Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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World War I 1914-1918

1915 - Movie Premiere

November 15, 1915 - Five thousand people crowd into the Academy of Music in downtown Charlotte. It is the premiere of the silent film Birth of a Nation. A 30-piece orchestra accompanies it. Based on a novel by Shelby's Thomas W. Dixon, the controversial D.W. Griffith movie glorifies the Ku Klux Klan and its role in the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War.

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1916 - Woodrow Wilson Visits

May 20, 1916 - The man who attended Davidson College for one year comes to Charlotte. He is now President Woodrow Wilson. It is blisteringly hot on Meck Dec Day, Mecklenburg's celebration of Independence. Mayor T.L. Kirkpatrick speaks so long when introducing the president that wool-clad members of a marching band faint.From l. to r.: Governor Manning of South Carolina, President Wilson, Governor Craig of North Carolina, Mayor Kilpatrick of Charlotte

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1916 - Flood

July 1916 - After 22 inches of rain fall in the North Carolina mountains, a storm brings 50-mile-per-hour winds to Mecklenburg County. All along the Catawba River, factories and bridges are washed away, along with bales of cotton going to market.

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1917 - Rosenwald's Gift

Northern businessman Julius Rosenwald donates millions of dollars to help build schools for black children in the South. In 15 states, there are 5,000 Rosenwald schools. Of the 813 in North Carolina, 26 are in Mecklenburg County. Many will be torn down as the school system modernizes, but a few will remain standing 80 years later.

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1917 - Emergence of Suburbs

Electric-powered streetcars have made it possible for families to move to suburbs beyond Charlotte's downtown area. Now, the city has nine streetcar lines, with cars displaying billboards that encourage families to buy homes in new neighborhoods. Buy a home in Dilworth for rent money! one proclaims.Charlottte Streetcar

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