Hornets' Nest

Many of the people whose names appear in this history no longer frequent the busy thoroughfares. Had they not lived, there would probably be no book, certainly not one of such dimensions. Gravestones are constant reminders of the debts we owe for today's blessings. And, somewhere in each burial ground, rest those valiant guardsmen who gave their all for the preservation of justice, liberty, and freedom.
 

Charlotte's most serious labor disturbance occurred near midnight on August 25, 1919, when five men were killed and more than a dozen wounded by police guarding car barns of the Southern Public Utilities Company against damage by striking conductors and motormen. Operatives of street cars owned by Southern Public Utilities Company in Charlotte and other cities went on strike August 10, 1919, for higher wages and union recognition. When the company attempted to operate cars with new employees, various depredations were committed by strikers and sympathizers.

The stone representing North Carolina, and so inscribed, in the Washington Monument was quarried in the Belmont section of Charlotte. The first stone was rejected by the Washington Monument Committee and a second stone was cut and accepted. This stone was selected because, insofar as is known, it is found nowhere else in the United States.
 

Mecklenburg County was one of the most heavily damaged areas of North Carolina from the unprecedented flood which swept western North Carolina July 14, 15, and 16, 1916. Rainfall at Charlotte which began on Thursday, July 13, increased to storm proportions on Friday the 14th. High winds Friday night did much damage and on Saturday morning, the 15th, the city looked "like a cyclone had struck it."