hundred and fifty African Americans. At first, he held services for the enslaved people under the floor of a cotton warehouse. Later he was able to obtain a lot nearby so the African Americans could build their own log church. Always, worship was overseen by the white minister.

So when emancipation came, Cahawba's African American residents wanted a church that was truly their own. They formed an African Methodist Episcopal congregation. Cahawba's white Methodists had moved away, so the Black congregation was able to use this vacated church. From then on, this building was known as St. Paul's A.M.E. Church.

In 1954, sparks from a fire in the nearby woods ignited the wooden steeple. The brick walls toppled before the fire squad could respond. In the end, the number of worshipers had dwindled to seven.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 15

#OtD in 1947, cabdriver Thomas W. Brown was found dead in #SouthCarolina, leading to the lynching of his last known passenger, Willie Earle. (Marker missing since 2012) www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=40503 @blackhistorydb.bsky.social @civilrightsorg.bsky.social #southcarolinahistory #lynchinghistory

The Willie Earle lynching was the last recorded in S.C. and one of the last in the South. On the night of February 15, 1947, white cabdriver Thomas W. Brown was found mortally wounded beside his cab in Pickens County. Earle, a young black man, was thought to be Brown’s last passenger. He was arrested near Liberty on February 16, accused of assault and robbery, and held in the Pickens County Jail.

Early on February 17, 1947, a white mob forced the Pickens Co. jailer to give Earle up. They drove Earle back to Greenville, lynched him, and left his body on Bramlett Rd. Brown died later that day. The May 12-21 trial of 31 men, rare at the time, drew national attention. Though 26 men admitted being part of the mob, an all-white jury acquitted all defendants. Outrage led to new federal civil rights policies.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 14

#OtD in 1781, Nathanael Greene crossed the Dan River in Virginia www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=205833 #VirginiaHistory @historians.org @americanrevolution.bsky.social

This quiet crossing awaited its place in history.

John Boyd and his family began operations of Boyd's Ferry here in 1749, carrying people, wagons, and supplies across the river on long flatboats. In early 1781, General Nathanael Greene prepared Boyd's Ferry in Virginia as a crossing for his army. Even before his American army hurried to the Dan River on February 14, 1781, ferry boats from along the river were brought here to cary Greene's troops to the other side. Earthworks were built along the riverbanks to protect the army as it crossed.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 13

#OtD in 1963, students from Florida A&M staged a sit-in at Woolworth’s in Tallahassee, Florida. www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=211233 #FloridaHistory #BlackHistory #CivilRightsHistory @blackhistorydb.bsky.social @civilrightsmatter.bsky.social @flfreedomread.bsky.social @tallahasseetally.bsky.social

Lunch counters at dime stores, such as Woolworth and McCrory's, offered downtown shoppers a reasonably priced place to sit and eat but only for white patrons. On February 13, 1960, eight Florida A&M University (FAMU) students and two African-American high school students sat down at the Woolworth lunch counter and asked to be served. They took this action in sympathy with the sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina. After their request was denied, the students remained seated in silent protest. After two hours of heckling from white patrons, the store manager closed the lunch counter and the crowd dispersed before police arrived. For the next two months, members of the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)—interracial onganization that espoused a strategy of moral suasion based on the teaching of Mohandas Gandhi—held several more sit-ins. Patricia and Priscilla Stephens, sisters and FAMU students, were particularly important in coordinating these efforts. Despite being denounced by Florida's political leaders as engaging in illegal and incendiary acts, students persisted in their efforts to expose the immorality of racial discrimination even though it meant subjecting themselves to physical and verbal abuse. They received moral, emotional, and financial support from Tallahassee civil rights organizations and African American churches. On March 17, Judge John Rudd found the first group of eleven arrestees guilty of disturbing the peace and sentenced them each to pay a $300 fine or spend sixty days in jail. In an unprecedented move, they chose jail over bail. Three years of continued economic pressure led downtown business owners to desegregate their lunch counters. The sit-ins inspired the continued use of nonviolent-direct action to confront everyday injustices and inequality.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 12

#OtD in 1946, Sgt. Isaac Woodard was beaten and blinded by law enforcement enforcement in South Carolina, prompting Truman to form a Council on Civil Rights. www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=239263 #CivilRightsHistory #BlackHistory @civilrightsmatter.bsky.social @blackhistorydb.bsky.social

Sgt. Isaac Woodard, a black soldier, was removed from a bus in Batesburg and arrested on Feb. 12, 1946, after a dispute with the bus driver. Woodard was beaten and blinded by a town police officer and the next day convicted in town court for “drunk and disorderly.” The incident led Harry Truman to form a Council on Civil Rights and issue Executive Order 9981, which desegregated the U.S. Armed Forces in 1948.

