|
In 1755, Thomas Polk built his home between the Yadkin and
Catawba Rivers, at the intersection of two Native American
trade routes. Polk's nephew, James K. Polk, would later become
the eleventh president of the United States.
The settlement that developed there was incorporated as a
town in 1768. In a few decades the little settlement had grown
to become Charlotte Town, so named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg,
the German-born wife of King George III, in an effort to gain
favor. The county was named after her also, Mecklenburg County.
In spite of the good intentions of the townspeople, King
George continued to impose harsh laws on the citizens until
they decided to declare themselves free and independent of
the crown. This occurred on May 20, 1775 and the proclamation
would become known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.
The Mecklenburg Resolves were the town’s laws of self-government
and were contained within the Declaration.
During the American Revolution, Charlotte was a campsite
for both, the American Army and the British Army. There were
several skirmishes between the citizens of Charlotte and the
British, earning the town the nickname, “The Hornet’s Nest”.
In 1799, a twelve year old boy, Conrad Reed, quite innocently
changed the economic outlook of the area by discovering America’s first gold nugget, resulting
in the establishment of the Reed Gold Mine. On March 3, 1835
the US Mint was founded; in 1836, the Charlotte Mint was opened.
North Carolina became the leading gold producting state in
the U.S. until the California gold rush of 1848.
At
the onset of the U.S. Civil War, the Charlotte mint was seized
by the Conderacy. It was never re-opened following the Civil
War. The original mint building was moved to a different location,
where it survives today as the Mint
Museum of Art.
Following
the Civil War, Charlotte boomed as a rail hub and cotton processing
center. In the 1970s the banking industry became quite prominent,
North Carolina National Bank made acquisitions then became
NationsBank, which merged with BankAmerica to become Bank
of America. Wachovia also experienced similar growth and maintained
its headquarters in Charlotte, though it was eventually acquired
by Wells-Fargo. Today, Charlotte rates second in banking headquarters,
behind New York City.
|
