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historicalmarker.bsky.social
Historical Marker Ahead
@historicalmarker.bsky.social
2.4K followers 1.7K following 4.8K posts
Yes, I’m pulling the car over to look at plaques. I’ll be just a minute. Not a historian, but did minor in history at Indiana University. Formerly notgoingpro on other socials.
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historicalmarker.bsky.social
Historical Marker Ahead @historicalmarker.bsky.social · Jul 21
A good primer on historical markers: how they’re researched, approved and made. And, why they matter, and the biggest threats to their existence. Thanks for the tip, @grrlherstorian.bsky.social! indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/07/21/i...
Inside Indiana’s 'best-kept secret,’ historical markers • Indiana Capital Chronicle
The Indiana State Historical Marker Program began in 1946 and has administered more than 750 historical markers across the state.
indianacapitalchronicle.com
historicalmarker.bsky.social
People think US punk was born at CBGB and moved outward. But there were proto-punk movements popping up all over the country. Cleveland’s pretty famous, Indianapolis/Bloomington was active, and here we have Oklahoma. There was at least one band in every town letting it rip like this around 1975-76
February 14, 2026 at 6:02 AM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
An incredible story of a man who shipped himself from slavery to freedom: Henry “Box” Brown, who spent 27 hours in a crate going from Virginia to Philly in 1849. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 passed, he moved to England, then to Toronto, where he died and where the plaque below sits.
lanrickbennett.bsky.social Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 1d
Feb 13th of #BHM

"Henry Box Brown, North Star Way, Cy McLean Heritage Plaque Unveilings tookplace on Monday, Feb 2, 2026, at the Inglenook School. They represented 3 different aspects of Black history: the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the struggles for emancipation, and the achievements..."

/End
Chris Moise - Honoring Toronto’s Black History. 🖤🧱🎶 Join us this afternoon at 4:00 PM at the historic Inglenook School (19 Sackville Street) as we unveil three new heritage plaques that mark significant chapters in our city’s story. Today, we honor the legacy of resilience and achievement in our community. From the fight for freedom represented by Henry Box Brown and the North Star, to the musical barriers broken by Cy McLean, these plaques ensure that these stories remain a visible part of our city’s landscape. We will be honoring: Henry Box Brown Lane & North Star Way – Commemorating the struggles for emancipation and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Cy McLean – Celebrating Canada’s first full-scale Black bandleader who broke barriers during the era of segregation. Come witness history as we are joined by Cy McLean’s descendants and Heritage Toronto for this special dedication. Image of multiple at the plaque unveiling “HENRY “BOX" BROWN circa 1815-1897 Henry Brown mailed himself from Virginia to Philadelphia in a box — a courageous act that secured his freedom from slavery and earned him a lifelong nickname. Brown was born and lived enslaved in Louisa County, Virginia. After his wife and help of some friends and the Pennsylvania Ant, Saver planned his escape with the On March 23, 1849, Brown climbed into a wooden box with three small air holes, a gimlet tool for cutting more holes by hand, and a container of water. The box was to be shipped by boat, train, and wagon for about 21 hours. During this time, Brown had to stay silent and completely still to avoid detection. Following his successful arrival in Philadelphia, Brown moved to Boston, then New York City. He married Jane Floyd in England in 1855, and they had three children. Brown performed as a magician, hypnotist, ventriloquist, and singer to make a living. His shows confronted slavery and told stories of the Underground Railroad. He also practiced the pseudosciences of phrenology — reading bumps on the human skull to predict mental habits — and animal magnetism, which promised medical relief though an invisible natural force that surrounds all living things. In 1886, Brown and his family moved to Toronto. A noted anti-slavery activist, he was part of many community events, including pertorming with his family in a concert at St. Lawrence Hall. Brown spent some of his final years living on Bright Street near here. He is buried in the Toronto Necropolis cemetery. HERITAGE TORONTO 2025”
February 14, 2026 at 5:57 AM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
Note that this 2019 marker in South Carolina for a Black soldier blinded by police in 1946, an incident that inspired Truman to desegregate the military two years late, also is in Braille
bambooshooti.bsky.social Shooti @bambooshooti.bsky.social · 1d
In November 1946, Shull was tried in federal court but acquitted by an all-white jury after less than 30 minutes of deliberation. Woodard moved to the Bronx, where he lived until his death in 1992. In 2019, the town of Batesburg-Leesville acknowledged the injustice with a historical marker. /end
Historical marker honoring Isaac Woodard and acknowledging the injustice of his brutal beating.
February 14, 2026 at 5:52 AM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
A note about Lake Zurich, Illinois, home of our heroic high school puncher. The town isn’t just some Chicago burb. Its founder “(Seth) Paine was a soaring, high-spirited radical. A zealot. A passionate 19th century Don Quixote with big plans.” That ain’t the half of it. jwcmedia.com/in-search-of...
historicalmarker.bsky.social Historical Marker Ahead @historicalmarker.bsky.social · Aug 13
There are multiple Illinois markers titled “Thy Wondrous Story.” The first graf of each is about the same, with local lore allotted space. But not enough to hear about Lake Zurich founder Seth Paine, an abolitionist who also considered marriage and taxes to be slavery. A school is named after him.
“Thy Wondrous Story, lllinois” historical marker in Lake Zurich, Illinois. It reads: The fertile prairies in Illinois attracted the attention of French trader Louis Jolliet and Father Jacques Marquette as they explored the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers in 1673. France claimed this region until 1763 when she surrendered it to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris. During the American Revolution George Rogers Clark and his small army scored a bloodless victory when they captured Kaskaskia for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Illinois then became a county of Virginia. This area was ceded to the United States in 1784, and became in turn a part of the Northwest Territory and the Indiana Territory before a separate Illinois Territory was created. On December 3, 1818, Illinois entered the Union as the twenty-first state. The fourteen northern counties of Illinois, including the site of Chicago, were made a part of the state through the foresight of Nathaniel Pope, congressional delegate from the Illinois Territory. His amendment to the statehood act moved the upper boundary from an east-west line through the tip of Lake Michigan to the present location. Before the first settlers came, lands in this vicinity were hunting grounds for the Potawatomi Indians, who traded furs with hunters coming up the Fox River. Lake Zurich was founded by Seth Paine, abolitionist and free-thinker, who settled there in 1836 and constructed the building which he called a "Stable of Humanity." It included a meeting hall, school, and store, and provided lodging for unfortunate families. At one time Paine considered all civil law, including marriage and taxes, a form of slavery. In later life he went to Chicago where he continued his philanthropy. Erected 1976 by the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois State Historical Society.
February 14, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by Historical Marker Ahead
civilwarmemory.bsky.social
Black Newspapers Were There When Richmond's Confederate Monuments Went Up and They Were There When They Came Down #BlackHistoryMonth 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
Black Newspapers Were There When Richmond's Confederate Monuments Went Up and They Were There When They Came Down
Today it is being reported that after thirty-four years the Richmond Free Press will cease publication. The final edition of the newspaper will mark the end of an impressive run and will leave a signi...
open.substack.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:31 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
You: watching NBA All-Star weekend

