Hill's Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory [1962], Part 2

Author: Hill Directory Company.
Publication date: 1962
Publisher: Hill Directory Co.
Number of Pages: 1852

USA > North Carolina > Mecklenburg County > Charlotte > Hill's Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory [1962] > Part 2

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

back cover and

Waddell R E Construction Co Inc

right side lines and

Walker Agency Inc The

right bottom lines and

110

Weathers Furniture Co Inc

right top lines and

Westerly Hills Drugs Inc .

left side lines and

Westside Ice & Fuel Co

Wheeler R Marret Co

White RT Co .

left top cards and

White Roy Florist

. right top cards and 73

White William D Co . left bottom cards and 37 Wiggins Fred J Construction Co right bottom lines and Wilkinson James W left top cards and Wm R Barringer Hotel . . left side lines and 49 99 Williams Construction Co right bottom cards and 87 Williams J Ken . right bottom lines and Wilson Machinery Corp 50 5C 108 41 Wood Jack Ltd right top cards and right top cards and 16 133

Woody's Frames & Pictures

left side lines and

Wyman Realty Co

right bottom lines and 143

Yellow Cab Co Inc

left side lines and

Yopp Insurance Agency Inc

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Young Men's Christian Assn

right side lines and 83

Young Men's Christian Association (Henry Lawrence McCrorey Branch)

. right top cards and 123

Young Motor Co.

left bottom lines and 20

United Junk Co .

99 20 96

5 4 49 99

Wearn Lumber Co The .

79 62 41 54 136

Woods Frank Inc

161 100 63

Yorkmont Drug Co

HAVILAND SMITH

CHARLOTTE "QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH"

(Courtesy Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Inc.)

Location

Charlotte, chief city of the Carolinas, dominates a rich, undulating plateau between the Appalachian Moun- tains and the Atlantic coastal plain. The city is the geographic center of a young, rapidly expanding market. It is 624 miles southwest of New York; 266 miles north- east of Atlanta; 745 miles southeast of Chicago; 393 miles southwest of Washington; 160 miles from the Atlantic Ocean; and far south of knee-deep snow. Char- lotte is accessible from every direction by every known conveyance except an ocean-going ship. It is 765 feet above the sea, in latitude 35 degrees 14 minutes n .; longitude 80 degrees 50 minutes w.

Climate

With an altitude of 765 feet, Charlotte is blessed with a pleasantly mild climate throughout the year. The average annual temperature is 60.2 degrees, with a seasonal variation of 36.5 degrees from 42.3 degrees in January to 78.8 degrees in July. Pleasant, mild temperatures are enjoyed for more than six months of the year -- 59.7 degrees in spring, 61.3 degrees in fall. Average winter temperature is 43 degrees; summer, 77 degrees. The frost-free season spans midyear from March to November, averaging 237 days. Other data: Annual rainfall average 43.09 inches. Morning humidity average 79 per cent; noon 54 per cent, and evening, 64 per cent.

Anglais

Tryon Street

INTRODUCTION

Population

Charlotte, with an estimated population of 212,000 (Jan. 1, 1962) is by far the largest city in the two Carolinas, and Mecklenburg County, with a 1962 esti- mated population of 286,200, is the most populous county. Other significant census figures for Charlotte are: 1850, 1,065; 1900, 18,091; 1920, 46,338; 1940, 100,899; 1950, 134,042. The females have. a slight majority of 51.8 per cent. The white race accounts for 72 per cent less. Less than 1 per cent is foreign-born. The population of the retail trading area (75-mile ra- dius) exceeds 2,216,600; the wholesale trading area (150-mile radius) has a booming 6,756,461 consumers.

Government

Charlotte is governed by a popularly-elected mayor and seven member city council. A city manager, ap- pointed at the pleasure of the council, is the adminis- trative head of the city government. The City Hall is a handsome three story building of neo-classic design which was erected in the early 1920's on a site six blocks fromthe center of the city. Public services in- clude excellent schools, an expertly-manned police department, a modern fire department, extensive water and sewerage facilities, health and welfare departments and many others.

