The Italian gold prospector with a gold-tipped cane
The Italian gold prospector with a gold-tipped cane
Plus: New crossword — and the news of the week: Hurricane hits; Epicentre renamed and refreshed; Big plans in Kannapolis; Charlotte FC interim coach expected to stay; YMCA changes 'Y-Guides'
Today's Charlotte Ledger is sponsored by Fox Rothschild, a national law firm whose Charlotte-based attorneys provide litigation, real estate, labor and employment, corporate and a wide range of other services to clients in the Carolinas and across the country.
Count Chevalier Vincent de Rivafinoli: He flocked to Charlotte for the gold rush in 1830 — and lived large
Editor’s note: Historical Heavyweights examines the lives of figures who helped shape modern-day Charlotte. This is the last in a 5-part series.
by John Short
At one time, Charlotte’s sleepy streets were brought to life by a sharp-dressed character, larger than life and long on bravado.
Despite his sudden appearance in town and questionable origins, he boasted hundreds of loyal followers who bought into his panache and followed his lead.
He lived in the biggest house, on the biggest hill, on the biggest side of town. He would walk the streets, stylin’ and profilin’ along one of the grand boulevards of the city with his gold-tipped cane. When he strutted down Morehead Street, everyone could tell he was The Man. Woooooo!
I am, of course, talking about Count Chevalier Vincent de Rivafinoli, who operated some of the region’s most important mining interests during Charlotte’s gold rush of the 1830s.
For the burgeoning town of Charlotte with a population of under 2,000, a purported Italian nobleman like Rivafinoli was certainly an ostentatious sight to behold. Sporting the title of “Chevalier” — the title of an Italian knight (supposedly earned in military service under Napoleon) — Rivafinoli could often be seen walking down Morehead Street to oversee his interests in the active gold mines in uptown.
What was it about bucolic Charlotte that would attract such a character? Gold, and lots of it.
Beginning with 12-year-old Conrad Reed’s discovery of a 17-pound gold nugget in Cabarrus County in 1799, Charlotte’s gold rush would grow into a serious industry in the region in the first half of the 19th century. The amount of gold extracted from Charlotte-area mines would double from 1830 to 1833, in large part due to the sophisticated mining operations that developed around the city.
Rivafinoli arrived in Charlotte sometime around 1830, a representative from an English mining company that sought to speculate in the Charlotte region.
With institutional financial backing from the old country and a mandate to seek a fortune under what is now the heart of South End, Rivafinoli would ultimately acquire the leases on the Rudisill and St. Catherine mines, two of the most active and successful of the region’s mining operations.
Rivafinoli lived in an opulent house on South Tryon and West Morehead streets, steps from one of the primary shafts of the Rudisill mine, located at the intersection of South Mint Street and Summit Avenue. Many of the adjacent shafts of the Rudisill mine ran parallel to South Mint Street, in what is now known as the “Gold District” of the South End neighborhood.
Rivafinoli’s bombastic legacy was more than just sizzle, however. While his claim to Italian nobility may have been suspect, he knew how to run a mining operation. To properly execute the mining of the Rudisill and St. Catherine mines, Rivafinoli recruited 80 mining experts from around Europe to bring their “lode mining” techniques from the old country to the backcountry of North Carolina.
The Nov. 15, 1830, edition of the newspaper Miners’ and Farmers’ Journal reported:
The Chevalier de Rivafinoli, who has purchased several mines in the vicinity of Charlotte, Mecklenburg county, lately arrived at his mines from the North, bringing with him some of the most learned and practical miners of England, Germany, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy and France, with seventy or eighty working hands. … He has reviewed the whole machinery, and every necessary alteration in the way of improvement will be made, in order to test the experiment of mining in this country to the fullest extent. …
Charlotte is rapidly improving, and in the lapse of time must rival any town in the State.
Rivafinoli’s operation would grow to 130 men, and it was written about him that “his style of living was deemed magnificent for the day, and his organization was run on severely military lines.” Results speak for themselves: The Rudisill mine would ultimately be one of the most successful mines in the state, operating for over 100 years until 1938, when it shuttered during the Great Depression. Echoes of the mine still impact uptown today, and in the 1980s, when the Bank of America Corporate Center was under construction, crews came across the frames of mine shafts that at one time ran under uptown as deep as 400 feet.
Rivafinoli’s time in Charlotte seemingly ended as abruptly as it began, as he moved on to new interests once the region’s gold productions slowed.
But the next time you look at the Corporate Center in the Charlotte skyline, think of the mine shafts below and the cane-walkin’, wheelin’ dealin’ kiss-stealin’ son of a gun who captured Charlotte’s imagination in the first half of the 19th century.
John Short is a freelance writer and co-host of The Charlotte Podcast who loves digging up Charlotte’s past and pondering its future. Say hey when you see him on the streetcar.
Today’s supporting sponsors are Soni Brendle…
… and Charlotte Christian School. Experience the Charlotte Christian community and attend an on-campus admissions event this fall. A Closer Look for Grades JK-5 is Wednesday, Oct. 12, and A Closer Look for Grades JK-12 is Saturday, Nov. 5. The events provide an opportunity to take a look into classrooms, tour the campus and learn more about our curriculum and co-curricular offerings. More details.
This week’s Charlotte-themed crossword: ‘Fixing a Course’
Local clues this week include 41 Across, “Chute at Ray’s Splash Planet”; 63 Across, “Turned the water green at the Whitewater Center, e.g.”; and 48 Down, “Element in the name of an OG CLT food truck-turned-caterer.”
