Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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Industrial South 1879-1913

1891 - First Suburb

May 18, 1891 - The old horse-drawn trolley cars of downtown Charlotte have been replaced. Now, there is a street railway unlike anything seen before in the Queen City. The trolley is powered by electricity! The new lines stretch all the way from downtown to a new neighborhood, called Dilworth, Charlotte's first suburb.Dilworth Neighborhood

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1908 - First Skyscraper

Charlotte's first steel-frame skyscraper is the tallest building in the state. The Independence Building towers 12 floors above the intersection of Charlotte's Trade and Tryon streets, called the Square. With its impressive marble lobby, the Independence Building is home to the Charlotte National Bank, the Woodall and Shepherd drugstore, and office space.

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1902 - I'll have a Coke.

April 15, 1902 - The first Coca-Cola bottled in the Carolinas is sold in Charlotte. Sales of the carbonated soft drink are modest. Three years later the sale of liquor is outlawed in Charlotte, and statewide prohibition follows in 1909. Coke's popularity increases and will remain strong into future decades, even after prohibition is repealed. 

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1893 - Textile Empire

D.A. Thompkins has designed textile mills -- the Alpha, the Ada and the Victor -- for other owners. Now, he opens one of his own. The Atherton Mill on South Boulevard at Tremont Avenue is the first Charlotte mill to be located beyond the boundaries of downtown.

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1882 - A Military Institute

September 11, 1882 - Finally, tax disputes that have lasted seven years are resolved and Charlotte's Military Institute can enroll its 480 students.

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1913 - Successful Crackers

From Charlotte's street corners, Philip L. Lance sells peanut butter and crackers. By 1926, the Lance Company will occupy a three-story building on South Boulevard. The company that began by selling its products door-to-door will offer its snacks from thousands of grocery store shelves for generations to come.

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