Mecklenburg County, of which Charlotte is the seat, is governed by a board of County commissioners. The chairman of this board is the chief administrative of- ficer of the county Historic Mecklenburg, the wealthiest county in the state, has a fine school system and an efficient rural police force, and provides its citizens with superior public services. The Mecklenburg County Court House, situated adjacent to the City Hall, is an imposing building with stately columns of neo-classic design. Like the City Hall, it has become one of Char- lotte's showplaces.

Taxes

The City and County in 1961 assessed ad valorem taxes on all real and tangible property at the following rates per $100 valuation: City, $1.50; County, $1.61. In actual practice property valuations are well below true values. Only minor occupational licenses are required by the City. North Carolina income tax is assessed at a rate of 3 per cent for the first $2,000 net income; 4 per cent on the next $2,000; 5 per cent on the next $2,000; 6 per cent on the next $4,000; and 7per cent on all over $10,000. Corporations are taxed 6 per cent on their taxable net incomes. Liberal exemptions are allowed for both individuals and corporations.

Commerce

With almost 2} million people living within easy motoring distance of Charlotte, the City has become one of the 25 greatest markets in the nation. The retail sales volume now exceeds $349,982,000 annually. Over 1,959 retail establishments offer consumers almost every conceivable product. Downtown streets are lined with modern well-appointed stores which through at- tractive merchandising, draw people from all sections of the Piedmont. The city's per-family buying power is tops for the Carolinas.

Charlotte, strategically located in the center of the Southeast, is rapidly becoming Dixie's leading distribu- tor. Hundreds of trucks, operated by 102 different truck lines and four railroads moving anaverage of 207 car- loads a day, shuttle goods in and out of this vast Dixie warehouse. According to recent estimates, wholesale sales in Charlotte came to over $1,800,000,000. This volume of wholesale distribution outstrips such larger cities as Birmingham, Richmond, Nashville and Jack- sonville.

Wholesale distribution from Charlotte has grown so tremendously in recent years because the city is

well situated to serve the growing Southern market and has superior transportation facilities. More than 500 national companies have established offices or ware- houses in the city.

Charlotte is far and away the financial giant of the Carolinas. The city's eight large commercial banks cleared more than $9,260,779,296 in checks during 1960. One of Charlotte's many investment banking con- cerns is ranked as the ninth largest in the country, which is a reflection of the financial activity of the city. Charlotte also has a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank.

Industry

Charlotte is the geographical center of the vast Southern textile industry which has its heaviest con- centration in the Piedmont Carolinas, where two-thirds of all the looms and spindles in the South are located. Although there are 55 textile mills in the immediate vicinity, Charlotte, unlike many Southern cities, is not completely dependent upon textiles. Machinery, chemi- cals, food products, furniture, clothing, printing, build- ing materials and missiles, all are major products of Charlotte's balanced economy.

Charlotte's 480 manufacturers employ more than 27,100 persons, many of whom have developed great skill in the technological processes of modern indus- try. In addition, there is a sizable reserve of man- power on the many farms of the surrounding area available to supplement the present labor force. Char- lotte industry always has enjoyed excellent labor- management relations and has never had a major work stoppage.

Charlotte offers manufacturers many advantages which have contributed to the rapid expansion of indus- try in this area. Some of the advantages are: (1) Re- serve of readily trainable labor. (2) Superior rail and trucking facilities. (3) Excellent communication facili- ties. (4) Extensive power and water supplies. (5) Ex- cellent plant sites and buildings. (6) Pleasant, mild climate. (7) A friendly, progressive community. (8) Central location in the Southeast.

Utilities

Charlotte is headquarters for the Duke Power Co., which supplies electrical power throughout the Pied- mont Carolinas. The vast Duke Power system has 32 hydro-electric plants and 9 steam plants. Total rated installed capacity is 3,602,000 kilowatts. Duke Power's forward-looking policies, requiring an investment of more than $30,000,000 each year, have played a vital part in the industrialization of the Piedmont.

Natural gas from Texas and Louisiana gas fields is distributed in Charlotte and the Carolinas by the Piedmont Natural Gas Co., with headquarters in Char- lotte.

