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1874 - Stumptown-Matthews

People call it Stumptown for all the tree stumps left standing when land is cleared. There was little more than a stagecoach stop in the small town which now changes its name to Matthews, in honor of the railroad official who helps bring the Central Carolina line to the town.

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1907 - Selwyn Hotel

No other hotel will enhance the city's image as a modern business center more than the Selwyn, located at the corner of Trade and Church streets. It is named for Lord Selwyn, a British noblemen who once owned the land where Charlotte was settled. The Selwyn will operate for more than 60 years, and boast a reputation as the state's finest hotel. It will be followed in 1923 by the 400-room Hotel Charlotte on West Trade Street.

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1900 - Horseless Carriage

November 30, 1900 - Two automobiles, the first to arrive in the Queen City, are unloaded at Charlotte's rail depot. Businessman Oswald Barringer keeps one and sells the other to Dr. C.G. McManaway. The early autos are called locomobiles.

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1874 - Last Stagecoach

December 15, 1874 - The last stagecoach carries mail from Charlotte to Wadesboro as railroad lines now link major cities throughout the Carolinas and the South. There is now a distillery to make liquor in Charlotte, and four dealers who sell the intoxicating spirits.

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1882 - D. A. Tompkins

D.A. Tompkins arrives in Charlotte, armed with a prestigious engineering degree from New York. He believes the New South can and will emerge as the nation's industrial and textile leader. Tompkins will design and build more than 100 cotton mills throughout the country, and will write books that record this impressive period in Charlotte's growth.

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1911 - An Artist is Born

Critically acclaimed artist, Romare Bearden (1911-1988) was born in Charlotte on September 1911 in the house of his great-grandfather, Henry B. Kennedy, at 401 South Graham Street. His family later move to New York City and Bearden grew up midst the Harlem Renaissance. After studying in both New York and Paris, he launched a successful career as an artist. Bearden is most noted for reinventing the collage as an art form. His works are filled with scenes that capture Bearden’s memories of Charlotte and his love for music.

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1875 - Jewish Community

During the Civil War, Charlotte's Jews raised $150 to help Confederate volunteers. In 1868, the Hebrew Cemetery was established on McCall Street. Although it will be many years before the Hebrew Congregation has its own building in which to worship, area Jews will maintain a tradition of charitable deeds. This year they will help fund an old-age home.

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1898 - Presbyterian Hospital

A private hospital begun by a group of Charlotte doctors becomes Presbyterian Hospital when its founders give the facility to the church in 1903. A nursing school will be part of the hospital as well. It will evolve into the Presbyterian Healthcare System and the Belk Heart Center.Presbyterian Hospital

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1885 - Myers Street School

Most people come to call it the Jacob's Ladder School, nick-named for the outside stairways that criss-crossed the wooden building. Its official name is the Myers Street School, Charlotte's first graded school for black children.

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1875 - Freedom Centennial

May 20, 1875 - It's the 100-year, or centennial, anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a document that proclaimed freedom in 1775 from British rule. Masses of people from Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and both Carolinas crowd into Charlotte for the celebration. For more, see this exhibit on the Meck Dec.

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