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1840 - Hard Times for Catawbans

The Treaty of Nation's Ford devastates the Catawba Indians, many of whom live along the border between North and South Carolina. South Carolina agrees to give the tribe $5000 to buy 300 acres of mountain land in Haywood County, N.C., then $2000 per year for five years. North Carolina refuses to give the tribe any money until the Catawbas actually give up the disputed land and leave. Many of the tribe will be left poor and homeless.

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1795 - Birth of a President

November 2, 1795 - James Knox Polk is born in Mecklenburg County. He is a descendant of Scottish religious reformer John Knox . As the 11th President of the United States, the country grows in size by half a million square miles with the inclusion of Texas, New Mexico and California.

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1836 - Boomtown

January 8, 1836 - More than 50 gold mines now operate in North Carolina, and more are in Mecklenburg than in any other county. Some mines are named for places or their owners: Alexander, McComb, Davidson Hill. Others have more exotic names, like the Queen of Sheba and the King Solomon mines. As the cornerstone is laid today at Charlotte's Mint building on West Trade Street, the Queen City prepares to produce coins for the first time.

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1822 - Epidemics

Disease continues to claim the lives of the settlers. Vaccinations and cures for cholera, malaria, measles, smallpox and typhoid are years away. Charlotte's physicians, Dr. McKenzie and Dr. Caldwell, visit the sick. Most people believe that illness must be removed from the body, so doctors will cut a vein and bleed a patient. Many people die from these procedures.

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1799 - Discovery of Gold

Twelve-year-old Conrad Reed finds a large, glittery rock in a stream 25 miles northeast of Charlotte. His father, John, asks a silversmith to identify the 17-pound stone, but no one knows what it is. The Reed family uses the pretty rock for a doorstop. It will be more than two years before anyone realizes what it contains: gold!

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1800 - City of Churches

From now through the 1840s, Mecklenburg's churches will grow and become firmly established. Not only Presbyterians, but Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans and Catholics will form congregations.

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1803 - Gold Fever

French and Spanish explorers who find gold or other riches must give their bounty to the rulers of their home countries. But when Americans find valuables, what they find belongs to the property's owner, not the government. Not far from where Conrad Reed discovered a 17-pound gold nugget four years earlier, other large rocks containing gold are found. They weigh from eight pounds up to 16 -- but the biggest is 28 pounds. Other North Carolinians will become wealthy when they discover gold, and much of the precious metal will come from Mecklenburg County.

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1780 - Nathanael Greene

October 12, 1780 - The people of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County continue to vex General Cornwallis. Skirmishes such as the Battle of the Bees just nine days earlier have shown the British commander that a military victory won't be easily won. Cornwallis calls this place a Hornet's Nest of rebellion, and leaves.

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1814 - Mecklenburg County Soldiers

While none of the War of 1812's battles have been fought near their home, Mecklenburg County sends five companies of men to help Andrew Jackson fight the Creek Indians in Alabama. When the men, commanded by Col. Joseph Graham, arrive, they discovered Jackson has already defeated the Creeks.

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1819 - Life in the Backcountry

A new invention called an iron cook stove promises to modernize the American kitchen. But most Mecklenburgers will still use fireplaces to heat their homes and cook, since wood is cheap and plentiful. Kitchen chores are strenuous. There are heavy pots to lift and hang over the fire. Food for winter must be salted, pickled or dried to prevent spoilage. Visitors may bring delicacies such as oranges, chocolates, or spices from Charleston, South Carolina, where goods arrive by ships from foreign countries. But such expensive luxuries are uncommon in Charlotte.

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