The police officer was charged with violating Woodard’s civil rights but was acquitted by an all-white jury. The result troubled the presiding judge, J. Waties Waring, who would go on to issue landmark civil rights rulings, including a dissent in Briggs v. Elliott (1952), which became a model for Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In 2018 a judge, on the town’s motion, expunged Woodard’s conviction.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 11

#OtD in 1960, students held the Woolworth’s Sit-In in High Point, NC www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=216780 #highpoint #civilrights #BlackHistory #NorthCarolinaHistory @highpoint-spl.bsky.social @blackhistorydb.bsky.social

On Thursday, February 11, 1960, at the close of the school day, a group of 26 students in High Point became the first high school students in the United States to stage a Woolworth "Sit-In" Demonstration. This action by the high school students followed an earlier demonstration on February 1, 1960 by the "A&T Four" college students in Greensboro.

Student organizers of this event were Mary Lou Andrews, Brenda Jean Fountain, Miriam Lynn Fountain and Andrew Dennis McBride. Led by Reverend B. Elton Cox, accompanied by Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, this demonstration was to protest the racial social and educational injustices that existed. Key rallying songs were "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round" and "We Shall Overcome." These, along with prayer, were essential to the student demonstrations.

After eight long years of the Civil Rights struggle, efforts began in earnest to heal the city with the forming of an interracial Human Relations Commission, which still exists.

"The sit-ins were, without question, productive of the most change… No argument in a court of law could have dramatized the immorality and irrationality of such a custom as did the sit-in… The sit-ins reached far out into the back country. They inspired adult men and women, fathers, mothers, grandmothers, aunts and uncles to support the young students in the cities. Not even the Supreme Court decision on schools in 1954 had done this…"
Ralph McGill

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 10

#OtD in 1899, Milligan, Ohio recorded a temperature of -39°F (-39°C), its lowest recorded temperature ever. www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=122407 #ohiohistory @ohiohistory.bsky.social

On February 10. 1899, a United States Weather Bureau Station operated by Steve Eveland, in the small hamlet of Milligan, Ohio, now part of McLuney, reported a temperature of 39 degrees below zero. To date, this is the lowest temperature officially recorded in Ohio. Milligan’s location in the flat valley of the Moxahala Creek made it susceptible to cold air masses drained from surrounding elevations. The record-breaking temperature in Milligan was recorded in the midst of a severe cold spell throughout Ohio that began on February 8 and ended on February 15, 1899 when temperatures reached a few degrees above zero. While Milligan can no longer be found on a map, it has been known as the coldest spot in Ohio for over one hundred years.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 9

#MarkeroftheWeek Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles, California 🏳️‍🌈 www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=233806 #CaliforniaHistory #LGBThistory @californiaholic.bsky.social @lgbthistory.bsky.social

At midnight on January 1, 1967, undercover LAPD officers raided the Black Cat Tavern in Silver Lake. 14 men were beaten, dragged outside, and arrested. Six men were charged with lewd conduct for same-sex kissing. Outrage over the raid spurred two new California gay rights groups to organize hundreds of protestors to demonstrate against police entrapment and arbitrary arrest. The peaceful demonstration that took place outside the Black Cat Tavern on February 11, 1967 was Southern California's first public protest for gay rights.

Events like the Black Cat Tavern protest, and earlier demonstrations at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco, were critical milestones in California's LGBTQ+ history, opening the floodgates for new civil rights strategies within the LGBTQ+ community that led to the repeal of discriminatory laws in California.

California Registered Historical Landmark No. 1063.

Plaque placed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with The Black Cat, the California Landmark Foundation, and the Bill Beaver Project, October 1, 2023.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 8

#OtD in 1854, Cedartown, Georgia was incorporated. www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=197547 #Cedartown #georgiahistory

The earliest known inhabitants in the Cedartown area were the Cherokee Indians, who had taken over the surrounding territory from the Creek Indians in the 1760's. Cherokee settlements in the area were known as Char'le Town, Cedar Town and Clean Town. By the 1820's white traders and scouts began to settle in the area, and trading posts were established near Tanyard Branch and the Big Spring. After gold was discovered in the northeast part of the state, Georgia pushed for the removal of the Cherokee Indian Nation by opening their land to settlement in 1832. As a result of land lotteries held by the state, white settlers streamed into the area. A post office was established in Cedar Town in 1833, and the First Baptist Church founded in 1835.