Me: watching England metal detecting club all-star weekends
February 13, 2026 at 7:28 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
New (at least to me) frontier in local organizing: a group in Indianapolis is setting up an armed protest for Second Amendment rights BUT… this is an anti-ICE response to what Trump and Republicans said about Alex Pretti carrying. www.strongneighbor.com?fbclid=IwVER...
February 13, 2026 at 6:15 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
New omissions to the Medgar Evers home tour include why there are bloodstains in the driveway, and who killed him, and why mississippitoday.org/2026/02/12/m...
Medgar Evers home visitors question omissions to his story - Mississippi Today
Medgar Evers home visitors said park rangers told them they can no longer discuss bloodstains on the driveway or refer to his assassin as a racist.
mississippitoday.org
February 13, 2026 at 2:35 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
Tribute to Irish socialist and revolutionary James Connolly: statue at Union Park in Chicago; replica of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic in Killarney; record of his (and other Easter Rising leaders) death in Dublin’s Kilmainham Gaol; cross in Kilmainham where he was shot, already dying
Statue of James Connolly in Chicago’s Union Park, placed in 2008 by the Irish American Labor Council of Chicago Plaque with the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic, signed by James Connolly and others, on display in Killarney, Ireland. The Easter Rising of 1916 didn’t throw out the British but laid the groundwork for Irish independence in 1922. Plaque in Dublin’s Kilmainham Gaol listing all the Easter Rising leaders and arrestees the British executed on the prison grounds. A cross in the Kilmainham yard shows the corner where James Connolly was executed. It was on the opposite end of the yard from where others involved in the Easter Rising were executed. Famously, he was already severely wounded by soldiers, was dragged out, and tied to a chair so he could stay upright to be shot.
February 13, 2026 at 4:48 AM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
Haha the NBA couldn’t fine the Pacers for sitting out their best players last night to trot out the Noblesville Boom because they’d also have to fine the Nets for losing at home to them
February 13, 2026 at 1:36 AM
Reposted by Historical Marker Ahead
wendylrouse.bsky.social
It's important to remember that these types of visible demonstrations resisting historical erasure are especially important because of the long, painful (and continuous) history of efforts to purge LGBTQ+ people from public life.
🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🍎
bradlander.bsky.social Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 1d
The Pride flag at the Stonewall Monument is re-raised!

