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#1 - FIRST ELECTRIC STREETCAR RUNS IN CHARLOTTE
In 1891, the close-in neighborhood we know as Dilworth was considered to be far out
in the country. The brand new suburb, developed by Edward Dilworth Latta, held
the promise of fresh air, graceful streets, spacious homes...and beginning on May 18, 1891,
an electric trolley to get you there! The first trolley run, from downtown Charlotte to
Latta Park in Dilworth, was surrounded with much fanfare. The entire route took six minutes,
and ran along a single set of tracks down the center of what is today South Boulevard.
The trolley turned onto East Boulevard - then north at today's Dilworth United Methodist Church
onto Springdale Avenue - and ended at the entrance to Latta Park.
For more information, explore these sources. And if you discover other available sources we
should list here, let us know!
- May 19, 1891 edition of The Charlotte Chronicle.
"Charlotte's Electric Cars: The Trial Trip Yesterday A Perfect Success"
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- "Streetcars of Charlotte" by Dr. Dan L. Morrill
Available on the Charlotte-MecKlenburg Historic Landmarks Commission website:
http://www.cmhpf.org/surveybytopicstreetcars.htm
#2 - BUYING LOTS IN CHARLOTTE'S FIRST SUBURB
When Dilworth home sites went on sale to the public, it was an event like none Charlotte had seen before.
The sale coincided with the anniversary of the signing of the Mecklenburg
Declaration of Independence, so the mood was festive already, and the 4C's - The Charlotte Consolidated Construction
Company - invited holiday crowds to a 3-day spectacle in Latta Park. Full-page announcements ran in the newspapers across
the South, and by the first day of the sale all of Charlotte's hotels were filled. Over 4,600 people rode the electric
trolley. Festivities included fireworks, sporting events, and perhaps the greatest advertising stunt of all - a deed
to a lot was tied to a balloon and released into the air. The next day, Mr. J.E. Brown, riding his horse six miles
away, became the proud owner of what The Charlotte News described as "one of the prettiest lots in Dilworth."
For more information, explore these sources. And if you discover other available sources we
should list here, let us know!
- May 15, 1891 edition of The Charlotte News:
"Keep your eye on Dilworth, the city of avenues. Suburban town site of 450 acres, forming the southern
corporate limits of Charlotte, N.C."
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- March 14, 1891 edition, page 1 of The Charlotte News:
"Charlotte to the fore: Improvements agitated: What the Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company
has done and is now doing"
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- "Dilworth's Early History: 1890 to 1911" by Dr. Dan L. Morrill
Available on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission website:
http://www.cmhpf.org/educationneighhistdilworth1.htm
#3 - TROLLEY WORKERS STRIKE - VIOLENCE ERUPTS
As Dilworth grew, so did trolley service: many residents relied on the trolley as their primary means of
transportation. So when the motormen went on strike on August 10, 1919, the disruption was felt citywide.
The motormen and conductors wanted higher pay and recognition of their national union. They were willing
to negotiate, but the president of the Southern Public Utilities Company, the streetcar's operator at the
time, refused to negotiate with the workers' union representative.
The strike became increasingly contentious, and a mediator from the U.S. Department of Labor was sent to
help, but to no avail. On August 25, 1919, against the recommendations of the mediator, the president of
the Southern Public Utilities Company ordered streetcar service to resume with replacement crews.
Striking motormen and conductors lined the tracks and shouted insults at their replacements. And overnight,
violence broke out. About one hundred gunshots were fired outside the trolley barn on South Boulevard and
Bland Street, and when the smoke cleared, four demonstrators were killed and fifteen wounded. One would
later die of his wounds.
A week later, the strike ended. Workers in Greenville who were striking for similar reasons reached a
peaceful settlement. The same terms were offered to the strikers in Charlotte: a pay increase, but no
formal recognition of the national union. One month after the strike began, the workers were rehired,
and the people of Charlotte once again rode the streetcars.
For more information, explore these sources. And if you discover other available sources we
should list here, let us know!
- Augst 26, 1919 edition, page 1 of The Charlotte Daily Observer:
"Three killed and more than a dozen wounded at car barns."
