Believe it or not, everything has a history, including chewing gum! Listed below are some things you might recognize. Beside each item, is the name of the person or persons associated with introducing or inventing the product, and the year it became popularly known.
French Fries by President Thomas Jefferson - 1700s
Modern Bicycle by John Kemp Starley - 1871
Graham Crackers are associated with the dietary recommendations of the Reverend Sylvestor Graham - 1750
The turn of the century marks the beginning of the Edwardian period in architecture and furniture design. Elaborate wood carvings and heavy fabrics are very popular. The Andrews Furniture and Music Store carried a wide array of futniture and organs. Most homes had an organ from the late 1800s until the 1920s when pianos became more popular. Andrews was located at 16 West Trade Street.
Playtime is very important. Girls usually wear smocks over their dresses, and most boys run barefoot. In town, small parks become a common playground for children, complete with swing sets. These open spaces give children lots of room to play baseball, basketball, Hide-and-Seek, Ring-Around-the-Rosie, “Drop-the-Handkerchief, and Follow-the-Leader.
Independence Park in Elizabeth was the first city park in Charlotte. There were swings, basektball courts, badmitton and a host of other playground activities available to children in Charlotte.
Click to see the difference in prices of various items from 1903 compared to the cost of the same items in 2017.
The availability of ice was highly prized by families living in warm climates like Charlotte. It helped preserve food longer. Businesses that sold ice also sold coal during the winter months. Coal was the major fuel source in the early part of the 20th century. It heated both stoves and furnaces.
Children's clothes varied in fabric but not in design. Girls usually wore an apron or pinafore over their dresses to keep the latter clean. Boys wore knickers or shorts. All wore thick, heavy wool stockings.
Another class posing with their school teacher.
These words are added to the Oxford Dictionary prior to 1910:
Chassis
Club Sandwich
Gamma Ray Orthodontist
Peanut Butter
Rainforest
Speedway
Tractor
Refrigerators in homes would not be seen until around 1913, and only in homes where the owner could afford one. Most people relied on an icebox to keep their food cold. Kept in the kitchen, an icebox resembled a piece of furniture. A block of ice was placed in the lower compartment to cool the food above. The melted ice collected in a tray underneath the icebox. Everyday, someone in the house would empty the tray. Once a week or when neccessary, the iceman would deliver a block of ice to the house.
The senior class of Charlotte High School of 1900 posed together. with Superintendent Alexander Graham. Young women wore lacy, white summer dresses with high collars.
According to the 1900 United States Census, 55,628 reside in Mecklenburg County. Of these, only 18,091 live in Charlotte. There are 4,190 farms in the county, and that’s where most people live. A farm laborer earns approximately $14.64 a month.
