Welcome to CHARLOTTE

Charlotte (pronounced /ˈʃɑrlət/) is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. Charlotte's population was estimated to be 716,874 in 2009 according to Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, making it the 18th largest city in the United States. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans".

Nicknamed the Queen City, Charlotte (as well as the county containing it) is named in honor of the German Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg, who had become queen consort of British King George III the year before the city's founding. A second nickname derives from later in the 18th century. During the American Revolutionary War, British commander General Cornwallis occupied the city but was driven out soon afterwards by hostile residents, prompting him to write that Charlotte was "a hornet's nest of rebellion," leading to another city nickname: The Hornet's Nest.

In 2007, the Charlotte metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1,701,799. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a wider thirteen-county labor market region or combined statistical area that has an estimated population of 2,338,289. Forbes named Charlotte as the third most undervalued real estate markets in the U.S. in 2007. In 2008, Charlotte was chosen the "Best Place to Live in America" by relocate-America.com in its annual ranking, based on factors including employment opportunities, crime rates, and housing affordability. It was also named #8 of the 100 "Best Places to Live and Launch" by CNNMoney.com - cities picked for their vibrant lifestyles and opportunities for new businesses. Lifestyle was also noted when Prevention Magazine rated the Queen City 4th in the nation and the best "Walking City" in North Carolina in 2007 and Self Magazine named Charlotte one of “Five Cities with Big Outdoor Appeal” for features like its Public Art Walking Tour, accessible museums such as the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, and nearby outdoor excursions like the U.S. National Whitewater Center.

History

The area that is now Charlotte was first settled in 1755 when Thomas Polk (uncle of United States President James K. Polk), who was traveling with Thomas Spratt and his family, stopped and built his house of residence at the intersection of two Native American trading paths between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers. One of the paths ran north-south and was part of the Great Wagon Road; the second path ran east-west along what is now modern-day Trade Street. In the early part of the 18th century, the Great Wagon Road led settlers of Scots-Irish and German descent from Pennsylvania into the Carolina foothills. Within the first decades following Polk's settling, the area grew to become the community of "Charlotte Town," which officially incorporated as a town in 1768. The crossroads, perched atop a long rise in the Piedmont landscape, became the heart of modern Uptown Charlotte.

In 1770, surveyors marked off the new town's streets in a grid pattern for future development. The east-west trading path became Trade Street, and the Great Wagon Road became Tryon Street, in honor of William Tryon, a royal governor of colonial North Carolina. The intersection of Trade and Tryon is known as "Trade & Tryon" or simply "The Square." It is more properly called Independence Square.

Both the town (now a city) and its county (originally a part of Anson County) are named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the German-born wife of British King George III. The town name was chosen in hopes of winning favor with the crown, but tensions between the United Kingdom and Charlotte Town began to grow as King George imposed unpopular laws on the citizens in response to the townspeople's desire for independence. On May 20, 1775, the townsmen allegedly signed a proclamation later known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a copy of which was sent, though never officially presented, to the Continental Congress a year later. The date of the declaration appears on the North Carolina state flag. Eleven days later, the same townsmen met to create and endorse the Mecklenburg Resolves, a set of laws to govern the newly independent town.

Charlotte was a site of encampment for both American and British armies during the Revolutionary War and, during a series of skirmishes between British troops and Charlotteans, the village earned the lasting nickname "Hornet's Nest" from frustrated Lord General Charles Cornwallis. An ideological hotbed of revolutionary sentiment during the Revolutionary War and for some time afterwards, the legacy endures today in the nomenclature of such landmarks as Independence Boulevard, Independence High School, Independence Center, Freedom Park, Freedom Drive, and the former NBA team Charlotte Hornets.

Churches, including Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Catholics, began to form in the early 1800s, eventually giving Charlotte its nickname "The City of Churches."

In 1792 the eastern half of Mecklenburg county made up of small rural independent farmers tired of traveling all day by horse and buggy to the county seat of Charlotte Town decided to go to Raleigh and secede to form its own county in the state legislature where they garnered a tie vote that was broken by an ex-naturalized Frenchman, eastern NC legislator Stephen Cabarrus. Cabarrus was thought to have been paid under the table by this new county and was allegedly hanged for horse thievery years later. The new county was named for Cabarrus and town of Concord or agreement. Oddly in 1799 or years before as many believe, in Cabarrus allegedly a 12-year-old Conrad Reed brought home a large gold rock he found in Little Meadow Creek, weighing about 17 pounds, which the family used as a bulky doorstop. Three years later, a jeweler determined that it was near solid gold, and bought it for a paltry $3.50. The first verified gold find in the fledgling United States, young Reed's discovery became the genesis of the nation's first gold rush. Many veins of gold were found in the area throughout the 1800s and even into the early 1900s, thus the founding of the Charlotte Mint in 1837 for minting local gold. The state of North Carolina "led the nation in gold production until the California Gold Rush of 1848," although the total volume of gold mined in the Charlotte area was dwarfed by subsequent rushes. Charlotte's city population at the 1880 Census grew to 7,084. Some locally based groups still pan for gold occasionally in local (mostly rural) streams and creeks. The Reed Gold Mine operated until 1912. The Charlotte Mint was active until 1861, when Confederate forces seized the mint at the outbreak of the Civil War. The mint was not reopened at the end of the war, but the building survives today, albeit in a different location, now housing the Mint Museum of Art.

