Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

You are here

Home

History Timeline

1810 - Iron Industry

Vesuvius Furnace, Tizrah Forge and Rehoboth Furnace are the iron works in Mecklenburg County that melt metal and form it into useful items. Not everyone uses money to pay for goods they buy. Some people bring wagons full of woven cloth and cured meat to trade for cook pots, rifles and cannonballs.Mecklenburg Iron Works

Date of Event:

1849 - California, Here I Come!

Gold, discovered one year ago in California, entices fortune seekers from all over the U.S. to flock to the western territory in a gold rush. These hopeful prospectors are called forty-niners. Even President James K. Polk, a Mecklenburg County native, tells Congress he believes the California gold rush will lead to great wealth. No longer is North Carolina the only place to look for gold.

Date of Event:

1820 - Cherokees and Catawbans

West and southwest of Mecklenburg County live the Cherokee Indians. During the Revolutionary War, many Cherokees helped fight for the British. Catawba Indians closer to Charlotte often fought for the Americans.Sequoyah (Cherokee)  

Date of Event:

1812 - War of 1812 Begins

Decades after the end of the Revolutionary War, Britain still tries to control U.S. trade. Indians are attacking settlers in the Northwest Territory, and some Americans believe the British are giving weapons to the Indians. While the Revolutionary War was fought to win freedom from British rule, the War of 1812 will earn the U.S. its economic place in the world.

Date of Event:

1830 - Indian Removal Act

Congress passes the Indian Removal Act. The U.S. government can now force tribes off their land. President Andrew Jackson supports the Act.

Date of Event:

1822 - School for Young Ladies

The Charlotte Female Academy opens. Miss Leavenworth teaches young ladies not only academic, or literal, subjects, but those such as needlework, called ornamental subjects. Tuition is $6 to $11 per term.

Date of Event:

1780 - Mecklenburg Communities

With the Revolutionary War now over, citizens work hard for a better life in the growing Charlotte- Mecklenburg communities. Schools are established in Sugaw Creek, Rocky River, Poplar Tent, Steele Creek, Hopewell, Beatties Ford, Providence, Clear Creek and Charlottetown communities.Old-Field Schools

Date of Event:

1837 - College in Davidson

March 1, 1837 - Davidson College models its curriculum after Princeton University. When the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill closes due to lack of funds in the years after the Civil War, Davidson will remain open. In 1874, Woodrow Wilson will attend the school for his freshman year, and will go on to become the nation's 28th president.

Date of Event:

1831 - Turner Rebellion

August 21, 1831 - Near North Carolina's border with Virginia, plantation slave Nat Turner leads an armed revolt of his fellow slaves. In this uprising, 50 whites and an untold number of blacks die at each other's hands. Turner and others are captured and put to death. North Carolina will now pass laws to exert more control over slaves. Under the new laws, a slave cannot defend himself, even if his master tries to kill him.

Date of Event:

1812 - WAR!

June 18, 1812 - The United States of America declares war on Great Britain, its former ruler!

Date of Event: