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The Crossroads
Charlotte was born in the mid-Eighteenth century, at the crossroads of two great Native American trade routes. Scots-Irish, German, English, and French Huguenot settlers followed the Great Wagon Road into the Carolina foothills, where the Catawba Indians made their home. The settlers set up shop at the aforementioned intersection of trade routes, recognizing the potential of the fertile land and central location.
Early Political Maneuvering
To further that potential, upon the settlement’s incorporation in 1768, settlers christened their home Charlotte Town, after Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III. As their community grew in size and importance, the settlers were itching for a county of their own. So as to expedite the fulfillment of their wishes, they dubbed the prospective county Mecklenburg. Before long, it became apparent that Mecklenburg County needed a county seat, and Charlotte was so designated in 1774, thanks to the timely construction of a modest log cabin courthouse.
Revolution
Despite those early efforts to honor and respect the monarchy, the citizens of Charlotte soon yearned for independence. It is said that in May 1775, they drafted the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, pronouncing the sovereignty of their city and county. While no concrete record of this mysterious "Meck-Dec" exists, the people of Charlotte recall the story proudly, and the date of its signing is commemorated on the North Carolina state flag. When the American Revolution began in earnest, Charlotte proved to be a key location. Both American and British forces set up camps in the vicinity, and many a bloody battle was fought nearby. The people of Charlotte fought alongside Catawba Indians, both parties working together to defeat the Brits. Their wily efforts worked: British General Cornwallis famously called Charlotte "a damned hornet’s nest of rebellion."
Gold!
After independence, Charlotte became the site of one of the first confirmed gold finds in U.S. history. The year was 1799, and a young boy returned from a fishing trip with a curious 17-pound chunk of rock. It was used as a doorstop for three years before a jeweler happened upon the chunk and declared it solid gold! Throughout the next century, gold was the talk of Charlotte. Fortune seekers from all over the world poured into the city, and the federal government saw fit to construct a new branch of the U.S. Mint here. While the Charlotte Gold Rush was severely overshadowed by the more famous gold discoveries out West, this episode forever remains an integral part of the city’s rich history.
Boom
With the gold rush and the Civil War having lured people and resources into the area, Charlotte expanded greatly in the years that followed. In the latter half of the Nineteenth Century, the city grew into an important ginning and distribution center for the region’s cotton industry, thereby becoming an integral hub for the nation’s burgeoning railroad system as well. Charlotte was soon an ideal place for textile manufacturing, and by the turn of the century, over half of all U.S. textile production occurred in and around the city. After the First World War, the growth of interstate highways like I-85 and I-77 added to Charlotte’s transformation into an all-around distribution powerhouse. To keep up with the economic boom, a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank was instated.
Charlotte Today
In recent decades, Charlotte’s distribution networks and control over high finance have done nothing but grow. While the city has become an international banking capital (home to Fortune 500 companies like Bank of America and Wachovia), the people of Charlotte have not forgotten their rich and tumultuous history. Locals cherish General Cornwallis’ characterization of their city, and continue to celebrate Charlotte’s revolutionary reputation. Contemporary reminders of this section of the city’s storied past include major transit corridors like Independence Boulevard and Freedom Drive, commercial hubs such as the Independence Center, community gathering places like Freedom Park and Independence Park, and, of course, the NBA’s long-time Charlotte Hornets. The old mint no longer functions as such, but in its place, the Mint Museum of Craft and Design and the Mint Museum of Art stand as prominent tributes to Charlotte’s fabled gold rush and its subsequent establishment as a city of serious financial weight. Charlotte’s people have not lost their Revolutionary War-era fighting spirit either. When the Hornets were hijacked to New Orleans in 2002, Charlotte wasted no time securing a new NBA team to call its own. The Charlotte Bobcats entered the league in 2004, and continue to thrill audiences at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. For NASCAR fans, Charlotte is something of a Mecca as well. It is home to the world famous Lowe's Motor Speedway and around 75% of the American motor sports industry’s employees are headquartered in and around downtown Charlotte.
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