July 1916 - After 22 inches of rain fall in the North Carolina mountains, a storm brings 50-mile-per-hour winds to Mecklenburg County. All along the Catawba River, factories and bridges are washed away, along with bales of cotton going to market.
April 8, 1926 - Baseball legend Babe Ruth delights sports fans when he hits a home run as the New York Yankees play the Brooklyn Robins in Charlotte. Four thousand fans show up to see the exhibition game played at Wearn Field on South Mint Street.
Factories have shut down. People who had jobs just a short time ago have no money. Families try to share what little they have. A charity called the Salvation Army open soup kitchens and bread lines, trying to feed the hungry. In Charlotte, First National Bank, Mechanics & Farmers Bank, and Independence National Bank must close. They have no money to lend or to pay their depositors. Can America survive the Great Depression?
Northern businessman Julius Rosenwald donates millions of dollars to help build schools for black children in the South. In 15 states, there are 5,000 Rosenwald schools. Of the 813 in North Carolina, 26 are in Mecklenburg County. Many will be torn down as the school system modernizes, but a few will remain standing 80 years later.
December 1, 1927 - A branch of the U.S. government's banking system, called the Federal Reserve, opens in Charlotte. Not only will the Reserve Bank bring prestige to the city, the money it supplies helps local banks grow stronger.
Everyone feels the hardships of the Great Depression. But some businesses survive, including Thad Tate's barbershop on East Fourth Street. Although owner and staffed by black Charlotteans, the shop serves only the white customers who live in this part of town. Black families patronize businesses in their own neighborhoods.
Electric-powered streetcars have made it possible for families to move to suburbs beyond Charlotte's downtown area. Now, the city has nine streetcar lines, with cars displaying billboards that encourage families to buy homes in new neighborhoods. Buy a home in Dilworth for rent money! one proclaims.Charlottte Streetcar
Since around 1900, the Karnazes brothers have sold fruit at Charlotte's downtown crossroads, called the Square. Families from foreign countries continue to come to America, or immigrate. Now the city's Greek community is large enough to buy its own church building on South Boulevard. By 1954 the building will be too small, and the Greek Orthodox church will move to East Boulevard.
April 1, 1930 - Mail arrives in Charlotte by airplane for the first time. Eastern Air Travel, which will become Eastern Airlines, makes the delivery as 30,000 people turn out to greet the plane.
Mayor Frank McNinch and other officials convince the federal government to build a military training facility west of downtown Charlotte. Camp Greene is named for General Nathanael Greene, who defended Mecklenburg from British attack during the Revolutionary War. Living and working in 1,000 tents and barracks, some 60,000 soldiers will pass through Charlotte. Some will train as pilots, others will learn to repair airplanes.Camp Greene