John Penn’s Original Burial Site

a Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, (Part 1)

Finding John Penn’s original burial site was quite a challenge!  He signed the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation from North Carolina.

We searched for and found Signer, John Penn’s Memorial, his original burial site in the backwoods of North Carolina.

His original burial site is more than one hour from any large city and fifteen minutes from any town.

Finding John Penn’s Original  Burial Site

You drive down a country road just northwest of Henderson, North Carolina using SIRI and GPS coordinates.

Make a turn down a country road, then turn onto a blacktop drive, “John Penn Road”, until you pass a church…take the gravel/red clay road beyond the church until you get to the end, and turn left.

See the 30-second video of the dirt road leading to the burial site.

Ignore SIRI from here on; we were deep into the forest. Siri was freaking out. She instructed me to pull over and just walk from there. No kidding. (listen to the video above), It’s way too far to walk, trust me. We just shut her down and continued blind.

By now, we are 3 miles deep into the woods of North Carolina.  Nothing or no one was around us, only trees and more trees. Glad I didn’t hear any Banjos…

We turned left and continued driving until my wife asked,

“How long are we going to follow this path? Do you know where you are going?”

I tell her, “Only one more mile, honey,” she smirks and gives me the “LOOK.”.  Guy’s, you know, the “look.”  When your wife knows you are completely lost and unwilling to admit it!  Yup, that look!

I notice that the road extends uphill, and a dirt cul-de-sac appears. Hey, I say to myself, this looks hopeful.

I look across the cul-de-sac and notice one of 6 million trees. This one tree supports a toilet tissue size sign about eye level on the far side of the road…Next to a path!

Found the Burial Site for John Penn

The weathered sign reads:

“No turn around for cemetery; best to walk from here”…

We decided to ignore the message and drive down the narrow path “with no place to turn around.”

Seriously!!! No place to turn around…we should have walked, should have listened to the sign.

But no!!!!! I know better….My wife is really ready to kill me at this point!!!!

About a quarter mile down that path, I noticed another sign. It was the size of a one-half sheet of toilet tissue that pointed to two grave sites, one for John Penn and one for his slave. (Still looking for his slave’s names so I can honor them also).

John Penn’s original site is 100 yards past this small sign. 

I could not locate the slave grave site, but I saw another sign stating I was there.  The leaves covered the ground, and I could not find any of their burial sites.

John Penn’s Original Burial Site

His marker is new, made out of marble, and shows honor and respect.  It is surrounded by a fence to keep out…????? Well, I don’t know what it keeps out, but it is a nice headstone and serves this “Signer” well.

I was so happy to have found this memorial, even though it was challenging. The Signers hold such a place in my heart!

I hope you enjoyed this crazy story. It’s all true, and it happened on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in February.

Lest I forget, the funniest event of this day came when my mother-in-law spent fifteen minutes (I’m exaggerating here) trying to turn the car around on that skinny “walking” path!!!!  It was like a 15-point turnaround.  I nearly doubled over laughing at the spectacle of it all.

She did a fantastic job and got the car turned in the correct direction in the end, but I got such a laugh. She has much more patience and tenacity than me!

We had so much fun!  Thank you to the John Penn Chapter NSDAP, Oxford, NC, for your caring, maintaining his original burial site, and preserving this national landmark.

Thank you, Mr. Penn, for forging a path to liberty and paying the special price you paid for the freedoms I enjoy today!  

We will never forget it; we will never forget you!

Signing out now; stay tuned for more.

Neil and Lori on adventure!

CLICK BELOW to continue onto part 2 of John Penn

The Re-Internment of John Penn (Part 2)

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service)