The Chatham County Board of Commissioners on June 16 adopted a resolution proclaiming June 28, 2025, as George Moses Horton Day and directed staff to work with the North Carolina Department of Transportation on signage recognizing Horton along U.S. 15501.

The board reviewed location and design options proposed after consultations with NCDOT and local partners. Commissioners agreed the most historically resonant locations were the county-line entrances on U.S. 15501 at Orange County and at the Lee County line. The board directed staff to contract for two single-sided NCDOT supplemental signs, one at each county line; NCDOT’s initial cost estimates were discussed in the meeting.

Board members discussed sign design and the amount of text NCDOT allows on supplemental panels. Commissioners and staff settled on wording to accompany the county welcome: honoring George Moses Horton, "enslaved poet, and the Bard of Chatham County." Staff will submit that wording to NCDOT and return with the final conceptual drawings and a contract for the board’s administrative approval.

The board had also considered broader naming or historical corridor designations and debated whether to install similar signs at multiple Chatham entrances; members ultimately settled on two signs on the U.S. 15501 corridor as the first step.

Separately, the board adopted a proclamation recognizing June 28 in the county’s calendar as George Moses Horton Day and encouraged schools, libraries and community organizations to mark the date.

Commissioners asked staff to continue outreach to community partners as the design is finalized and to plan a public commemoration once signs are installed.