Streets point the way to our history

Charlotte may look like it's only been here about 15 minutes, but behind the glistening skyline and sprawling suburbs, there's more than 200 years of history.

Old buildings are scarce – rapid growth has knocked down structures before they age enough to be appreciated as historic. Streets survive, though, and their names provide clues to this region's rich past.

Nations Ford Road (Interstate 77 Exit 4) is a remnant of the Indian trails that made Charlotte a trading hub long before Europeans arrived. The Catawba Indian nation blazed a route southward toward Charleston, crossing the rocky Catawba River at a low point, or “ford.” Today I-77 still follows parts of that path. Interstate 85 follows another Indian route known as the Great Trading Path up into Virginia. Where those two paths crossed on a hilltop, uptown Charlotte would rise.

Providence Road in southeast Charlotte reflects the culture of the settlers who arrived via those trails starting in the 1750s. Many were Scots-Irish and their Presbyterian churches became this region's first manmade landmarks. Providence Road still passes Providence Presbyterian Church, whose present building dates to 1858. Other “Presbyterian streets” named for historic churches include Sardis Road, Carmel Road, Sharon Road, Sharon-Amity Road, Sugar Creek Road and Mallard Creek Church Road.

Queens Road (southeast Charlotte) and Independence Boulevard (eastward from the city) recall two intertwined stories. In 1768, local leaders incorporated their community as Charlottetown, honoring Queen Charlotte of England in hopes of being awarded a county courthouse. The ploy worked and Charlotte prospered as a backcountry government center. But the Scots-Irish held little real love for the Crown and in May of 1775 – a year before the Declaration of Independence – they published Mecklenburg Resolves saying “all laws and commissions … of the king and Parliament are annulled and vacated.” Tradition holds that there was even a Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, but no copies survive.

Charlotte remained a tiny place until railroads arrived in the 1850s. Then growth took off in a rolling boom that has never stopped. Just a few of the streets honoring players in this “New South” era: Dilworth Road (south of uptown) named for Edward Dilworth Latta, developer of the city's streetcar system and first suburb; Johnston Road (southwest) inspired by a family that developed textile mills, a major spur to Charlotte's growth; W.T. Harris Boulevard (northeast) recalling the founder of the Harris-Teeter grocery chain; Brookshire Freeway (northwest) commemorating Mayor Stan Brookshire, who led peaceful integration in the racially charged 1960s; Billy Graham Parkway (airport vicinity) and Romare Bearden Drive (west side) honoring native sons who achieved international acclaim in religion and art.

History marches on, and street names can be slow to catch up. So far, no major avenue marks the city's 1990s emergence as the second-largest banking center in the country. Nor does a name note the recent influx of newcomers from across the U.S. and around the globe, though proposals have been floated to rename immigrant-rich Central Avenue as International Avenue.

For more Charlotte history, visit Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. Seventh St. in the center city. Award-winning exhibits include “Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers,” tracing the region's growth since the 1860s and exploring how diverse cultures are intersecting here today. www.museumofthenewsouth.org

Hanchett is the staff historian at Levine Museum of the New South.

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