GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) --A former polio hospital that became a jail for civil rights protesters will be recognized with a North Carolina historical marker.

A dedication program for the N.C. Highway Historical Marker will be held Saturday in Greensboro with the marker placed later at a nearby intersection.

It was in 1948 that polio spread rapidly, killing 147 people with 2,517 cases recorded in North Carolina. The epidemic hit Guilford County particularly hard. Citizens raised money, and the Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital in Greensboro was built just 95 days after fundraising began.

It was racially integrated from the outset, treating and employing both whites and African Americans.

The building then served as a jail for civil rights protesters in 1963. In May of that year, over 1,000 people marched in efforts to desegregate movie theaters and restaurants.