Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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Industrial South 1879-1913

1882 - D. A. Tompkins

D.A. Tompkins arrives in Charlotte, armed with a prestigious engineering degree from New York. He believes the New South can and will emerge as the nation's industrial and textile leader. Tompkins will design and build more than 100 cotton mills throughout the country, and will write books that record this impressive period in Charlotte's growth.

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1911 - An Artist is Born

Critically acclaimed artist, Romare Bearden (1911-1988) was born in Charlotte on September 1911 in the house of his great-grandfather, Henry B. Kennedy, at 401 South Graham Street. His family later move to New York City and Bearden grew up midst the Harlem Renaissance. After studying in both New York and Paris, he launched a successful career as an artist. Bearden is most noted for reinventing the collage as an art form. His works are filled with scenes that capture Bearden’s memories of Charlotte and his love for music.

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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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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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