1909 - President Taft visits

In 1909, William Howard Taft, the newly-elected president of the United States, visited Charlotte on the 20th of May. He arrived by train and was driven into town through special arches erected on Trade and Tryon Streets to welcome him. He took his place on a reviewing stand with such dignitaries as Gov. Kitchin of North Carolina and Anna Morrison Jackson, the widow of Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. The president observed the parade from a specially made chair and made a speech congratulating Mecklenburg County on its early declaration of independence. All of this was conducted in a steady downpour of rain.