The City of Charlotte has invested an estimated $20,000,000 in its water facilities. The present rated capacity of the system is 37,000,000 gallons per day. The city was the first in the Southeast to introduce fluorine into its water as a means of reducing tooth decay. The fluorination program, which was begun April 1, 1949 will be particularly beneficial to future generations of Charlotte citizens.

Transportation

Charlotte is the transportation center of the Caro- linas. Four railroads operate 18 passenger trains and freight car loading for 1961 was 75,089; five air lines operate over 100 scheduled flights a day from Char- lotte's modern, Douglas Airport; seven bus companies schedule over 160 regular departures each day; and 102 truck lines haul thousands of tons of goods to points throughout the South and East. Railroads with lines into

HAVILAND SMITH

INTRODUCTION

CHARLOTTE is known as the "Spearhead of the new South." This surging city of more than 206,000 people is a center of commerce and industry. It is the largest city in the Carolinas. Visitors are always welcome.

Charlotte are: Southern, Piedmont & Northern, Sea- board, and Norfolk-Southern. Airlines are: Eastern, United, Delta, Piedmont and Southern. Bus Companies are: Atlantic Greyhound Lines, Inc .; Greyhound Lines; Carolina Coach Co .; Queen City Coach Co .; Carolina Scenic Stages, Queen City Trailways and Carolina Transit Lines.

Communications

The Southern Bell Telephone Co. has 130,200 tele- phones in Charlotte. The company has calculated that the city population alone will exceed 260,000 by 1970, and is rapidly expanding facilities on this assumption. Southern Bell's state headquarters are located in Charlotte.

Education

Charlotte is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The city and county are in their first year of operating a consolidated school system. Total enrollment of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County school system is 63,072. The system embraces a total of 99 schools in all. The breakdown reveals there are 73 elementary schools, 13 junior high schools, 3 junior-senior high schools, 7 senior high schools, and 3 schools that combine all grade levels. The present school system is undergoing

an expansion program. Charlotte's nine parochial schools have a combined enrollment of over 2,118. Colleges located in and near Charlotte are: Queens College, Charlotte College, Johnson C. Smith Univer- sity, Negro-co-educational, Carver College (Negro), Davidson College (in Davidson, N. C., 20 miles north), Belmont Abbey College (in Belmont, N. C., 12 miles west of Charlotte). In addition to these, Charlotte has many fine business schools. Among these are Burton Institute, Kings Business College, Carolina Business School, National School of Heavy Equipment and Inter- national Accountants Society, Inc.

Medical Facilities

Charlotte has four excellent general hospitals with a combined total of 1,439 beds, and several hospitals with 325 beds. The city has over 312 doctors, of which 247 are specialists. Because of these facilities and the availability of such a large number of specialists, Charlotte has become a medical center of considerable importance. The general hospitals are Charlotte Me- morial, Presbyterian, Mercy (Catholic) and Good Samaritan (Negro). Expansion of facilities at Memorial Hospital include a new wing and a new nurses' quarters building. Presbyterian Hospital has added two new wings ata cost of approximately one and one-half mil- lion dollars.

XII

INTRODUCTION

Newspapers and Radio Stations

Charlotte has two widely-circulated, daily news- papers. These are the Charlotte Observer (published mornings circulation 158,391, Sunday 175,598) and the Charlotte News (published evenings except Sunday, cir- culation in excess of 64,075). There are nine radio stations broadcasting programs of all major networks. These stations are: WBT (AM-FM, CBS); WSOC (AM- FM, NBC); WAYS (AM-FM, ABC); WGIV (AM, Inde- pendent), WIST (AM, Mutual and Dixie FM); WMIT (FM), WWOK (Independent), WKTC (Independent) and WYFM.

Television

Charlotte has two television stations, WBTV (CBS), the Carolinas' first television station, began operations in July, 1949 and added facilities for color telecasting in August, 1954, WSOC-T V (NBC, ABC) began opera- tions in April, 1957.

