Charlotte Real Estate
Charlotte, NC History
Charlotte NC HistoryWelcome to Charlotte … The Queen City.
(Photograph appears courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room - Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County.)
Nicknamed The Queen City, Charlotte was named for Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom. It is the largest city in the Carolinas and the county seat of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte is located in the Piedmont region, which is in the south-central portion of North Carolina near the South Carolina border.
History
Charlotte was first settled in 1755 by Thomas Polk (uncle of United States President James K. Polk). While traveling with his family, Polk found a location at the intersection of two Native American trading paths between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers. He built his home there, and within the decades following, the area grew to become the community of "Charlotte Town," which officially incorporated as a town in 1768.
As King George imposed unpopular laws on the citizens of Charlotte, in response to their desirefor independence, tensions mounted. It’s reported that on May 20, 1775, citizens signed a proclamation which became known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Shortly thereafter the “Mecklenburg Resolves” was created and endorsed, which established an initial set of laws to govern the newly independent town.
During the Revolutionary War, Charlotte was a site of encampments for both American and British armies. Because of the tension and multitude of encounters between British troops and Charlotteans, Lord General Charles Cornwallis gave Charlotte the nickname of “Hornet’s Nest”. There was so much revolutionary sentiment in Charlotte during the war and thereafter, the nomenclature of current area landmarks reflect that legacy. Examples are Independence Boulevard, Independence High School, Independence Center, Freedom Park, and former minor league baseball and NBA teams, separate teams that were both called the Charlotte Hornets.
Many are not aware that it was in Charlotte was home to the first verified gold-find in the United States. In 1799, a young boy named Conrad Reed found a rock weighing about 17 pounds. Not realizing what is was, he and his family used the “rock” as a doorstop for three years before a jeweler discovered it was near solid gold. The discovery is credited as the nation’s first gold rush. Several veins of gold were discovered throughout the area in the 1800’s and into the early 1900’s. As a result, the Charlotte Mint was founded in 1837 for minting local gold. Active until 1861, the Charlotte Mint was seized by Confederate forces when the Civil War began. Although is did not reopen as a Mint, the building still exists in an alternate location, housing the Mint Museum of Art.
The city's first economic boom came after the Civil War, as a railroad hub and acotton processing center. When the U.S. government established Camp Greene during World War I, the population leapt again.
During the 1970s and 1980s, financier Hugh McColl transformed the North Carolina National Bank (NCNB) into a major player in the national banking industry. Through a series of large-scale, strategic acquisitions, NCNB evolved into what is known today as Bank of America. First Union followed a similar path and following a merger, is now Wachovia. Today, Charlotte is second only to New York City in terms of the largest banking headquarters in the nation, as measured by control of assets.
The city is also the birthplace of the National Association of Stockcar Automotive Racing or NASCAR. The first ever NASCAR race was held in Charlotte, NC near what is now the Charlotte Douglas Airport.
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