The city's first boom came after the Civil War, as a cotton processing center and a railroad hub. Population leapt again during World War I, when the U.S. government established Camp Greene north of present-day Wilkinson Boulevard. Many soldiers and suppliers stayed after the war, launching an ascent that eventually overtook older and more established rivals along the arc of the Carolina Piedmont.

The city's modern-day banking industry achieved prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, largely under the leadership of financier Hugh McColl. McColl transformed North Carolina National Bank (NCNB) into a formidable national player that, through a series of aggressive acquisitions became known as NationsBank and eventually merged with BankAmerica and was rebranded as Bank of America. Another bank, Wachovia, experienced similar growth, and was acquired by San Francisco based Wells Fargo. Measured by control of assets, Charlotte is the second largest banking headquarters in the United States after New York City.

On September 29, 1989, the city took a direct hit from Hurricane Hugo. Passing through Charlotte as a Category 1 hurricane with wind gusts over 100 mph (160 km/h) in some locations, Hugo caused massive property damage and knocked out electrical power to 98% of the population. Many residents were without power for several weeks and cleanup took months to complete. The city is just over 200 miles inland, and many residents from coastal areas in both Carolinas often wait out hurricanes in Charlotte. The city was caught unprepared, as almost no one expected a storm to strike with hurricane force this far inland. Over 80,000 trees were destroyed in Charlotte. In December 2002, Charlotte (and much of central North Carolina) was hit by a massive ice storm (which some dubbed, "Hugo on Ice") that knocked out power to over 1.3 million Duke Energy customers. According to a Duke Energy representative: "This ice storm surpasses the damage from Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which had 696,000 outages." During an abnormally cold December, many were without power for more than two weeks. Much of the damage was caused by Bradford pear trees which, still having leaves on December 4, split apart under the weight of the ice.

Tourism

Hotels in the Queen City are widespread and can be found throughout Charlotte's city center, and particularly along the South Craycroft Road, East Irvington, South Stream Boulevard, East Woodlawn Road and Rexford Road. Additional hotels are located nearby Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), which stands to the west of the city. More information on Charlotte Hotels.

Tourism in Charlotte is actively encouraged by the city and the main tourist information center is the Charlotte Convention and Visitors Bureau on South Tryon Street. Here you will find all of the latest tourist information about life in Charlotte, including leaflets and brochures, where to stay and what to see, current events and general tourism information about the Charlotte area. The city's main tourist districts include Fourth Ward, NoDa (North of Davidson), Plaza Midwood, Uptown Charlotte and Southend.

Charlotte has plenty of popular tourist attractions, including the Bank of America Stadium - a vast 73,000-seat stadium hosting many major sporting events and concerts; the Bank of America Corporate Center - one of Charlotte's tallest skyscrapers, offering spectacular views of the cityscape; Charlotte's Carolina Raptor Center - a popular birds of prey center, with regular displays and talks; the Lowe's Motor Speedway - a major racing track, with many exciting races throughout the year, attracting large crowds; and Paramount's Carowinds - a large and thrilling Charlotte theme park with all of the family favorites, such as rollercoasters, fast rides and sideshows.

Other popular tourist attractions in Charlotte include the Historic Latta Plantation - an important, renovated antebellum plantation full of historical information about yeoman farmers and slaves; Charlotte's Hezekiah Alexander Homesite - a small stone house dating back to 1774, now America's oldest dwelling; Rosedale Plantation - a beautifully restored Federal-style house with many original features, constructed in 1815; and countless parklands and gardens, such as McGill Rose Garden, Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens and the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens. More information on Charlotte Tourist Attractions and Charlotte Landmarks.

Some of Charlotte's main museums and art galleries include the Charlotte Museum of History - full of information and memorabilia about Charlotte's rich history; Discovery Place - with an Omnimax Theater, Planetarium and aquarium; Charlotte Nature Museum - an interesting nature center, with Native American relics; Mint Museum of Craft and Design - in Uptown Charlotte, showcasing an array of modern studio crafts; North Carolina Transportation Museum - with information and exhibits about various forms of historic transport; Charlotte's Afro-American Cultural Center - with many impressive African American exhibits and an amphitheater; and the Mint Museum of Art - North Carolina's oldest art museum, with excellent collections of world-class art work. More information on Charlotte Museums and Charlotte Art Galleries.

Tourist attractions located nearby Charlotte include the Backing Up Classic Auto Museum - housing a large collection of classic cars, including many unusual exhibits; North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame - situated to the north of Charlotte, with a range of memorabilia, racing cars and historic information about auto racing; Reed Goldmine State Historic Park - east of Charlotte, the spot where America's first documented gold rush took place over 200 years ago; Richard Petty Driving Experience - offering the chance to experience professional race car driving around a fast course; and Schiele Museum of Natural History and Planetarium - a short drive from central Charlotte, celebrating North Carolina's natural history and heritage. More information on Charlotte Attractions Nearby.