Charlotte was settled in 1753, incorporated in 1768 and named for Queen Charlotte. It has 83 National Register listings, from Rosedale to the Johnston Building.

Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. History on this page comes from the City of Charlotte’s annual financial report and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission’s history essay; National Register listings come from the National Park Service’s listed-properties data, May 22, 2026, edition.

The first settlers arrived inside today’s city limits in 1753: the Thomas Spratt family, whose cabin site near Providence Road and Crescent Avenue is marked by a plaque, and Thomas Polk, who built closer to what is now the Square, according to the Historic Landmarks Commission. Mecklenburg County split from Anson County in 1762. After a contest led by Polk, Charlotte won the county seat and was incorporated in 1768. The city says it became the county seat in 1774.

Plan a visit

  • Charlotte Museum of History and the Hezekiah Alexander House: 3500 Shamrock Drive, Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., charlottemuseum.org
  • Historic Rosedale: 3427 N. Tryon St., 704-335-0325, hours and tours
  • Mint Museum Randolph: 2730 Randolph Road, 704-337-2000, hours
  • Historic District Commission (local districts): city page

The name

The city owes its name to the German-born Queen Charlotte, wife of Britain’s King George III, and the county its name to her birthplace, Mecklenburg, the city says. The “Queen City” nickname comes from her.

Key dates

From the Historic Landmarks Commission’s history:

  • 1753: first settlers arrive between Sugar (Sugaw) Creek and Irwin Creek.
  • 1762: Mecklenburg County formed from Anson County.
  • 1768: Charlotte incorporated; commissioners lay off 100 acres in half-acre lots on a street grid around the courthouse square at Trade and Tryon streets.
  • May 20, 1775: by tradition, county leaders sign the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The original burned in 1800, and its authenticity has been debated; the date appears on the North Carolina flag and seal. Trade and Tryon is called Independence Square for it.
  • 1799: gold found on John Reed’s farm in Cabarrus County starts the nation’s first gold rush, and Charlotte becomes the trading center of the gold region.
  • 1837: a U.S. Mint branch opens near West Trade and Mint streets. It coined more than $5 million in gold by 1861. In 1933 the building was taken down and rebuilt in Eastover as an art museum.
  • 1852: the railroad arrives from Columbia, South Carolina. Charlotte grows from 1,065 people in 1850 to 2,265 in 1860.
  • 1862 to 1865: the Confederate Naval Ordnance Works moves to Charlotte from Norfolk, Virginia.

Tryon Street follows part of the old Trading Path and is named for Colonial Gov. William Tryon, the commission says.

Historic districts

Charlotte has eight local historic districts, overseen by the city’s 12-member Historic District Commission, which meets the second Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. and reviews renovation and new building in those districts. Separately, these neighborhoods are National Register historic districts: Dilworth (1987, enlarged 2000), Myers Park (1987), Elizabeth (1989), North Charlotte (1990), Wesley Heights (1995), Croft (1999) and Pharrsdale (2002).

Museums and sites to visit

Site Address Hours as published
Charlotte Museum of History, with the Hezekiah Alexander House 3500 Shamrock Drive Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday
Historic Rosedale 3427 N. Tryon St. See the site’s hours page; 704-335-0325
Mint Museum Randolph 2730 Randolph Road Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Wednesday to 9 p.m.); Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.; closed Monday
Historic Elmwood Cemetery 700 W. Sixth St. Site of the Voices From the Past evening tours in October; see things to do this month

The Charlotte Trail of History, a line of bronze statues of people who shaped Mecklenburg County, runs along the Little Sugar Creek Greenway near Uptown; see parks and trails.

Every National Register listing in Charlotte

The National Park Service lists 83 properties and districts in Charlotte on the National Register of Historic Places. Here they are by the year each was listed, with the address as the register records it. The NPS files a few rural Mecklenburg properties under Charlotte addresses that sit outside the city limits.

