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]

Windmill Point, Virginia

Maintenance Needed:  Here's the new marker for Windmill Point.  Lots more words.  What do you think?  It appeared in 1998.  [2011]

Windmill Point, Virginia

Maintenance Needed:  What's needed is replacement, not maintenance.  These words remind us of the vulnerability of the Chesapeake Bay; the next stop for the British troops was Washington, D.C.  What do you think of these 30 words?  If you wrote the text for a new marker, what would it say?  [1994]

New Orleans, Louisiana

It's All About Hue:  The brown hue is really all about the bird.  Louisiana's official feathered friend is the brown pelican.  Could that be why they chose brown for their historical markers?  Could the brown pelican appear just a tad browner, though?  And, how did an O'Reilly become a Spanish governor?  [2009]

York, Pennsylvania

It's All About Hue:  The navy hue seems to match Pennsylvania's state flag.  The last line is a teaser.  What did Lafayette say about York?  Get rid of that meaningless first sentence in favor of a crumb more from the toast.  [2006]

St. Albans, West Virginia

It's All About the House:   It's a cabin, it's a kitchen, it's a house, it's a museum.  It's important only because it's connected to the Civil War.  What fraction of historical markers in the eastern U.S. would not be there were it not for the conflict that began 150 years ago this spring?  [2010]

Midway, Georgia

Too much, too little, just right?  You can jam even more words onto your historical marker if you don't have to spell out 'Union' and 'Confederacy' every time you mention them.  Using flags is a clever innovation in a realm where communication is all about words and seldom about symbols.  [2010]

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Too much, too little, just right?  14 words and a simple title.  Succinct but useful for anyone following the day-to-day progress of the Civil War.  Could you read this much while driving by?  or would you have to stop?  [2010]

St. Albans, Vermont

Places, People, and Events:  Using historical markers, we commemorate confluences of places and events as the combined engines of history.  St. Albans Raid may have brought the Civil War to Vermont, but look at the date.  The Civil War was only 6 months from being over.  [2009]