Lovely sculpture. Well done. Love the lighting at night. Thank you for investing in public art.read more

I've been to loads of art museums. I've seen some strange scupltures. Some, I "got" and some…read moreremained a complete puzzle. Grandiflora falls into the latter category. Two large round loops that look like stirrups at the intersection of Wendover and Randolph. What's the point? Do I feel more arty after stopping at this traffic light and looking over at the sculpture? Maybe the horn honking at me caused me to lose the imagery. I don't know. It's art. But it's weird.

This simple marker in Belmont NC recalls a local hero of the Revolutionary War. The marker stands…read morein front of the Belmont Historical Society. It reads, "Major in Revolution, leader of Lincoln County forces at the battle of Kings Mountain, 1780, where he was killed. His home stood nearby." Online, there is more information. "Born in 1755 along the south fork of the Catawba River in Mecklenburg County, William Chronicle received little in the way of a formal education. His father, William, Sr., a farmer and deer hunter, supported the Regulator movement. William Sr. adamantly opposed the renaming of their area Tryon County in honor of Governor William Tryon in 1768." "For several weeks, Ferguson's force of Tory militia and British provincials had ravaged the western sections of North and South Carolina. In response, Whig militia from the region, joined by men from present-day Tennessee known as the "Overmountain Men" pursued Ferguson until they finally surrounded his forces at King's Mountain on October 7, 1780." "Beginning in the early morning hours, the Whigs assaulted Ferguson's position from all sides. One of the earliest casualties was Major Chronicle. Twenty-five years old, Chronicle was shot and killed while leading one of the initial charges. Reports place him only twenty-five feet from the British position when he died." [Review 12583 overall, 2375 of 2019.]

The employee who did our tour was very knowledgeable. And it was only $4. So just do it. I love…read morevisiting different historical places and learning about the times before. It's not a huge place but held a great deal of information. Definitely worth stopping in if you're in the area.

Being from the west coast, I don't get to see many historic places. So I look forward to my annual…read morevisit to the Chartlotte area where I can go a bit further back into US history. On my latest visit, I made my way to the James K. Polk State Historic Site. The site on which it is believed that President Polk was born. There is a museum inside and recreations of period cabins outside. Also a garden and interpretive signs telling a bit about the plants that can be seen around the museum grounds. This is a free site for the most part though you can opt for a guided tour that takes you into the buildings if you are so inclined. I was there late in the day and not long before closing so the tour was no longer being offered. It was still cool to walk around and see the grounds. History doesn't quite come alive here but it becomes more tangible.

Camp Green was a US Army training camp here. In 1917, both the 3rd Infantry Division and the 4th…read moreInfantry Divisions were first organized and assembled at this camp. It was named for Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Green. Major General Greene was the Continental Army major general who forced the British out of the Carolinas. Charlotte was selected over other cities due to the land, weather, and infrastructure to accommodate a camp, as well as a location on a major rail line, giving the city a logistical edge in transporting soldiers and munitions to New York City for the eventual trip abroad. Camp Greene is a massive facility by early 20th-century standards. Its 2,500 acres of forest and cotton fields, bought from families like James Dowd, are eventually expanded to 6,000 acres, which stretch from the cusp of downtown, on what is now Wilkinson Boulevard, west to the Catawba River and Gaston County. There is plenty of room to dig five miles of trenches, to simulate the preferred method of ground combat in Europe. At its peak, more than 60,000 soldiers live on base. The 41st Infantry Division, which trains for 16 weeks, is the first to ship off to France as part of the American Expeditionary Force, followed by the 3rd and 4th Divisions. Today, the only camp remnants that survive are the Dowd family's farmhouse -- now designated as a historic site -- and a couple of rectangular barracks that are converted into permanent housing. And this marker at the corner of Wilkinson and Monument Street. The marker was erected by the Mecklenburg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. It lists the names of the different brigades trained her and the dates, July 12 1917 to June 30, 1919. [Review 16684 overall - 3189 in North Carolina - 196 of 2022.]

