Sevierville, Tennessee

Here, Near, and Far:  The covered bridge is not here.  It is nearby, though:  400 yards south.  And, if you are intrigued enough by the text, you might follow the trail downhill to see a bit of history.  Actually, there is precious little information about the the bridge's history on this marker; mostly glorifies the DAR.  [2009]

Burlington, North Carolina

Here, Near, and Far:  Burlington was born when the railroad came through in the 1850s and needed a company maintenance shop.  Here, right on this spot, Company Shops was located.  That was Burlington's original name:  Company Shops.  [2006]

Jekyll Island, Georgia

Not Here, But There:  Another pointing arrow.  This one seems to say:  "Look over there."  Its roadside home is right next to the burial ground.  Raise your hand if you think you could communicate all that information in about half as many words.  [2010]

Finzel, Maryland

Not Here, But There:  Savage River Camp wasn't here; it was over there . . .  somewhere, I guess.  The geography remains unclear, and the arrow doesn't help.  Maybe the marker is in the wrong place.  But, maybe if it were in the right place, there would be no passers-by to read it.  What a quandary.  [2010]

San Diego, California

The First of Them All: If you can't be the first in the nation or the state, maybe you can be the first in the county.  Examine how this 'first' is contextualized geographically.  In 1865, the county was bigger than three New England states.  Is that a put-down of New England or just a way of enlarging the school's importance?  [2007]

Trenton, New Jersey

The First of Them All:   If you can't be the first in the nation or the state, maybe you can be the first in the city.  Here's the site of Trenton's first synagogue, attested by the Har Sinai Temple Centennial Committee.  The cemetery association gave life to the Hebrew community of Trenton.  What irony!  [2006]

Eldorado, Ontario, Canada

The First of Them All:  If you can't be first in the nation, you can at least be first in the province.  What ties the present to the past, though, is the place-name Eldorado.  El Dorado was the "city of gold" sought since the 1500s.  Today, Canadian firms, including El Dorado Gold, dominate the world's gold mining industry.  [2002]

Galesville, Maryland

The First of Them All: If you can't be first in the nation, you can at least be first in the state.  What did Galesville have before anyone else in Maryland?  The first General Meeting of Friends.  That almost begs for some sloganeering:  "Come visit your oldest friends in Galesville."  [2008]

Lumberton, North Carolina

The First of Them All:  Memo to Lumberton:  don't forget to celebrate the centennial, 1912-2012, of this important American first for the public sector.  On the other hand, perhaps North Carolina should decommission this marker since it seems to point toward a role for government in national health care.  [2011]

Washington, Virginia

The First of Them All:  In America, it's almost an obsession.  Being first, that is.  Perhaps it is born of an inferiority complex from the earliest days of European settlement when the first of everything happened in the "old world."  [2010]