Charlotte, North Carolina City Guide
For over 20 years, Pamela Lanier's Charlotte, North Carolina Travel Guide has been your connection to Charlotte's tourism community with invaluable details on local attractions, restaurants, shopping, museums, history, outdoor recreation and more.
Charlotte History
Charlotte’s earliest European settlers, who arrived in 1755, built a courthouse, market and village at the intersection of ancient Native American trading paths. These fiercely independent people were sowing the seeds of separatism prior to the American Revolution. Although Charlotte was characterized as a “hornet’s nest” of rebellion, President George Washington referred to Charlotte as a “trifling place”, as it existed in relative obscurity. The first United State’s gold rush was triggered when a huge gold nugget was removed from the present-day site of Reed’s Gold Mine, in the year 1799. The contribution of low-grade gold from the mines to Charlotte’s street paving program, coined the expression that Charlotte’s streets were paved with gold. Charlotte’s economic prosperity had begun. The Charlotte Mint was established in 1837 with the intention to mint local gold. Shortly thereafter, Charlotte positioned itself as a railway hub. Farmers were now able to distribute their tobacco and cotton nationwide. Charlotte’s future as a city of commerce and distribution blossomed. Charlotte played a very minor role in the Civil War. Its biggest casualty was the loss of the mint. While former Confederate states were reconstructing, Charlotte was expanding its ties to the railroad and mill industries. The bed and breakfast visitor will appreciate the post-war mills that still stand and have been converted to modern businesses and condominiums. “Carpetbaggers”, who invested heavily in Charlotte during the Reconstruction Era, preceded Charlotte’s modern day bankers. By the earlier 1950’s, Charlotte was the largest city in the Carolinas. The railroads gave way to automotive transport for the distribution of goods. As the textile and furniture industries declined, Charlotte invested in the finance and transportation industries. The population exploded, as did the skyline. Charlotte, once a mill town, was now a metropolis. Charlotte continues to grow and redefine itself. The bed and breakfast visitor will appreciate Charlotte’s efforts to embrace tourism and make Charlotte the most tourist–friendly city of the Carolinas.