The new settlers of Cedar Valley were rarely resisted by the Cherokee, but the lawless nature of the new settlements led to conflicts between bands of outlaws and settlers attempting to build new communities. One notorious band, called the “Pony Club,” terrorized white and Indian farmers alike. It was not until a group of settlers, called the “Slick Club,” challenged the Pony Club that a sense of law and order was obtained. As Cedar Town grew, pressure to remove the Cherokee from the State of Georgia mounted, and in 1838 Federal troops oversaw the forced migration of the Cherokee to new lands in what is now Oklahoma, known as the Trail of Tears.

Residents began to lobby for the creation of a new county to serve the Cedar Town area. In 1851, Polk County (named for President James K. Polk) was formed and its county seat assigned to Cedar Town. With Cedar Town now requiring a new courthouse, Asa Prior, a planter with a substantial landholding near the original trading posts and Cherokee village, dedicated a tract of land in 1852 for establishing a courthouse and laying out of town plots. Cedar Town was incorporated February 8, 1854.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 7

#OtD in 1997, Plaza Ramón Frade León was dedicated in Cayey, #PuertoRico 🇵🇷 www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=225586 #puertoricanhistory #cayeypr @puertorockxxx.bsky.social @puertoricosky.bsky.social

Nuestra plaza de recreo existe desde tiempo inmemorable, pero su primera construcción arquitectónica data entre el 1850 (c) al 1853 (c). Era usada como punto de encuentro, reunión, convivencia, lugar de intercambio, mercadeo y despositario. La iglesia católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, ubicada a su frente, estaba separada de ella por una calle que para el 1919 el.9oiminaron, quedando desde entonces unidas en un mismo predio. El nombre Plaza Ramón Frade León fue designado un viernes, 7 de febrero de 1997.

[English translation:]
Our city square has existed forever, but it was built up ca. 1850-1853. It has been used as a meeting point, place of exchange, place of business and dropoff. The Catholic Iglesia Señora de la Asunción, located at its east, was originally separated from the plaza by a street that was removed by 1919. Since then the two have been joined. Plaza Ramón Frade León was so named on Friday, February 7, 1997.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 6

#OtD in 1827, the first bridge over the Merrimack River in #Newberryport, #Massachusetts fell. www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=263633 @mhs1791.bsky.social #MassachusettsHistory

On This Site
The first bridge over the navigable
waters of the Merrimack River was
erected by Timothy Palmer in 1792.

It was superseded in 1810 by a
chain suspension bridge built by
John Templeman from plans furnished
by James Finley of Fayette County, PA.

February 6, 1827 the supporting chains
gave way and the bridge with a heavily
loaded ox cart fell into the river.
It was rebuilt during the following
summer and maintained as a toll bridge
until August 4, 1868, when it was
laid out as a public highway.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 5

#OtD in 1860, E.P. Sanderson, a philanthropist and steel company owner, was born in Pittsfield, New Hampshire www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=260867

Agents for the Cotton Mill lived in this house during the 19th Century. Agent James A. Treat's nephew, E.P. Sanderson, one of Pittsfield's most generous benefactors, was born here February 5, 1860. Sanderson attended local schools and later founded the enormously successful. E.P. Sanderson Steel Co. of Cambridge, Mass. With his son, Robert, he ran the company for the next 18 years. Upon his death in 1930, Sanderson placed an unusual stipulation in his will which resulted in the Town of Pittsfield inheriting the bulk of his fortune in 1972. Today the Sanderson Trust Fund distributes large sums annually to worthy local projects.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 4

#OtD in 1913, Rosa Parks was born in Alabama www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=36503 @alabamareflector.com @montgomeryale.bsky.social

Born in Tuskegee, AL on February 4, 1913, to James McCauley, a carpenter, and Leona Edwards, a teacher. Moved with mother and brother to Pine Level, AL after parents' separation. Enrolled in Mrs. White's School for Girls at age 11 and received her high school diploma from Alabama State Teachers College Laboratory High School. Married Montgomery barber Raymond Parks in 1932; both became active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which Mrs. Parks served as local chapter secretary. Family relocated to Detroit, MI in 1957 as result of hostility received after her courageous refusal to give up her bus seat. In 1988, the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement" was inducted as an honorary member into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the oldest African American sorority in the nation. Rosa Parks was the sole class of 2008 inductee into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 3

