Lush and green with a mild climate, Charlotte constitutes most of
Mecklenburg County in the Carolina Piedmont. Downtown Charlotte (once billed
as "Uptown" by local boosters, but now referred to as "Center City") was
built on the gunnies of the St. Catherine's and Rudisill gold mines and
today is a major financial center, with Bank of America, Wachovia and other
national banks headquartered there. It is not uncommon for a builder digging
a basement to break into the gunnies and have to pour several tons of cement
to fill the hole. The Charlotte skyline has mushroomed in recent years and
features the Bank of America Corporate Center, which at 871 feet is the
tallest building between Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Charlotte is the second biggest banking center in the world, after New York
City. The city's location has made it a longtime transportation focal point
and major trucking center. Charlotte Douglas International Airport is served
by numerous airlines and is a fortress hub for USAirways; nonstop flights
are available to destinations across the United States and Europe.
The city harbors a wide system of parks and greenways, recreational areas
which can be used by pedestrians and bicyclists.
Residents of Charlotte enjoy a quasi-Mediterranean climate (mild/rainy
winter and hot/dry summer), with sun and temperatures that remain mostly
warm and pleasant throughout the year.
Nearby towns and cities include Pineville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Cornelius,
Davidson, Huntersville, Gastonia, and Rock Hill, South Carolina. It is the
county seat of Mecklenburg County.
History
Charlotte was founded in the 1750s at the intersection of two Indian trading
paths, including a north-south route that we today recall as the Great Wagon
Road and know as U.S. 21. The Great Wagon Road brought settlers of Scotch-Irish
and German descent from Pennsylvania into the Carolina foothills, along with
the rugged industriousness and individualism that were part of their
Presbyterian conviction. This crossroads, which sat atop a long rise in the
Piedmont landscape, would later become the center of modern downtown
Charlotte, with the streets named "Tryon" and "Trade".
The village, established by Thomas Polk, was named for Queen Charlotte, the
German wife of British king George II.
The nod to royalty was short-lived, however. In 1775, townsmen signed a set
of resolves that would become known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence, and Charlotte played a critical role during the Revolutionary
War, site of encampment for both the American and British main armies. It
was during a series of skirmishes between British troops and fiesty
Charlotteans that the village earned a lasting nickname: "Hornets' Nest," so
dubbed by a frustrated Lord General Cornwallis. Charlotte was an ideological
hotbed of revolutionary sentiment, an enduring legacy that remains
prominently splashed across the cityscape: Independence Boulevard,
Independence High School, Freedom Park, Freedom Drive, etc.
Charlotte's history as a financial center is extensive. In 1838 the U.S.
Congress established a branch U.S. Mint there, because of the gold deposits
found in the area. Additionally, an 1836 executive order issued by President
Andrew Jackson called a specie circular had mandated that all land
transactions be conducted in cash, thus incresing the need for minted money.
The Charlotte mint, which produced coins in denominations of $2.50, $5, $10,
and after 1849, $1, was active until 1861, when Confederate forces seized
the mint facility at the outbreak of the Civil War. The mint was not
reopened at the end of the war, but the building survives and now houses an
art museum. Because of the relatively small mintage that the Charlotte mint
produced annually, surviving pieces are prized in the field of American
numismatics.
The Civil War largely bypassed Charlotte, though the city was the site of
the Confederate Cabinet's final meeting. Confederate president Jefferson
Davis was in Charlotte when he received news of Abraham Lincoln's
assassination.
Charlotte's penchant for looking ahead -- a drive for economic development
that kicked into particularly high gear during the mid-20th century -- has
created something of an historical apathy in the city. Most traces of
antebellum Charlotte are long gone, and preservationists have often
struggled in their quest to maintain landmarks in the face of modern-minded
boosters. That's a key reason Charlotte is often regarded as a "new"
American city, despite the fact that among major U.S. metropolises, it is
actually one of the oldest.
Richard Vinroot was mayor of Charlotte from 1991 to 1995. Patrick McCrory
succeeded him in office and, in 2003, won re-election to a fifth term.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
629.0 km˛ (242.9 mi˛). 627.5 km˛ (242.3 mi˛) of it is land and 1.6 km˛ (0.6
mi˛) of it is water. The total area is 0.25% water.
Demographics
As of 2004, census estimates show there are 614,330 people living in
Charlotte, and 801,137 in Mecklenburg County. The county's population is
projected to reach 1 million in 2010.
Figures from the more comprehensive 2000 census show Charlotte's population
density to be 861.9/km˛ (2,232.4/mi˛). There are 230,434 housing units at an
average density of 367.2/km˛ (951.2/mi˛).
Charlotte's population is ethnically diverse. The racial makeup of the city
is: 58.26% white / 32.72% black / 7.36% Hispanic or Latino of any race /
3.41% Asian (including Indians (largely Gujarati), Chinese, and Vietnamese)
/ 0.34% Native American / 0.05% Pacific Islander / 3.56% from other races /
1.66% from two or more races /
More 2000 census data:
There are 215,449 households out of which 30.6% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 43.6% are married couples living together, 13.7%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% are non-families.
29.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.3% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.45 and the average family size is 3.07.
In the city the population is spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18,
10.4% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100
females there are 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 93.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $46,975, and the median
income for a family is $56,517. Males have a median income of $38,767 versus
$29,218 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,823. 10.6% of
the population and 7.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 13.8% are under the age of 18 and 9.7% are
65 or older.
Sports
Charlotte has been home to the NFL's Carolina Panthers since 1996. The NBA's
Charlotte Bobcats began play in 2004. (The NBA's Charlotte Hornets played in
Charlotte from 1988 until 2002, when the troubled franchise relocated to New
Orleans, Louisiana). The WNBA Charlotte Sting have played in Charlotte since
1997.
Charlotte is the de facto hub of stock-car racing, with two major Nascar
events (the Coca-Cola 600 and the Quality 500) held annually at nearby
Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly the Charlotte Motor Speedway). Many of
Nascar's top teams are headquartered in the Charlotte area.
Religion
The birthplace of Billy Graham and onetime home of the PTL Club was once
known as the "City of Churches." Of those who practice a religion, most
Charlotteans are Christian, of various denominations. There are also Jews,
Muslims, and Hindus. Churches are located throughout the city. Synagogues
(Temple Beth El, Reform, Temple Israel, Conservative, and an Orthodox
congregation) are located in Shalom Park, on Providence Road. Hindus meet at
the Hindu Center off Independence Boulevard near Idlewild Road. There is
also a private Muslim primary school located on Park Street.
The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America is headquartered in Charlotte,
and Reformed Theological Seminary has a campus there