New Yorkers won’t let Donald Trump erase LGBTQ+ history, or trample the rights of our LGBTQ+ neighbors.
February 12, 2026 at 11:07 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
I’ve talked a lot about @eji.org’s historical marker work but if you know the organization, you know it’s hardly about only calling out past injustices
eji.org Equal Justice Initiative @eji.org · 1d
Last week, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed EJI client Warren Hardy's capital murder conviction and death sentence after finding that his trial was unfair.
Alabama Appeals Court Orders New Trial for EJI Client Warren Hardy
Warren Hardy’s capital murder conviction and death sentence were reversed.
eji.org
February 12, 2026 at 11:11 PM
Reposted by Historical Marker Ahead
akgrl33.bsky.social
One of us! One of Us!! One of Us!!

@historicalmarker.bsky.social
I brake for historical markers bumper sticker
February 12, 2026 at 9:37 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
The whole thread below gets into it brilliantly, and adds context to what I and others have said repeatedly. Where are the protests? Everywhere. Instead of massive single-day single-city events protests have fanned out and brought more people in - as organizers, too. bsky.app/profile/hist...
chenoweth.bsky.social Erica Chenoweth @chenoweth.bsky.social · 2d
Overall, we have tallied 4x more protests through Jan 31, 2026 than we had through Jan 31, 2018
Line graph that shows a blue line of # protests since Trump's 2nd inauguration surpassed, showing these to have exceeded 42k by the end of Jan 2026. A green line counts # of protests during the same time period in Trump's first term and just exceeds 10k.
February 12, 2026 at 9:51 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
As @eji.org has done, Virginia is set to add more historical markers at lynching sites. Today a state agency announced 15 will go up, in addition to others placed since 2019. Upset alert: this comes from a law signed by Virginia’s previous governor www.wric.com/hidden-histo...
Virginia DHR to place state historical highway markers near sites of lynchings
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) announced on Wednesday that it will place roughly 15 historical highway markers near sites of lynchings that occurred throughout the Commonwealth…
www.wric.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:38 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
Thanks to @allthebeset.bsky.social for pointing out the Underground Railroad marker by the Maywood, Ill., McDonald’s. Feel free to tag me when you share a historical marker! (And use alt text in your photos. It helps with accessibility and allows you to add information that won’t fit in your skeet!)
indeedagem.blacksky.app indeedagem.blacksky.app @indeedagem.blacksky.app · 2d
There’s a Harriet Tubman quote on the marker that says:

If ya' wanna be free, keep a goin'
If ya' tired, keep a goin'
If ya' scared, keep a goin'
If ya hungry, keep a goin'
If ya' wanna taste freedom, keep a goin'
February 12, 2026 at 3:55 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
Who wants to clean and polish some historical markers?
ncph.bsky.social National Council on Public History @ncph.bsky.social · 3d
Have you noticed a #HistoricalMarker in your community that could use a little care? Join this webinar with the William G. Pomeroy Foundation to learn about how you can care for that marker during National Historic Marker Weekend. https://community.ncph.org/event/HistoricMarkerWeekend #LocalHistory
February 25. 1 pm Eastern. Join the webinar to learn how you can make local history "shine" as a national historic marker weekend volunteer. Logos for the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and the National Council on Public History.
February 12, 2026 at 3:40 AM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
It’s working
historicalmarker.bsky.social Historical Marker Ahead @historicalmarker.bsky.social · 2d
Brooklyn halftime strategy is how to not win so hard
February 12, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Reposted by Historical Marker Ahead
ipacers.bsky.social
Quinn Buckner has given us two “And then depression sets in” lines this season and 0 “smothered chickens”
February 12, 2026 at 2:17 AM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
Chinese New Year night in Brooklyn vs the Noblesville Boom: for the fans, it’s the gift of a red envelope filled with nothing.
tonyreast.bsky.social Tony East @tonyreast.bsky.social · 2d
It's Nets 31, Pacers 18 after one quarter. Pacers are 8/22 from the field and 2/11 from deep, plus three turnovers. Nets made half of their shots from deep. Poor defense from the available Pacers.
February 12, 2026 at 1:08 AM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
Further evidence that America’s 250th is a live discovery of why the founders were moved to write the Declaration of Independence.
dfriedman.bsky.social Dan Friedman @dfriedman.bsky.social · 3d
The WH sidelined America250, the congressionally-formed group charged with organizing a bipartisan celebration of the country's anniversary, in favor of Trump's sketchy Freedom250, as we detailed recently. And AP reports here that the admin is starving America250 of $. wtop.com/animals-pets...
February 11, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Historical Marker Ahead
craigcalcaterra.bsky.social
Holy shit this is the best thing I've read in a month www.actioncookbook.com/welcome-to-t...
Welcome to the Group Chat
There's a new member, whether you like it or not!
www.actioncookbook.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Historical Marker Ahead
pkmonaghan.bsky.social
Haskell House was built in the Clarksville Austin freedom colony of ex-slaves in 1876, & still stands as a museum presenting the history of this unique central neighborhood & its former residents.

