Historical Markers and War Memorials in Wise County, Virginia
Wise is the county seat for Wise County
Adjacent to Wise County, Virginia
Dickenson County(21) ► Lee County(47) ► Norton(5) ► Russell County(14) ► Scott County(36) ► Harlan County, Kentucky(34) ► Letcher County, Kentucky(23) ► Pike County, Kentucky(48) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
On Callahan Avenue (Virginia Route 78) east of West Main Street (Business U.S. 23), on the right when traveling east.
The town sprang up after the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and Southern Railroad made a junction here in 1890. Named for the Appalachian Mountains, in the heart of which it stands, it was incorporated in 1906; the streets were laid out in 1907. . . . — — Map (db m90888) HM
On Gilley Avenue East (Alternate U.S. 58) east of Hamblen Street South, on the right when traveling east.
Big Stone Gap. Big Stone Gap takes its name from a large stone, visible
in a gap. Wagoners who followed Daniel Boone’s trail
said: “It’s a day's ride from the Big Stone Gap to
Cumberland Gap.” Fiddlers, banjo players, and . . . — — Map (db m90913) HM
On East 5th Street North (Business U.S. 28) north of Shawnee Avenue East, on the right when traveling north.
Big Stone Gap, originally known as Three Forks, received its carter February 28. 1888. A postoffice was established April 12, 1856. In the early nineties it became the center of iron and coal development. It was the home and workshop of John Fox, . . . — — Map (db m90914) HM
On East 3rd Street North at Shawnee Avenue East on East 3rd Street North.
Carl Martin was born in Big Stone Gap in April
1906. He grew up in Southwest Virginia and
moved to Knoxville, Tenn., in 1918. He performed
regionally on the guitar, mandolin, bass, and
violin at coal camps, dances, and in traveling
shows. In . . . — — Map (db m90912) HM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) near the Lee-Wise County line, on the right when traveling north.
John Donelson’s Line, surveyed after the Treaty of Lochaber with the Indians, 1770, crossed the road here. This line separated Indian territory from land open to settlement. Violations of the line by settlers contributed to Dunmore's War, 1774. — — Map (db m44396) HM
On Wood Avenue East (County Route 610) at East Jerome Street South, on the right when traveling east on Wood Avenue East.
This was the site of the Gilley famly farm,
settled by John and Mary Barger Gilley about
1790. The family cemetery was located just
south at the end of Graveyard Alley. Named
Imboden after Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden when
it was laid out on . . . — — Map (db m90891) HM
On Wood Avenue West (Alternate U.S. 58) at West 1st Street North on Wood Avenue West.
This museum is located in a mansion built by
lawyer and industrialist Rufus Ayers, Virginia
attorney general in the 1880s.
Newman and her brother, C. Bascom Slemp, former U.S. Congressman and private secretary
to President Calvin . . . — — Map (db m90897) HM
On Front Street West (Virginia Route 158) at Laurel Avenue and 2nd Street West (Virginia Route 72), on the right when traveling east on Front Street West.
The town stands on the site of one of Christopher Gist’s camps when he was returning from his exploration of the Ohio Valley about 1750. Big Tom and Little Tom Creeks are named for him and his son. The name of the town comes from W. W. Coe, chief . . . — — Map (db m90868) HM
On Orby Cantrell Hwy (US 58 Alt) (U.S. 23), on the right when traveling north.
Beginning in 1774, Chief Benge led a part of
the Shawnee from the Ohio River on raids
along the frontier. Benge, who was part white
and part Cherokee. frequently captured slaves
and then resold them; he also seized white
women and children who . . . — — Map (db m44232) HM
On Clintwood Highway (Virginia Route 82) just west of Red Onion Road (County Route 853), on the right when traveling west.
Entering the town of Lieutenant Daniel Webster Dotson, born Sept 25, 1920; died May 2, 1953. A veteran of the Korean War and World War II. Virginia’s second-highest decorated soldier and Wise County’s most decorated soldier in the Korean War. — — Map (db m90777) HM WM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) at Potter Town Road (County Route 667), on the right when traveling south on Orby Cantrell Highway.
Entering the town of Lieutenant Daniel Webster Dotson, born Sept 25, 1920; died May 2, 1953. A veteran of the Korean War and World War II. Virginia’s second-highest decorated soldier and Wise County’s most decorated soldier in the Korean War. — — Map (db m90795) HM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) at Petes Lane, on the right when traveling south on Orby Cantrell Highway.
Entering the town of Lieutenant Daniel Webster Dotson, born Sept 25, 1920; died May 2, 1953. A veteran of the Korean War and World War II. Virginia’s second-highest decorated soldier and Wise County’s most decorated soldier in the Korean War. — — Map (db m90844) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 23), on the right when traveling east.
Capt. Jefferson Scott Dotson - USAF
Aug 06, 1944 – Aug 09, 1969
1st Lt. Daniel Lee Mullins - USA
Oct 21, 1943 – Aug 31, 1967
Scott and Danny, graduating classmates of 1962, were excellent students as well as outstanding athletes . . . — — Map (db m228664) HM WM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) at Indian Creek Road (Business U.S. 23), on the right when traveling north on Orby Cantrell Highway.
Francis Gary Powers (1929-1977) was raised here
in Pound and graduated from Grundy High School.
Powers enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950 after
graduating from Milligan College in Tennessee. In
1956, the Central Intelligence Agency . . . — — Map (db m90846) HM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) 0.1 miles west of Apostolic Drive, on the right when traveling east.
