Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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History Timeline

1876 - Latta Empire

Edward Dilworth Latta opens a clothing store in Charlotte. Soon, this South Carolina descendent of Mecklenburg planter James Latta will become known as one of the Queen City's most influential men. He begins the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company, called the 4Cs. E.D. Latta will introduce the concept of suburbs, and develop trolley transportation that makes suburban growth possible.

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1860 - A House Divided

November, 1860 - Abraham Lincoln is elected president. He vows to end the spread of slavery and to keep the United States, or Union, from splitting apart over the controversy. But the economic impact on the South will be enormous if slavery is outlawed. Unlike the North, there are few laborers for hire to work on the South's farms. One by one, 11 Southern states will break away from the U.S.

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1861 - Divided State

February 28, 1861 - Over 90,000 North Carolinians come to the polls to vote. They must decide if they want a resolution that calls their elected representatives to meet at a statewide convention. The convention would put to an official vote whether or not North Carolina should secede from the U.S. By only 651 votes, citizens defeat the resolution. For a few more months, the state will remain part of the U.S.

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1867 - A University is Born

April 7, 1867 - Mrs. Henry Biddle of Philadelphia contributes $1900, and Colonel W.R. Myers donates land west of Charlotte. Together, they help the Presbyterian Church establish Biddle Institute, a school to train black ministers. A Pennsylvania widow named Mrs. J.C. Smith donates $700,000 in her husband's memory in the 1920s. Then the school's name will change to honor him: Johnson C. Smith University.Biddle Hall

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1860 - Medical Advances

Physicians are learning better ways to treat the sick. An anesthetic, called ether was discovered in 1845. Now, surgeons can operate on patients without causing undue pain. Still, communicable diseases can be deadly. This year, 761 North Carolinians will die of the fevers and coughs of tuberculosis, often called consumption.

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1865 - Surrender

April 9, 1865 - General Robert E. Lee, commander of all Confederate armed forces, surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. Lee had fought brilliantly at Antietam, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. Now the military strategist who once refused President Lincoln's offer to lead the Union troops must admit defeat. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant, who commands the Union army. More than 600,000 people have died in the Civil War.

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1877 - Craighead-Huntersville

March 9, 1877 - First called Craighead in honor of an early Mecklenburg patriot, today the town of Huntersville is incorporated. A catalogue boasts new schools, fresh air and climate of the town, and invites families to settle in Huntersville, where an acre of good land can be purchased for $50.

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1860 - Secession

December 20, 1860 - South Carolina declares it is no longer part of the United States! Next month, six other Southern states soon follow. Those who leave, or secede, join together and form the Confederate States of America, or C.S.A. They no longer believe in the U.S. government. For the time being, North Carolina remains in the Union.

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1861 - Sumter

April 12, 1861 - U.S. army troops are stationed at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, an island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. From across the water, Confederate soldiers open fire with mortar shells on the fort. The Civil War has begun! For the next four years, the war will turn America's countrymen, neighbors and families bitterly against each other.

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1867 - Union Soldiers Leave

December 18, 1867 - Union forces who have been stationed in Charlotte finally depart. The city's residents have cooperated with the federal troops. Although no battles were fought in the streets of Charlotte, Union raids took place at nearby Salisbury, Fort Mill (South Carolina), and Gastonia. There will be a national cemetery to mark where several thousand Union troops died while imprisoned at Salisbury.Confederate Prison

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