City of Austin has made a really cool 20 min doc about it!

📷P Monaghan 2015

youtu.be/nWE42dozBAw?...
A small gray clapboard house Texas Historical Marker text HEZIKIAH HASKELL HOUSE THE COMMUNITY OF CLARKSVILLE IS AN EARLY FREEDMAN'S COMMUNITY THAT WAS ESTABLISHED AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. FREED SLAVE CHARLES CLARK FOUNDED THE COMMUNITY IN 1871 AS A PLACE WHERE FORMER SLAVES COULD REUNITE WITH THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS, DIRECT THEIR OWN LIVES AND OPENLY PRACTICE THEIR RELIGION FOR THE FIRST TIME. PETER TUCKER, A FORMER SLAVE, PURCHASED LAND FROM REAL ESTATE SPECULATORS AROUND 1875. IT IS BELIEVED HE BUILT THE HOME AROUND 1879 BETWEEN 1879 AND 1887 MARY AND EDWIN SMITH PURCHASED THE HOME, LATER, HEZIKIAH HASKELL, A UNION SOLDIER AND "BUFFALO SOLDIER"AND A MEMBER OF THE BLACK CAVALRY BOARDED WITH THE SMITHS AND LATER MARRIED THEIR DAUGHTER CATHERINE. IN 1892, THE SMITHS DEEDED THE HOME TO THEIR DAUGHTER AFTER THE DEATH OF HEZIKIAH HASKELL, JR. IN 1976, THE HOME WAS DEEDED TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND USED AS A SENIOR LUNCH PROGRAM SITE FOR NUMBER OF YEARS. THE HEZIKIAH HASKELL HOUSE IS A CUMBERLAND-STYLE SINGLE WALL CONSTRUCTION, BOARD, AND BATTEN HOME WITH DOUBLE SEPARATED FRONT DOORS. THE HOUSE SITS ON ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION AND MAINTAINS A HIGH DEGREE OF PHYSICAL INTEGRITY: THE EXTERIOR IS UNPAINTED BOARD AND BATTEN AND THE ROOF IS: OF ROUGH-HEWN CEDAR SHINGLE SHAKES. THE FLOOR PLAN IS UNALTERED, ALTHOUGH ROOMS WERE ADDED TO THE BACK THE NO LONGER STAND, BUT A FEW ORIGINAL WINDOWS AND SOME OF THE SQUARE NAILS USED FOR CONSTRUCTION STILL EXIST. THE HEZIKIAH HASKELL HOUSE STANDS AS A REMINDER OF CLARKSVILLE'S HISTORIG AND CULTURAL ROOTS AND OF THE STRUGGLES OF THE PEOPLE WHO MOVED THERE TO LIVE IN FREEDOM AFTER YEARS OF SERVITUDE AND SEPARATION. CLARKSVILLE IS LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES AS A HISTORIC DISTRICT. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK 2012 MARKER IS PROPERTY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS
February 9, 2026 at 5:55 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
North Carolina’s short historical markers demand you seek more information. It’s especially true of Pauli Murray, who fought issues of race, sexuality and gender long before intersectionality was a term. I’m intentionally not using pronouns for a reason. youtu.be/Uh4r95VBU2Q?...
February 11, 2026 at 3:28 PM
historicalmarker.bsky.social
I’m happy the Pacers interrupted the tank to beat the Knicks in MSG and make everyone feel sad
February 11, 2026 at 3:30 AM