In 1909, William Howard Taft [2], the newly-elected president of the United States, visited Charlotte on the 20th of May. He arrived by train and was driven into town [3] through special arches erected on Trade and Tryon Streets [4] to welcome him. He took his place on a reviewing stand [5] 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 [6] and made a speech congratulating Mecklenburg County on its early declaration of independence. All of this was conducted in a steady downpour of rain [7].