Historical Heavyweights: The figures who shaped modern Charlotte

Travel back in time to learn about important people from Charlotte's history

About every year, The Charlotte Ledger presents a new series of “Historical Heavyweights” — articles profiling Charlotteans who helped shape the city we live in. You might recognize their names from street signs or parks — but local writer John Short takes a look at the people behind the names in this recurring feature.

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A frontiersman who became Charlotte’s most important founding father

Thomas Polk: He brawled with loyalists and led soldiers in the Revolutionary War. His Trade & Tryon home? George Washington slept there.

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A 19th century trailblazer in education, medicine, business …

Just two decades after the Civil War, J.T. Williams founded a school and became one of N.C.’s first Black surgeons. Then he became a politician and a diplomat.

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The guy who all the stuff is named after

Businessman Edward Dilworth Latta had a vision of building suburbs outside Charlotte’s downtown; Cut deal with Thomas Edison, but a later hotel venture led to self-exile

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The South’s first female doctor

Dr. Annie Alexander shattered stereotypes and championed the health of women and children; wartime surgeon, real estate side gig

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He built a ToastChee empire and became Charlotte’s mayor

Philip Van Every expanded Lance from its surplus-peanut foundations into a snack-making powerhouse

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A visionary on Charlotte’s west side

Henry L. McCrorey: He built an influential westside neighborhood and solidified Charlotte’s historically black college

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Charlotte’s turn-of-the-century celebrity

Anna Jackson, widow of the famously named Confederate general, became a symbol of Civil War nostalgia; welcomed ex-soldiers on Trade Street

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The 'king' of Charlotte (before it was Charlotte)

‘King’ Hagler led the Catawba tribe and juggled relationships with new settlers and warring nations; negotiated N.C./S.C. border line

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Brick by brick, he built structures with memorable designs

W.W. Smith went from brick-making and masonry to designing and constructing buildings in Charlotte’s Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond

W.W. Smith (1862-1937) designed and built many structures in the Charlotte region, including the Mecklenburg Investment Co. building on Brevard Street uptown (right), Grace AME Zion Church, a library branch and college buildings.

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The Italian gold prospector with a gold-tipped cane

Count Chevalier Vincent de Rivafinoli: He flocked to Charlotte for the gold rush in 1830 — and lived large

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The ‘Mother’ of UNC Charlotte

Bonnie Cone: Her vision and tireless advocacy proved the region had sustainable demand for higher education.

Bonnie E. Cone, or “Miss Bonnie,” as she was often called, was a dedicated educator and community leader who played an instrumental role in the vision and history of UNC Charlotte. (Courtesy University City Partners)

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A Charlotte founding father who resented British overlords

Ephraim Brevard: From the backwoods to prominence, he was a physician who helped drive Mecklenburg’s Revolutionary fervor.

A bronze plaque for Brevard that is part of Charlotte Liberty Walk, which tells the story of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County during the American Revolution. Interestingly, researchers say there are no known paintings of Brevard around today to give us an idea of what he looked like. (Mecklenburg Historical Association)

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She championed Charlotte's first hospitals

Jane Wilkes: Her work during the Civil War led her to launch Charlotte’s first two civilian hospitals.

During the Civil War, many Confederate wounded were sent to Charlotte, and Jane Wilkes — commemorated by this statue on Charlotte’s Trail of History — volunteered in Confederate camp hospitals. This experience sparked her interest to lead the effort to build Charlotte’s first two civilian hospitals. (Courtesy of the Trail of History)

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A firebrand Charlotte preacher who inspired revolution

Alexander Craighead: His fierce rhetoric from the pulpit stoked a regional zeal for freedom

A memorial to Craighead in historic Elmwood Cemetery in uptown Charlotte. (findagrave.com)

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