Recreation

Charlotte's broad community program includes nearly every conceivable sport and form of recreation. There are 52 parks and playgrounds, 18 motion picture theatres, 11 golf courses (5 public), private swimming pools, Municipal Pool, the Little Theatre, a modern sports arena, and four modern community centers. Professional baseball and ice hockey and college and high school football are enjoyed by Charlotte citizens. A $4,698,000 Auditorium-Coliseum is the scene of operas, concerts, Broadway plays, sports events, and all types of shows. Charlotte's Park Center is the site of civic events, sports events and shows.

Travelers Accommodations

Charlotte has five principal hotels with 1,258 rooms and a number of smaller hotels. In addition, there are 29 first-class motor courts and tourist homes con- venient to the motoring public with 1,513 rooms. The largest hotels are: Hotel Barringer, Hotel Charlotte, Selwyn Hotel, and Mecklenburg Hotel.

Finger Tip Facts about Charlotte's Sound Growth

Jan. 1, 1952

Jan. 1, 1962

Percent Change

Population

139,300 *

212,000 *

52.2

Total Employment

83,910

128,090

52.7

Retail Sales

$209,322,000 **

$349,982,000 **

67.2

Wholesale Sales

$981,143,000 ***

$1,745,942,000 ***

77.9

Air Passengers

185,634

377,472

103.3

Boarded

Assessed

$203,132,370

$649,867,913

219.9

Valuation

Bank Clearings

$5,787,932,723

$9,106,252,550

57.3

Bank Resources

$654,574,250.41

$1,829,398,442.05

179.4

Electric

60,671

96,793

59.5

Customers

Gas Meters

8,535

25,400

197.6

Motor Vehicle

75,671

125,000

65.2

Registrations

Postal Receipts

$3,170,005

$7,292,716

130.1

Telephones in Use

63,166

130,200

106.1

Water Consumption

5,713,950,000

8,078,969,000

41.3

(gallons)

Water Meters

36,799

64,562

75.4

* Estimate

** Retail Sales 1950-1960

*** Wholesale Sales 1948-1958

Statistical Review

Form of Government -- Council-manager. Area -- 65.25 square miles.

Climate -- Mean annual temperature, 60.2 degrees F .; average rainfall, 43.09 inches.

Altitude -- 765 feet above sea level. Parks-52, including playgrounds.

Financial Data -- 8 banks of all types. Branch of Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond located here, 4 building and loan associations.

Postal Receipts-$7,292,716 (1961).

Telephones in Use -- 130,200. Churches-450, representing 29 denominations. Building and Construction -- Value of building per- mits, $48,659,143.

Industry-Chief industry of city and surrounding territory: Textiles, food processing, machinery and metal products, chemicals, furniture and wood prod- ucts.

Trade Area -- Retail area has radius of 75 miles, and population of 2,216,000; wholesale area, radius of 150 miles, and population of 6,756,461. 1,959 retail stores with annual sales of over $349,982,000.

Newspapers -- 2 daily, 1 Sunday and 2 weekly. Radio Stations-10 (AM-FM); also 2 T V's.

Hotels -- 5 principal, with total of 1,258 rooms. Railroads -- 4: Southern, Seaboard Air Line, Nor- folk-Southern and Piedmont & Northern. Highways-Interstate 85, U. S. 29, 21 and 74; State 16, 27 and 49.

Airports -- 3 privately-owned: 1 municipal, 5 miles from center of city.

Amusements -- Auditorium, seating capacity, 2,500; Coliseum seating capacity, 13,500. 11 golf courses in city and suburbs, including several municipal courses. Memorial Stadium seating capacity, 16,000 and Griffith Park seating capacity, 5,000.

INTRODUCTION

XIII

HAVILAND SMITH

T- - FFF

Charlotte City Hall

Mecklenburg County Courthouse

XIV

INTRODUCTION

Main Building of The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

Charlotte has an excellent library system. Shown is the main branch, completed in 1956 at a cost of $1 1/4 million. It is one of the city's showplaces and one of the most modern and attractive library buildings in the nation. Over 240,000 volumes are available through the main branch, five city branches, five county branches and two mobile units.