Ledger crosswords are constructed by Chris King, edited by Tim Whitmire and presented by CXN Advisory. Enjoy this week’s edition:
.PDF (suitable for download and printing):
.PUZ (suitable for use on tablets and computers with Across Lite app):
For nearly 30 other crosswords with local clues, check out our dedicated Charlotte Ledger Crossword page.
This week in Charlotte: Hurricane Ian closes much of the city with rain and wind; Epicentre reboot planned; End of Murdock era in Kannapolis; Charlotte FC interim coach expected to stick around
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Local news
Hurricane arrives: After tearing through Florida, Hurricane Ian made landfall north of Charleston on Friday afternoon as a Category 1 storm. Charlotte experienced heavy rain, winds and minor flooding, and about 11,000 Duke Energy customers remained without power as of 7 a.m. Saturday. School, events and airplane flights were canceled, and the weather is supposed to improve today.
Airport overlook to relocate: (WSOC) The airport overlook will temporarily close Monday and relocate to the corner of Old Dowd Road and Airport Overlook Drive due to construction on the North End Around Taxiway project, which will permanently close Airport Overlook Drive and the existing Long Term 1 parking exit.
Politics
Questions about new transportation center: (WFAE) Charlotte Area Transit System CEO John Lewis acknowledged that he provided incorrect information to the City Council about consultants on the planned replacement of uptown’s bus station. He had said Kimley Horn and Perkins Eastman were working for the city, when in reality they work for project developer White Point Partners. Lewis said later he misunderstood the question. Lewis told City Council members that no decisions have been made on whether to build a new uptown bus station at street-level, above ground or underground.
Diverse contracting: A study of City of Charlotte contracts between 2015 and 2020 found that 12% of spending went to minority- and women-owned firms, compared with the 13% of local companies available for contracting that are minority- and women-owned.
Business
Epicentre gets a refresh: (Axios Charlotte, Observer) The former nightlife hotspot Epicentre is being renamed “Queen City Quarter” and will aim to attract retailers or “high-end restaurants,” according to real estate company CBRE’s vision for the space. There are high hopes for a turnaround, but it’s going to be challenging, we wrote on Wednesday.
North Tryon purchase: The Durban Group, which runs Suffolk Punch in South End, bought the Extravaganza event space on North Tryon Street but said it’s not ready to announce what it has planned for the property. (Observer, subscriber-only)
Education
School board election: (Observer, subscriber-only) School board candidates weighed in on the future of the district, on issues such as picking a new superintendent and raising low test scores.
UNC Charlotte apology: (Observer) UNC Charlotte’s chancellor apologized after campus police handcuffed a student with a knife. The item was discovered to be a kirpan, an article of faith among Sikhs.
Good reads
Cheslie Kryst’s mental health struggle: (New York Times) Earlier this year, the 2017 Miss North Carolina and 2019 Miss USA Cheslie Kryst died by suicide — a tragic death that reflects the troubling increase of mental health struggles among young Black women.
After 40 years, David Murdock pulls out of Kannapolis: (Business North Carolina) L.A. billionaire David Murdock, 99, is selling the old Cannon Mills, his historic downtown Kannapolis property, which he’s owned since 1982.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
A mom endures Scarowinds: Carowinds’ nightime Halloween tradition Scarowinds implemented a new rule that requires all guests ages 17 and younger to have an adult chaperone, and the Ledger’s scare-averse Cristina Bolling braved the haunted theme park to report on how the new regulation works.
New I-77 lanes could take until 2050: Transportation officials said that because funding is so scarce, construction on additional lanes to I-77 south of uptown won’t be finished until 2045 or 2050.
Wednesday (🔒):
Selling homes with TikTok: Real estate agents have added TikTok to their marketing toolbox, and local Realtor Maceon McCracken, who has over 19.7K TikTok followers, said it has become her No.1 source of lead generation.
YMCA eliminates Native American references: The YMCA of Greater Charlotte removed Native American language from its its father-child “Y-Guides” program, changing “Indian Guides” to “Adventure Guides” and “tribes” to “crews.”
Friday (🔒):
CMS mobile trailers: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools added four trailers to the Rea Farms STEAM Academy campus last summer due to the increased enrollment rate, but the trailers were not permitted by the Rea Farms Property Owners Association, so they’re sitting empty right now and sparking concerns in the Rea Farms community.
Tryon Medical drops an insurance plan: Tryon Medical Partners announced this week that as of Jan. 1, it will no longer accept the Humana Medicare Advantage insurance plan, which is one of two offered to state retirees eligible for Medicare.
What’s holding back Charlotte’s fintech growth? A fintech panel met Thursday at LendingTree’s new headquarters and concluded that the city’s lack of venture capital funding is hurting the fintech sector’s ability to fuel new innovations and grow.
Hiring still strong: Charlotte-area employers continued to add jobs in August, even though most economists forecast a recession.
$125K park upgrade: Tom Hunter Park in northeast Charlotte received a $125,000 grant from Republic Services to revitalize the only Hidden Valley neighborhood park, which included a new pavilion, picnic tables and benches built by volunteers from Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte.
Sonia Handelman Meyer, a talented photographer and member of the New York Photo League in the 1940s, passed away Sept. 11 at the age of 102. She was awarded the Charlotte Arts & Sciences Council’s lifetime achievement award in 2016 and currently has an exhibit at Central Piedmont Community College at The Bill & Patty Gorelick Gallery through Dec. 9.
Check out Thursday’s live discussion forum on Charlotte-area transit and transportation, hosted by Ely Portillo of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, Steve Harrison of WFAE and the Ledger’s Tony Mecia.
A three-year contract is currently in the works to keep Christian Lattanzio as Charlotte FC’s head coach; Club’s value increases; Will Swiderski stick around for Year 2?
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