Two still-visible parts of Black history in the Dan River Region are closer to receiving a highway marker to enshrine forever the sometimes-forgotten pivotal parts of the past.

With the text approved for the signs to go up near the Danville Canal and Roanoke Navigation Company in Danville and Gilbert’s Restaurant in Chatham, the final part of the process is complete.

The markers were approved in June by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources. The same group signed off on the text for those markers last month.

The board noted it can take up to six months or more before the markers are ready to install. The sponsors of the markers have to cover the $3,000 cost to manufacture them.

In Chatham, Gilbert’s Restaurant, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will have a

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