|
978-0-89587-095-7
0-89587-095-9
$34.95 hardcover
8 1/2" x 11"
293 pages black-and-white photographs, bibliography, index
|
Since the publication of Mary
Norton Kratt's Charlotte: Spirit of the New South, Charlotte has
gained a reputation as one of the fastest-growing, most vibrant cities
in the country. It now stands as the third largest banking center in the
United States. Overseas flights from Charlotte/Douglas International
Airport have brought an explosion in foreign firms and trade. And the
arrival of major-league sports has made the city increasingly visible in
the public eye. As one writer put it, "Announcers in Duluth,
Minnesota, or Seattle no longer have to add 'North Carolina' after
'Charlotte' on the evening news."
But Charlotteans have not
lost a sense of their city's humble roots. In this revised, updated
edition of her popular book, Kratt traces Charlotte's history beginning
with the days when the town grew from a muddy crossroads on an Indian
trading path to a modest settlement of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians in the
1760s. Since then, Charlotte and the area around Mecklenburg County have
hosted some memorable events, like the signing of the Mecklenburg
Declaration of Independence and Resolves, which predated the national
declaration by more than a year, and the first gold rush in the United
States. Charlotte-area personalities have ranged from tobacco and
hydroelectricity pioneer "Buck" Duke to evangelist Billy
Graham, architect and political figure Harvey Gantt, sports entrepreneur
George Shinn, and Bank of America Chairman Hugh McColl.
George Washington
characterized Charlotte as a "trifling place" during a visit
in 1791, but local people have always known better. Even when times grew
difficult during the Civil War, Reconstruction, textile strikes, the
Depression, and the period of integration, Charlotte remained a
forward-looking city with plenty of ambition. The reward has been
growing recognition as a financial, commercial, medical, transportation,
and cultural center. Through it all, and most important to its citizens,
Charlotte has remained a good place to live.
Charlotte: Spirit of the
New South tells the city's story with colorful anecdotes from lively
original sources and over three hundred photographs, many of historic
value and some previously unpublished. Readers will come to understand
that Charlotte, a city with a seemingly unlimited future, has had just
as fascinating a past.
about the author
Longtime Charlotte resident Mary Norton Kratt earned a B.A. from
Agnes Scott College and holds an M.A. from the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. Her nonfiction, short stories, and prizewinning
columns have appeared in publications nationwide. Her numerous books of
history, biography, and poetry focus on Charlotte and the Piedmont
region of the Carolinas.
|
