National Historic Marker Day helping shine light on hundreds of signs around Cape Fear

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – Friday is National Historic Marker Day.

The special day celebrating all things historical began in 2022 and is commemorated each year on the final Friday of April.

Historic markers began to pop up around the country in the 1930s.

The North Carolina General Assembly authorized the establishment of a Highway Historical Marker Program in 1935. The first historic marker in the state went up in 1936. 

There are nearly 200,000 historic markers in the United States, with hundreds in the Cape Fear alone.

The small signs serve as a reminder of the rich history all around us and the importance of not forgetting it.

Ansley Wegner of the NC Office of Archives and History has been working with the historic markers for more than 20 years. 

“One of the mottos of this agency has always been ‘history for all the people,’ and I think that we live that. Anybody can apply for a marker, any subject that meets the criteria,” she said. 

If you’re curious about historic markers in your county, you can view a map here.