Historical Marker Ahead! turns every drive into a living history tour. Using GPS and the Historical Marker Database (HMDB.org), the app automatically detects historical markers near you and alerts you before you pass them — no phone interaction required.

DESIGNED FOR SAFE, HANDS-FREE USE
Set the app up before you drive, then put your phone down. Proximity alerts, Auto-Read, and the player bar are all designed to work without you looking at the screen. A safety reminder plays each time you start monitoring.

SET YOUR RADIUS, THEN JUST DRIVE
Choose an alert radius from 0.1 to 7 miles — or raise the maximum up to 25 miles in Settings for rural areas and advance planning. When a marker enters your range, you get a notification with its direction and distance, and it appears in your list automatically.

HEAR THE HISTORY
Turn on Auto-Read and the app fetches each marker's full inscription and reads it aloud. Playing music or a podcast? The app pauses your audio, reads the inscription, then hands control back.

FULL PLAYBACK CONTROLS
The player bar lets you Stop, Pause, Resume, or Skip at any time. Tap ▶ to hear all nearby markers in sequence.

QUEUE MODE
In marker-dense areas, Queue Mode reads every new marker in turn, nearest first — like a guided tour that follows your route. With Queue Mode off, the app reads the closest marker.

FILTER BY TOPIC
Hear only the history you care about. Choose from 70 topics in five categories — Military & War, People & Culture, History & Government, Industry & Infrastructure, and Nature & Places. Your choices are saved and apply to your Marker History too.

MARKER HISTORY
Every marker you discover is saved to a searchable, date-grouped travel log on your phone. Export it to a CSV file any time to keep your own copy.

EVERY MARKER, EVERY DETAIL
Tap any marker to open its full HMDB.org page with photos, inscription, and location. Tap the map icon for directions to its exact spot in Google Maps.

WORKS OFFLINE TOO
GPS works without internet. Markers detected with no signal are saved and can be read or viewed once you're back online.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
No account or sign-up. Your location is used only to find nearby markers, and your history stays on your device. Optional usage analytics are off unless you turn them on.

DATA PROVIDED BY HMDB.ORG
Marker data is provided by the Historical Marker Database (hmdb.org) under license — the world's largest collection of historical markers, covering all 50 states and dozens of countries.

© 2026 mABC Software Development LLC, DBA HMAhead. All rights reserved.