Leonard Woods, a black coal miner from Jenkins, KY, was lynched near here on the night of 29-30 Nov. 1927. Officers had arrested Woods for allegedly killing Herschel Deaton, a white man from Coeburn, VA, and had taken him to the Whitesburg, KY jail. . . . — — Map (db m217840) HM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23), on the right when traveling south.
Pound Gap probably was named for nearby
grain pounding mill. Christopher Gist, returning
from the Ohio River where he surveyed land
for the Ohio Company, crossed the gap in 1751.
During the Civil War, Pound Gap gained
strategic importance as a . . . — — Map (db m90797) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 23) 0.1 miles west of Clintwood Highway (Virginia Route 83), on the left when traveling west.
High School Principals in The Pound
Christopher Gist High School
(Present-day Town Hall)
1924-1930 Luther Addington • 1930-1953 O.M. Morris
Pound High School
1953-1964 O.M. Morris • 1964-1972 Marvin B. Barker • 1972-1974 Danny C. . . . — — Map (db m228655) HM
On Clintwood Highway (Virginia Route 83) at Main Street (Business U.S. 23), on the left when traveling south on Clintwood Highway.
In Honor of Fallen Comrades
World War 1
Edward Stidham • Houston Meade • James S. Hamilton
WWII
Everette Balthis • Ira Short • Maynard Stallard • Bart Belcher Jr. • Clifford Bentley • Harold Bentley • Ralph Hubbard • Milton . . . — — Map (db m228666) WM
On Indian Creek Road (Business U.S. 23) just north of Bold Camp Road (County Route 633), on the right when traveling north.
Christopher Gist explored the area later known as
The Pound—likely derived from a family name—in 1751. The name became established following
the construction of a pounding mill after 1815.
According to tradition the oldest settlement . . . — — Map (db m90779) HM
On Mountain Cove Road (Virginia Route 631) at Sunnydale Farm Road on Mountain Cove Road.
Sunnydale Farm, just to the north, was the home
of Chant Branham Kelly (1894-1979), known as the
“Father of Pound.” Kelly grew up here, served in
the U.S. Army during the Mexican Expedition
(1916-1917) and World War I, and returned in . . . — — Map (db m228647) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 23), on the right when traveling east.
WWI
Edward Stidham • Houston Meade • James S. Hamilton
WWII
Everette Balthis • Ira Short • Maynard Stallard • Bart Belcher Jr. • Clifford Bentley • Harold Bentley • Ralph Hubbard • Milton Ellison • Raymond Hopkins • Carl Baker • . . . — — Map (db m228660) WM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) at Potter Town Road (County Route 667), on the left when traveling north on Orby Cantrell Highway.
Kentucky Unionists considered Pound Gap second
in importance only to Cumberland Gap as a strategic gateway to southwestern Virginia and eastern
Tennessee. On the frigid morning of March 16,
1862, Union Gen. James A.
Garfield, the future . . . — — Map (db m90781) HM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) at Potter Town Road (County Route 667), on the right when traveling south on Orby Cantrell Highway.
From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Coalfields region, southwest Virginia is blessed with historic and contemporary music venues, musicians, and fretted instrument makers. Historically isolated, the region retained its strong musical legacy by . . . — — Map (db m90782) HM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23), on the right when traveling south on Orby Cantrell Highway.
Wise County. Wise County was formed in 1856 from Lee, Scott,
and Russell Counties. It was named for Henry
Alexander Wise who was governor of Virginia
from 1856 to 1860. The county seat is the town
of Wise. After the Civil War the town of . . . — — Map (db m90800) HM
On Russell Street west of 4th Avenue (Virginia Route 63), on the left when traveling west.
Dedicated to all
Veterans in all wars
who brought honor
to our country
and promise
to our dreams
All gave some
Some gave all
World War I
Total deaths - 116,516
World War I
Total deaths - 116,516
World . . . — — Map (db m119072) WM
On East Main Street (County Route 640) east of Spring Avenue, on the right.
Gladeville (present-day Wise) served for a time
in 1862 as the headquarters for Confederate Gen.
Humphrey Marshall, who directed operations in
Southwest Virginia. Despite its relative isolation
in this part of the state, the community . . . — — Map (db m90856) HM
On Orby Cantrell Highway (U.S. 23) just north of the traffic light for Lowes Home Improvement, on the right when traveling north.
Napoleon Hill was born nearby on 26 Oct. 1883.
At age 13, he became a “mountain reporter” for small
town newspapers. He left Southwest Virginia in 1908
to write magazine profiles of such business leaders as
Andrew Carnegie, Henry . . . — — Map (db m90860) HM
On Thomas Jefferson Drive (Route 382) north of Coeburn Mountain Road (Route 646), on the right when traveling north.
The college was founded at 1954 as Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia, through the efforts of local citizens and University of Virginia officials including President Colgate W. Darden, Jr.; Samuel H. Crockett, extension services . . . — — Map (db m90859) HM
On East Main Street (County Route 640) at Tacoma Avenue SE on East Main Street.
Wise. Known variously through the years as Big Glades, Gladesville, and Gladeville, Wise took its current name in 1924 after Henry Alexander Wise, Governor of Virginia before the Civil War. Located on the road between Union
Kentucky and the . . . — — Map (db m90857) HM
On West Main Street (Business U.S. 23) west of Barker Avenue SW.
The town of Wise was known as Big Glades
when a post office was established here in
1850,
Before being incorporated as Wise in 1926 it was also called Gladeville and Wise Court House. Since the creation in 1856 of
Wise County, named for Henry . . . — — Map (db m90847) HM