Hospitals -- 6 large hospitals and several small ones, with total of 1,439 beds.

Education -- Queens College; Johnson C. Smith Uni- versity (Negro); Carver College, Charlotte College, 99 public schools, 9 parochial schools. Number of pupils in public schools, 63,072.

Public Libraries -- Charlotte's Main Library is housed in a modern, million-dollar building thought by many to be the most beautiful public library build- ing to be found anywhere. The building contains an auditorium and four conference rooms for use by edu- cational, cultural and civic groups. Some 240,000 volumes are available from the Main Library, branches and mobile libraries. The library provides an educa- tional film lending service with a collection of 16 mm. sound films plus slides, filmstrips and phonograph records. Branch libraries (eight housed in new build- ings) are located as follows :

Brevard St. Branch, 401 S. Brevard St., Charlotte 6, N. C.

Cornelius Public Library, Cornelius, N. C. Davidson Public Library, Davidson, N. C.

East Branch, 2001 Commonwealth Av., Charlotte 5, N. C.

Huntersville Public Library, Huntersville, N. C. Matthews Public Library, Matthews, N. C. North Branch Library, 2324 LaSalle St., Charlotte 8, N. C.

Piedmont Courts Branch, 831 Seigle Av., Char- lotte 4, N. C.

Pineville Public Library, Pineville, N. C.

South Branch Library, 1361 Queens Road, Char- lotte 7, N. C.

West Branch Library (To Be Constructed), Char- lotte 8, N. C.

Mobile Libraries (2) Inquire at Main Library for schedule.

Books borrowed at one service center can be returned at any of the other service centers.

Charlotte History

When the first settlers -- Scotch-Irish, English, Germans, Hugenots -- penetrated into the southern Pied- mont section of North Carolina they found deer and bear, wolves and Catawba Indians in awesome numbers. But, undismayed, the settlers went about the job of making homes for themselves.

Tiny Charlotte, only 360 acres of Mecklenburg County soil, was incorporated in November, 1768. Six years later the settlement became the county seat and organized a regular town government. Although Char- lottetown could boast only a handful of settlers, its spirited defiance of the British was known from St. Augustine to Plymouth Rock. On May 20, 1775, Char- lotte patriots signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a document which, though not generally acted upon until a year later, laid the foundations of the American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Charlotte played a spunky and effective part in the conflict which followed. British General Cornwallis, who was in the town for awhile, called the place "a damned hornet's nest" of rebellion. That reputation has been perpetuated in the city seal.

INTRODUCTION

HAVILAND SMITH

-------

North Carolina National Bank Building

During the days following the war, Charlotte began to show promise; even so, the town was still a mere upstart in the wilderness. Wilmington, New Bern, Raleigh, Edenton, were far larger. Even by 1850 Char- lotte could count only 1,065 heads.

After surviving the rigors of the Civil War and re- construction, Charlotte began anew its ascendancy as the chief city of the Carolinas. Each Federal Census in the years which followed foretold Charlotte's destiny. Today its top position in the Carolinas is undisputed.

Calendar of Historical Dates

1748 First Permanent settlers in Mecklenburg County.

1749 Earliest land grants from the Crown.

1750 Trade routes with Charleston, S. C., established over Indian trails.

1754 Meeting of King Hagler, chief of Catawba tribe, and commissioners appointed by the governor to establish amicable relations between Indians and settlers.

1762 Mecklenburg County created.

1766 Log court house built.

1767 March 15. Birth of Andrew Jackson in the south- eastern section of Mecklenburg County, now Union County. Thomas Polk's sawmill and grist-mill begins operation.

1768 Charlotte is incorporated. County divided; upper half becomes Tryon County.

1771 Presbyterian ministers perform marriages, a privilege theretofore restricted to ministers of the Established Church and justices of the peace. 1774 Charlotte made county-seat. Population, 200. Queen's Museum becomes successor of Queen's College.

1775 May 1. Because of dissatisfaction with the ad- ministration of Governor Josiah Martin, Thomas Polk is authorized to call a meeting of delegates from each district.

May 20. Assembly held in the court house in Char- lotte.

Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence ap- proved and read. Captain James Jack deputized to take document to Continental Congress in Phila- delphia.

May 31. Assembly reconvenes and draws up another set of resolutions, called the Resolves. June 23. Captain Jack arrives in Philadelphia with the Declaration of Independence. Congress is preparing address to the king, repudiating de- sire for independence, so Declaration is not pre- sented.

1776 John Phifer, Robert Irwin and John McKnitt Alex- ander, representatives of the county in Congress, instructed to declare for independence.

1777 Mecklenburg troops ordered north; engage in bat- tles of Germantown and Brandywine; spend winter with Washington at Valley Forge.

1780 Sept. 26. Battle of Charlotte; Cornwallis occupied town.

XVI

INTRODUCTION

DOUGLAS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT is a hotbed of activity each day. More than 1,000 people board planes on 100 scheduled flights every day. Five airlines serve the city. Eleven passenger trains enter Charlotte each day and two inter-state, three U. S., and three major state highways serve the city.

Oct. 3. McIntyre Farm skirmish (Battle of the Bees). Oct. 7. British Colonel Patrick Ferguson killed at Battle of Kings Mountain and his force defeated. Oct. 12. Cornwallis withdraws from Charlotte, referring to the place as a "hornet's nest."

1781 Feb. 1, 300 Revolutionaries defeated at Cowan's Ford near Charlotte, by Cornwallis; General Wm. Davidson slain.

1790 Population, 325.

1791 George Washington visits Charlotte.

1792 Cabarrus County created from eastern section of Mecklenburg.

Andrew Jackson licensed to practice law in Char- lotte.

U. S. Post Office established.

1795 Nov. 2. James Knox Polk, 11th President of the U. S., born in one-room log cabin 12 miles south of Charlotte.

1799 Gold discovered in county.

1812-14 Five companies of Mecklenburg troops serve through War of 1812.

1818 Census shows 70 families.

1825 First newspaper established: "Catawba Journal."

1830 Population, 730. First fire engine purchased; cost $100.

1837 Branch of the U. S. Mint begins operations.

1838 Charlotte Male Academy opens.

1840 Population, 849, including 301 Negroes.

1842 Union County formed from southeastern section of Mecklenburg.

1847 Company of dragoons, under Green W. Caldwell, leaves for Vera Cruz to serve in the Mexican War.

1849 Contract let for grading railroad from Charlotte to Columbia, S. C.

1850 Population, 1,065.

1852 First passenger train arrives; picnic attended by crowd estimated at 20,000.

1854 First steam power used in Leroy Springs' flour mill.

1856 Railroad from Charlotte to Goldsboro completed.

1857 Charlotte Female Institute organized.

1859 Charlotte Military Academy opens. D. H. Hill, headmaster.

1860 Population, 2,265.

1861 April, U. S. Mint appropriated for Military or- ganization.

May. Drilling of volunteers for the Army of the Confederacy begins. Faculty and cadets of Char- lotte Military Academy taken to Raleigh to drill troops.

1862 Center of naval ordnance moved to Charlotte from Norfolk, Virginia.

1864 Jan. 7, Charlotte's depots and warehouses, con- taining vast amounts of Confederate munitions and supplies destroyed by fire at a lost of $10,- 000,000.

1865 April 15. Jefferson Davis, President of the Con- federacy, arrives with his cabinet and 1,000 cal- vary.

News of Lincoln's assassination.

April 20. Last full meeting of Confederate cabinet held at home of Colonel Wm. Phifer on North Try- on St.

June. Colonel Willard Warner and 180th Ohio Regiment occupy Charlotte.

1867 Biddle University for Negroes, now known as Johnson C. Smith University, established.

1868 Mint reopened as an assay office, but coinage not resumed.

1869 Cotton sold at 35¢ a pound.

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Hill's Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory [1962], Part 2

Author: Hill Directory Company. Publication date: 1962 Publisher: Hill Directory Co. Number of Pages: 1852

Author: Hill Directory Company.
Publication date: 1962
Publisher: Hill Directory Co.
Number of Pages: 1852