Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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1825 - A Growing City

Charlotte and the surrounding area continue to grow. William Smith is Charlotte's postmaster and there are 10 other post offices in Mecklenburg County. Serving the city's population of 700 are 14 stores, plus taverns, tailors, weavers and wagon makers.

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1814 - Poll Tax

How many people now live in Mecklenburg County and what is the value of their property? The system of assessing and collecting taxes is complicated. There are taxes on land and slaves, plus a tax for each man who votes, called a poll tax. Many people still prefer British money over American currency. Four British pence must be paid for every 100 acres. The poll tax per man is one shilling.

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1838 - C is for Charlotte

March 27, 1838 - For the first time, coins are manufactured from Mecklenburg gold at the Charlotte Mint. A half-eagle is worth $5.00; a quarter-eagle is worth $2.50. Each gold piece is stamped with a C to show it was minted at Charlotte. In this one year, over $100,000 worth of gold blocks, called bullion, will be received at the Mint on West Trade Street.

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1832 - Defying the Courts

The United States Supreme Court is the country's highest legal authority. It rules that the U.S. Constitution was violated when Georgia took away the rights of the Cherokee Nation four years ago. In spite of the Supreme Court's ruling, President Andrew Jackson will continue to allow Indians to be pushed off their land.

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1827 - Cherokee Nation

As the American colonists had done in 1787, the Cherokee Indians draft a constitution, a document that describes the laws under which they will govern themselves. These Native Americans demand to be recognized as sovereign, or independent, and to be called the Cherokee Nation. But trouble lies ahead. The Cherokees will encounter opposition to their desire for self-rule from the U.S. Government.

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1830 - Freedom Train

People who speak out against slavery are called abolitionists. For 50 years, they have been working to eliminate slavery. They form a secret network of farms and families who hide and help runaways escape from the South to freedom. This is called the Underground Railroad, even though there are no actual trains or tracks. As hundreds of slaves vanish, their owners become outraged. The federal government enacts laws, called compromises that try to find solutions. But only after a bloody war is fought will the issue of slavery be resolved.

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1840 - Deeper and Deeper

Costs to mine gold are increasing. Some of the rock that contains the precious metal, called ore, lies deep below water or other rocks, and it becomes more and more difficult to pump and dig for it. Mine owners bring in immigrants from as far away as Poland, Italy, German and Wales to join their work-force.

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1835 - Nuggets to Coins

March 3, 1835Charlotte is becoming the gold mining capital of the U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the law authorizing Charlotte as a site for a branch of the U.S. Mint, so coins can be made here without transporting the gold to a Mint far away. Congress will allow $50,000 to be spent for the site, building and machinery. Architect William Strickland will design the Classically-styled building on West Trade Street. Gold is now valued at $20 per ounce. It will be worth nearly $1600 per ounce, 80 times more, by the 2010s. 

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1838 - Disaster Preparation

July 1838 - Worried about the chance of fire at Charlotte's Mint, one of its officials, John Heysham Gibbon, issues a warning. He reminds Superintendent John Wheeler Hill that the city operates only one fire truck, located far from the Mint. Gibbon suggests installing buckets and tanks to collect rainwater in and around the building. Hill partly complies, but one day disaster will strike.

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1845 - Third Mecklenburg County Courthouse

The third courthouse . . . was built on the northeast corner of Trade and Church Streets. It was an imposing brick structure with four large columns across the front and and elegant, flowing double staircase in the portico rising to the second floor.. . . A distinctive feature of the courthouse property was the large water tower, or standpipe, which stood immediately behind it. This water tower was a vertical pipe, approximately 17 feet in diameter, which stood twice as high as the third courthouse.

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