This marker is in front of a mixed-use building that has some retail at the ground floor and…read moreapartments/condos on the upper floors. There are some street parking spaces and the Gold Line goes past. The marker reads, "D.A Tompkins. 1851-1914. Crusader for southern industrial development, manufacturer, engineer, author, and publisher. Grave is 1/2 mile north." There is more information online. "Daniel Augustus Tompkins, industrialist and newspaper editor, was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, on October 12, 1851 to Dewitt and Virginia Tompkins. Interested in engineering since his boyhood, Daniel entered the University of South Carolina in 1867, but shortly thereafter transferred to the Renssalear Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, where he graduated in 1873 with an engineering degree. "After graduation, Tompkins became a master machinist with Bethlehem Iron Works in Pennsylvania. The factory head, John Fritz, considered Tompkins one of the finest machinists in the industry, and sent him to Germany in 1877 to oversee the development of the Schwerte Iron Works. Following his return in 1879, Tompkins took a position with the Crystal Plate Glass Company of Crystal City, Missouri. Two years later, Tompkins moved to Charlotte as a machinist for the Westinghouse Machine Company. Soon thereafter, he began his own business, D. A. Tompkins Company, installing steam engines in the numerous cotton mills of western and central North Carolina. "By the late 1880s D. A. Tompkins Company had expanded operations to the construction of various mills and electric plants. By 1910, the organization had developed 250 cotton oil mills, 150 electric plants, and 100 cotton plants. Because of his success in the manufacturing industry, President William McKinley appointed him a member of the United States Industrial Commission. In addition, he served as a member of the board of trustees at what is now North Carolina State University and was instrumental in the development of the university's textile school. He also served as the director of Equitable Life Insurance. "Tompkins also understood the influence of mass media, and how he could use it to give voice to his industrial New South policies. Therefore, he obtained controlling interests in the Charlotte Daily Observer, the Charlotte Evening News, and Greenville (S.C.) News. Under the guise of several ghostwriters, Tompkins also produced a number of pamphlets and books such as Cotton Values in Textile Fabrics and History of Mecklenburg County from 1740 to 1903 (written by Charles Lee Coon). "Tompkins spoke out against compulsory public school, child labor legislation, and wage per hour regulation and sought to maximize profits and retain cheap labor in the southern mills. Tompkins retired from business in 1910, owing to poor health, and moved to his summer home in Montreat. He died of a paralytic condition on October 18, 1914, and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte. After the death of his fiancée in 1884, Tompkins never married and left no children." [Review 2550 of 2024 - 4002 in North Carolina - 23561 overall]

Located at the entrance of Elizabeth Park, this bronze statue is dedicated to a local hero that…read moremost Americans will not be familiar with. That person is Captain James Jack. He delivered the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence to Congress in Philadephia. This document declaring independence from Great Britain was signed by citizens of Mecklenburg County (a county that includes Charlotte and nearby cities) on May 20, 1775. Notice that this predates the more well known 1776 Declaration of Independence signed by the 13 colonies. It's a nice statue and I learned an interesting bit of history by stumbling upon it.

No, it's not Paul Revere. It's Captain James Jack!…read more According to local legend, a band of local patriots met on May 19, 1775 and drafted a set of Resolves that outlined the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The documents declared that the actions of the British government were intolerable and that Mecklenburg County was no longer under British rule. You'll note that this was BEFORE July 4, 1776. At the time, he was a tavern owner but Captain Jack courageously volunteered to take these powerful documents on the journey from Charlotte to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. His actions were a risk to everything, all for the rights and protections that we take for granted today. If he'd been captured, the documents would certainly have led to his death as a traitor. But he made it and this was no doubt a part of the impetus towards the famous Declaration of Independence that all those other people signed. This statue is in Elizabeth Park, at the corner of Kings Drive and 4th Street, not far from Uptown Charlotte. And the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery on South Tryon has a beer named in his honor. Try it, it's tasty stuff! Round number review! #6400!

Not a review of the Mint Museum, which I did not have time to visit today (I've lived in Charlotte…read morefor 13 years, I need to make the time) but the state's historical marker that is posted at the entrance to the parking area. It reads, "Operated as Branch U.S. Mint, 1837-61. Relocated to present site as art museum, 1936. Building expanded, 1968 and 1985." There is more information online. Gold was discovered in Cabarrus County in 1799 that caused a gold rush in North Carolina by 1825. As it was difficult to ship the gold to the Philadelphia Mint, laws were passed to build branch mints in the South including here in Charlotte, Dahlonega GA and New Orleans LA. The Charlotte Mint operated until North Carolina seceded from the Union in 1861. During its operation, it count about five million dollars in half eagles ($5), quarter eagles ($2.50) and gold dollars. The Mint was moved from its original location on West Trade Street (wondered why there's a Mint Street in Uptown?), piece-by-piece to this location and reconstructed during 1934-1936. Do visit the actual Mint Museum nearby and the one in Uptown. [Review 12303 overall, 2087 of 2019.]

Recognized as "the last wind shear crash," this memorial honors those who lost their lives when US…read moreAirways Flight 1016 crashed here at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. 37 people were killed when flying from Columbia South Carolina to Charlotte when the flight encountered heavy thunderstorms and windshear when attempting to land. The DC-9 hit a microburst and crashed into trees and a private residence. The memorial is part of the Charlotte Airport Overlook and has a spot on the hill where you can see both the apron, control tower, two runways and the Charlotte city skyline. The granite headstone had been placed nearby some years ago but it was inside the airport perimeter and inaccessible. This puts it in a great spot where people can see it, visit it and appreciate what came before. [Review 2061 of 2024 - 3752 in North Carolina - 23081 overall]