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- Survey and Research Report on the Southern Public Utilities Company Streetcar Barn By Ryan L. Sumner
Available on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission website:
http://www.cmhpf.org/Surveys&rstreetcarbarn.htm
#4 - LURING CITY FOLK TO DILWORTH: LATTA PARK
Edward Dilworth Latta and his Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company planned the trolley
line after successful models in other cities - with an alluring destination at the end. Charlotte's
first trolley line ran from uptown Charlotte to Latta Park, a 90-acre amusement center intended to
draw crowds of streetcar riders from the city. The park was initially laid out by landscape
architect Joseph Forsythe Johnson, and it included a lake and boathouse, winding paths, flower
gardens, baseball park and grandstand for 2500 spectators. The Latta Park Pavilion overlooked the
lake and housed a billiard room, bowling alley and café. Later additions included a conservatory,
racetracks, fairgrounds, a swimming pool, and a theatre.
When it opened in 1891, all parts of Latta Park were open to all citizens. But by 1892 a second,
"colored pavilion" had been erected, and only a decade later The 4Cs built a pavilion for black citizens
at Biddle Institute (now Johnson C. Smith University), and discontinued amenities for black citizens
at Latta Park.
By 1912, newer parks opened around the city, and Latta Park lost some of its novelty. Frederick
Law Olmstead was hired to expand the residential areas of Dilworth, and much of the original parkland
was converted to curving, graceful streets that follow the natural landscape. Take a walk along Dilworth
Road and Berkeley Avenue, and imagine the romantic carriage paths they once were.
For more information, explore these sources. And if you discover other available sources we
should list here, let us know!
- June 3, 1891 edition, page 1 of The Charlotte News:
"A hot wave demonstrates the beauties of Dilworth"
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- April 27, 1891 edition, page 1 of The Charlotte News:
"At the park"
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- February 28, 1982 edition, page 1E of The Charlotte Observer:
"Charlotte's first suburbs: Researcher unearths new information on Dilworth, Myers Park" by L. Powell
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- August 16, 1992 edition, page 1E of The Charlotte Observer:
"I'll meet you beside the Dilworth pavillion" by D. Romine
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- April 24, 1891 edition, page 3 of The Charlotte News:
"Those sight-seers: Impressions of the Rev. Dr. R. C. Reed about Latta Park and its beautiful surroundings"
Available on microfiche in the Carolina Room of the main branch of the Public Library
- "The Evolution of Green Space: A History of Urban Landscape in Charlotte, North Carolina, 1890-1990" by Brian W. C. Sturm
Available on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission website:
http://www.cmhpf.org/educationgreenspace1.htm
#5 - LIFE IN THE MILL
D.A. Tompkins, the owner of the Atherton Mill, boosted the development of Dilworth in 1893 when
he bought a full block of land to build a mill village to house his employees. The village included
Atherton Lyceum, a school that taught fundamental skills to mill children and parents. Conditions
for workers were difficult and dangerous, but nonetheless Tompkins' mill village was hailed as a
national model.
Today, many of the original millhouses have been renovated and enlarged, but a few are surprisingly
unchanged. Follow East Worthington Street toward South Boulevard to see examples of typical mill
village architecture.
For more information, explore these sources. And if you discover other available sources we
should list here, let us know!
#6 - DILWORTH'S FIRST ARCHITECT: C.C. HOOK
Architect Charles Christian Hook designed prominent and lasting buildings across Charlotte,
including the Duke Mansion and the Charlotte Women's Club. The 4Cs hired him to design many
of the most stately homes along Dilworth's grand promenades. Here Hook developed and refined
his Colonial Revival style, which he later used in homes throughout Myers Park.
Some of C.C. Hook's original Dilworth homes are still standing, and today are listed on the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission's roster of historic homes.
For more information, explore these sources. And if you discover other available sources we
should list here, let us know!
For more information about Charlotte's streetcar history, we recommend these sources:
- "Sorting Out the New South city: Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte,
1875-1975" by T.W. Hanchett
Published in 1998 by The University of North Carolina Press
- Survey and Research Report on The Gautier-Gilchrist House by Dr. Dan L. Morrill
Available on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission website:
http://www.cmhpf.org/surveys&rgautier.htm
- The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story, from the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room at
the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
http://www.cmstory.org
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission
http://www.cmhpf.org
- "Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Tours, Driving and Walking" by C. Wright and D. Morrill
Published by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Preservation Fund, Inc.
- "Dilworth: The First 100 Years" by T. Bradbury
Published in 1992 by Dilworth Community Development Association
- "Historic Walking Tour/Dilworth"
Published in 1986 by Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
- "Charlotte: Spirit of the New South" by M.N. Kratt
Published in 1992 by John F. Blair
- "Historic Charlotte: An Illustrated history of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County" by D. Morrill
Published in 2001 by Historical Publishing Network
- "Charlotte: Its Historic Neighborhoods" by J.R. Rogers & A.T. Rogers
Published in 1996 by Arcadia Publishing
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