#OTD in 1959 was the #DaytheMusicDied www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=190786

Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson, Jr. was born on October 24, 1930 to Jiles and Elsie Bernice (Stalsby) Richardson in Sabine Pass (26 mi. SE); the family moved to Beaumont when he was six. As a teenager, Richardson began writing songs with country and western influences. Following graduation from Beaumont High School in 1947, he attended Lamar College, where he sang in the choir and played in the band. He also became a disc jockey for radio station KTRM. It was there he developed his "Big Bopper" character and his musical style shifted toward rockabilly, combining country and western with rock and roll. He served two years in the Army but returned to radio work in Beaumont, and as a DJ in 1957 Richardson raised money for charity by spinning records continuously for more than 122 hours. Around the same time, Mercury Records executive Shelby Singleton signed him to a contract, and the Big Bopper went on tour along the east coast. His recording Chantilly Lace was on the top of the charts for six weeks in 1958 and earned him a gold record after being listed among the Top 100 for 25 weeks.

At the age of 28, married with two children, rock and roll star J.P. Richardson joined a group of young musicians on another national tour. Tragically, on February 3, 1959, their plane crashed in Iowa, killing him and fellow artists Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. Richardson's body was returned here for burial. In addition to the 21 songs he recorded as the Big Bopper, he wrote many more, including Running Bear and White Lightnin', made popular by other singers. J.P. Richardson, Jr. is remembered for his musical talent as well as his larger-than-life persona as the Big Bopper.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Feb 2

#MarkeroftheWeek El Obelisco de Buenos Aires in #BuenosAires #Argentina www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=79235 @buenosairesperdida.bsky.social @buenosaires.bsky.social @evoargentina.bsky.social

Lado del oriente:
Buenos Aires
a la República

En el IV Centenario de la fundación
de la ciudad por
Don Pedro de Mendoza.
II de Febrero de MDXXXVI.

Lado del sur (sin photo):
Segunda Fundación por
Juan de Garay
XI de junio de MDLXXX.

Lado del occidente (sin photo):
Ley dictada por el Congreso Nacional
el XX de septiembre de MDCCCLXXX
a iniciativa del Presidente
Nicolás Avellaneda
Decreto del Presidente Julio A. Roca
VI de diciembre de MDCCCLXXX.

Lado del norte (sin photo):
En este sitio
en la torre de San Nicolás
fue izada por primera vez
en la ciudad
la Bandera Nacional
el XXIII de agosto de
MDCCCXII.

English translation:
East side:
Buenos Aires
to the Republic

On the fourth century since the foundation
of the city by
Don Pedro de Mendoza.
February 2, 1536.

South side, not pictured:
Second Foundation by
Juan de Garay
June 6, of 1580.

West side, not pictured:
Federal Capital
Law enacted by the National Congress
September 20, 1860
At the initiative of the President
Nicolás Avellaneda
Decree of President Julio A. Roca
December 6, 1860.

North side (not pictured):
On this site
in the St. Nicholas tower
the National Flag
was hoisted for the first time
in the city
on August 23, 1812.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Jan 26

#MarkeroftheWeek Charles de Foucauld in Bani Antar, Morocco 🇲🇦 www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=249405 #moroccanhistory @visitmorocco.bsky.social

Dans cette maison qui etait le Siege du Consulat de France l’explorateur Charles de Foucauld s’est arrete le 28 janvier 1884 venant du Souss
Hommage du Syndicat d’Initiative

English translation
In this house, which was the Seat of the Consulate of France,
the explorer Charles de Foucauld stopped on January 28, 1884 coming from the Souss
Tribute of the Tourist Office

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Jan 20

#MarkeroftheWeek Wolfgang Amadeo Mozart in #Milan, #Italy www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=218356 @mozarteffect.bsky.social @italy.bsky.social @milanitalyzz.bsky.social

Wolfango Amedeo Mozart
qui fu ospite dei Padri Agostiniani
durante il primo soggiorno Milanese
23 gennaio - 15 marzo 1770
—————-

Il Comune di Milano
nel bicentenario della nascita del
sommo maestro
1756 - 1956

English translation:

Here Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a guest of the Augustinian Fathers during his first stay in Milan, January 23 - March 15, 1770.

—————-
The Municipality of Milan on the bicentenary of the birth of the great master, 1756 - 1956.

Historical Marker Database@hmdb· Jan 17

#MarkeroftheWeek Captain Kathryn Janeway in Bloomington, #Indiana www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=244757 #indianahistory #startrek #voyager