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History Timeline

1875 - Jewish Community

During the Civil War, Charlotte's Jews raised $150 to help Confederate volunteers. In 1868, the Hebrew Cemetery was established on McCall Street. Although it will be many years before the Hebrew Congregation has its own building in which to worship, area Jews will maintain a tradition of charitable deeds. This year they will help fund an old-age home.

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1898 - Presbyterian Hospital

A private hospital begun by a group of Charlotte doctors becomes Presbyterian Hospital when its founders give the facility to the church in 1903. A nursing school will be part of the hospital as well. It will evolve into the Presbyterian Healthcare System and the Belk Heart Center.Presbyterian Hospital

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1885 - Myers Street School

Most people come to call it the Jacob's Ladder School, nick-named for the outside stairways that criss-crossed the wooden building. Its official name is the Myers Street School, Charlotte's first graded school for black children.

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1875 - Freedom Centennial

May 20, 1875 - It's the 100-year, or centennial, anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a document that proclaimed freedom in 1775 from British rule. Masses of people from Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and both Carolinas crowd into Charlotte for the celebration. For more, see this exhibit on the Meck Dec.

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1907 - Expanding Healthcare

Charlotte Sanitorium opens in a five-story building at the corner of Seventh and Church Streets. The hospital can accommodate 100 patients. It is privately owned by a group of 30 physicians and surgeons. Charlotte Sanitorium will operate only until 1942, but will earn the respect of doctors and patients alike. 

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1901 - Birth of a Banking Giant

A group of real estate developers form a bank called the Southern States Trust. Its president is George Stephens. Through joining, or merging with other financial institutions, the bank's name will change several times. It will be the American Trust Company, American Commercial Bank, and North Carolina National Bank. Finally, it will emerge as a nation-wide leader: NationsBank then, after 1998, Bank of America.

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1891 - Cherry Neighborhood

Plans are underway for a new neighborhood called Cherry. Black families who want to move away from crowded rental housing downtown can now buy or rent cottages with enough land to plant gardens. In later years, some people will believe Cherry was built to house the servants who worked for white homeowners in Myers Park. But the truth is that Cherry was designed first, by at least a decade.Cherry Neighborhood

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1882 - First School for African Americans

The first school for 253 black students opens in the basement of the black community's Episcopal Church. An important advocate for blacks arrives: Dr. J.T. Williams, a renowned doctor and educator.

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1912 - Bright Lights, Small City

Some civic leaders decide they want downtown Charlotte to resemble the brightly lit avenues of New York City. Charlotte removes the trees that grace its downtown streets. But no amount of artificial light can replace what has been lost.

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1905 - Cornelius

Joe Cornelius never actually lived in the town named for him. As a resident of neighboring Davidson, he lent money in 1903 to the people who built the mill in the north Mecklenburg town that would bear his name. By next year, there will be a school in Cornelius.

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