Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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Antebellum Days 1820-1852

1843 - Business at the Mint

June 15, 1843 - Green Washington Caldwell is appointed superintendent of Charlotte's Mint. This doctor, former congressman and lawyer is well acquainted with the business of manufacturing coins. He is married to Jane McComb, whose father, Samuel, began one of Charlotte's first gold mines.

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1837 - College in Davidson

March 1, 1837 - Davidson College models its curriculum after Princeton University. When the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill closes due to lack of funds in the years after the Civil War, Davidson will remain open. In 1874, Woodrow Wilson will attend the school for his freshman year, and will go on to become the nation's 28th president.

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1831 - Turner Rebellion

August 21, 1831 - Near North Carolina's border with Virginia, plantation slave Nat Turner leads an armed revolt of his fellow slaves. In this uprising, 50 whites and an untold number of blacks die at each other's hands. Turner and others are captured and put to death. North Carolina will now pass laws to exert more control over slaves. Under the new laws, a slave cannot defend himself, even if his master tries to kill him.

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1850 - Lay of the Land

There are 678 slave-holders in North Carolina, owning 2,713 slaves. Most owners have fewer than five. On the coastal rice and cotton plantations, affluent landowners need many household and farm-hands. But it is different in the hilly piedmont of Mecklenburg County, where most settlers work their own farmland.Tobacco Harvest

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1840 - Bustling Town

Doctors and lawyers, printers and teachers, miners and tradesmen all make their homes in Charlotte. In the surrounding Mecklenburg county, flour and grain are milled and gold is mined. Taverns welcome travelers, and a weekly newspaper keeps citizens informed. There are now more than 11,000 white and 6,800 black residents of the county.

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1830 - Indian Sorrows

Many Indians have perished from diseases they contracted from white settlers. Some tribes have only a few surviving members. Tribal leaders negotiate with the U.S. government, trying to keep from losing their ancestral lands and their native traditions. The Catawba Indians agree to sell some of their land near the North-South Carolina border. Many will move west and settle near their long-time enemies, the Cherokees.

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1825 - A Growing City

Charlotte and the surrounding area continue to grow. William Smith is Charlotte's postmaster and there are 10 other post offices in Mecklenburg County. Serving the city's population of 700 are 14 stores, plus taverns, tailors, weavers and wagon makers.

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1838 - C is for Charlotte

March 27, 1838 - For the first time, coins are manufactured from Mecklenburg gold at the Charlotte Mint. A half-eagle is worth $5.00; a quarter-eagle is worth $2.50. Each gold piece is stamped with a C to show it was minted at Charlotte. In this one year, over $100,000 worth of gold blocks, called bullion, will be received at the Mint on West Trade Street.

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1832 - Defying the Courts

The United States Supreme Court is the country's highest legal authority. It rules that the U.S. Constitution was violated when Georgia took away the rights of the Cherokee Nation four years ago. In spite of the Supreme Court's ruling, President Andrew Jackson will continue to allow Indians to be pushed off their land.

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1827 - Cherokee Nation

As the American colonists had done in 1787, the Cherokee Indians draft a constitution, a document that describes the laws under which they will govern themselves. These Native Americans demand to be recognized as sovereign, or independent, and to be called the Cherokee Nation. But trouble lies ahead. The Cherokees will encounter opposition to their desire for self-rule from the U.S. Government.

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