The area that is now Charlotte was first settled by European colonists around 1755, when Thomas Spratt and his family settled near what is now the Elizabeth neighborhood. These areas were all part of one of the original six judicial/military districts of North Carolina known as the Salisbury District. In 1842, Union County formed from Mecklenburg's southeastern portion and a western portion of Anson County. Further apportionment was made in 1792, after the American Revolutionary War, with Cabarrus County formed from Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg County formed from Anson County in 1762. The western portion of New Hanover split into Bladen County in 1734, its western portion splitting into Anson County in 1750. Mecklenburg County was initially part of Bath County (1696 to 1729) of New Hanover Precinct, which became New Hanover County in 1729. They still contributed greatly to the early foundations of the region.
German immigrants also settled the area before the American Revolutionary War, but in much smaller numbers. They made up the principal founding population in the backcountry. The city of Charlotte was developed first by a wave of migration of Scots-Irish Presbyterians, or Ulster-Scot settlers from Northern Ireland, who dominated the culture of the Southern Piedmont Region. At the time of their largest population, Catawba people numbered 10,000, but by 1826 their total population had dropped to 110. By 1759 half the Catawba tribe had died from smallpox, which was endemic among European colonists, because the Catawba had not acquired immunity to the new disease. The Catawba Native Americans were the first known historic tribe to settle Mecklenburg County (in the Charlotte area) and were first recorded around 1567 in Spanish records. Queen Charlotte of Great Britain and Ireland Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake are two smaller man-made lakes located near the city. It is located several miles east of the Catawba River and southeast of Lake Norman, the largest man-made lake in North Carolina. Ĭharlotte has a humid subtropical climate. Gantt Center, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Billy Graham Library, Levine Museum of the New South, Charlotte Museum of History, Carowinds amusement park, and the U.S. Īmong Charlotte's notable attractions, some of the most popular include the Carolina Panthers (NFL), the Charlotte Hornets (NBA), Charlotte FC (MLS), the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the Charlotte Ballet, Children's Theatre of Charlotte, Mint Museum, Harvey B. As of 2020, Charlotte was considered as a Gamma + level global city by the GaWC. Ĭharlotte is home to the corporate headquarters of Bank of America, Truist Financial, and the east coast headquarters of Wells Fargo, which along with other financial institutions has made it the second-largest banking center in the United States. Residents are referred to as " Charlotteans". It is the third-fastest-growing major city in the United States. Census data from 2005 to 2015, Charlotte tops the U.S. īetween 20, Charlotte was ranked as the country's fastest-growing metro area, with 888,000 new residents. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2020 census-estimated population of 2,846,550. The city is the cultural, economic, and transportation center of the Charlotte metropolitan area, whose 2020 population of 2,660,329 ranked 23rd in the U.S. The population was 874,579 as of the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous city in the U.S., the seventh most populous city in the South, and the second most populous city in the Southeast behind Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County.