Listed Property Address
1970 Hezekiah Alexander House 3500 Shamrock Drive
1972 Rosedale 3427 N. Tryon St.
1973 Victoria 1600 The Plaza
1975 Biddle Memorial Hall, Johnson C. Smith University Beatties Ford Road and W. Trade St.
1975 Latta Arcade 320 S. Tryon St.
1976 Liddell-McNinch House 511 N. Church St.
1978 James Buchanan Duke House 400 Hermitage Road
1978 White Oak Plantation East of the city on SR 2826
1978 Charles R. Jonas Federal Building 401 W. Trade St.
1978 Independence Building 100-102 W. Trade St.
1979 Mecklenburg County Courthouse East Trade, Alexander and East Fourth streets
1979 Hotel Charlotte 327 W. Trade St.
1980 John Price Carr House 200-206 N. McDowell St.
1980 Fire Station No. 2 1212 South Blvd.
1980 Seaboard Air Line Railroad Passenger Station 1000 N. Tryon St.
1982 Mecklenburg Investment Company Building 233 S. Brevard St.
1982 First Presbyterian Church 200 W. Trade St.
1983 Overcarsh House 326 W. Eighth St.
1983 VanLandingham Estate 2010 The Plaza
1983 Morrocroft 2525 Richardson Drive
1984 Philip Carey Building 301 E. Seventh St.
1984 Charlotte Supply Company Building 500 S. Mint St.
1984 Merchants and Farmers National Bank Building 123 E. Trade St.
1987 Dilworth Historic District Historic district
1987 Myers Park Historic District Historic district
1988 Hoskins Mill 201 S. Hoskins Road
1988 Highland Park Manufacturing Company Mill No. 3 2901 N. Davidson St.
1989 Elizabeth Historic District Historic district
1990 North Charlotte Historic District Historic district
1990 Addison Apartments 831 E. Morehead St.
1991 Dr. Walter Pharr Craven House 7648 Mount Holly-Huntersville Road
1991 Hayes-Byrum Store and House NC 160 south of Shopton Road
1991 Eugene Wilson Hodges Farm 2900 Rocky River Church Road
1991 John Washington McKinney House 7332 Providence Road W.
1991 Green Morris Farm Historic district
1991 Steele Creek Presbyterian Church and Cemetery 7407 Steele Creek Road
1991 Former Nebel Knitting Mill 101 W. Worthington Ave.
1992 Commercial Building at 500 North Tryon Street 500 N. Tryon St.
1993 Mayes House 435 E. Morehead St.
1994 Former Parks-Cramer Company Complex 2000 South Blvd.
1994 Former Thrift Mill 8300 Moore’s Chapel Road
1995 Wesley Heights Historic District Historic district
1998 Former Charlotte Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant 1401-1409 W. Morehead St.
1999 Textile Mill Supply Company Building 1300 S. Mint St.
1999 Frank Ramsay McNinch House 2727 Sharon Lane
1999 Croft Historic District NC 115 at SR 2483
1999 Billingsville School 3100 Leroy St.
1999 Carolina Transfer and Storage Company Building (former) 1230 W. Morehead St.
2000 Dilworth Historic District (Boundary Increase) Historic district
2001 Union Storage and Warehouse Company Building 1000 W. Morehead St.
2001 Frederick Apartments 515 N. Church St.
2001 Carolina School Supply Company Building (former) 1023 W. Morehead St.
2001 Crane Company Building (former) 1307 W. Morehead St.
2001 Former Daniel A. Tompkins Company Machine Shop 1900 South Blvd.
2002 Pharrsdale Historic District Historic district
2002 Hamilton C. Jones III House 201 Cherokee Road
2003 William T. Alexander House Mallard Creek Church Road, 0.1 mile west of US 29
2003 Joseph Sykes Brothers Company Building 1445 S. Mint St.
2003 Grinnell Company-General Fire Extinquisher Company Complex 1431 W. Morehead St.
2004 Palmer Fire School 2601 E. Seventh St.
2005 East Avenue Tabernacle Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church 927 Elizabeth St.
2005 Edward M. Rozzell House 11647 Rozzelles Ferry Road
2006 Orient Manufacturing Company-Chadwick-Hoskins No. 3 311 E. 12th St.
2006 Sidney and Ethel Grier House 4747 Grier Farm Lane
2006 Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden 348 Ridgewood Ave.
2006 Fritz Seifart House 421 Hempstead Place
2007 Siloam School Mallard Highlands Drive, about 0.25 mile south of John Adams Road
2008 Home Federal Building 139 S. Tryon St.
2008 Southern Asbestos Company Mills 1000 Seaboard St.
2008 Neal Somers Alexander House 5014 N. Sharon Amity Road
2008 Grace A.M.E. Zion Church 219-223 S. Brevard St.
2009 Bishop John C. Kilgo House 2100 The Plaza
2009 Robinson Rock House Ruin and Plantation Site Reedy Creek Park, 2900 Rocky River Road
2010 Grier-Rea House 6701 Providence Road
2011 Barringer Hotel 426 N. Tryon St.
2013 Louise Cotton Mill 1101 Hawthorne Lane
2014 Savona Mill 528 S. Turner Ave.
2015 Speas Vinegar Company 2921 N. Tryon St.
2016 Charlotte Fire Station No. 4 420 W. Fifth St.
2017 Highland Park Mill No. 1 340 E. 16th St.
2022 Kimberlee Apartments 1300 Reece Road
2023 Ervin Building 4037 E. Independence Blvd.
2025 Johnston Building 212 S. Tryon St.

Nomination files for many Mecklenburg County listings are on the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office’s site, which numbers them MK followed by four digits.

What this means for you

  • Planning work on a house in a local historic district? Check with the Historic District Commission before you start.
  • For the story behind any listing, start with its nomination file from the state preservation office.
  • More on today’s city: population and growth and getting around.

Frequently asked questions

When was Charlotte founded?

The first settlers arrived in what is now Charlotte in 1753, and the town was incorporated in 1768. It became the Mecklenburg County seat in 1774, according to the city.

Why is Charlotte called the Queen City?

Charlotte is named for Queen Charlotte, the German-born wife of Britain’s King George III, and Mecklenburg County for her birthplace, the city says. The Queen City nickname comes from her.

How many National Register of Historic Places listings are in Charlotte?

The National Park Service lists 83 properties and districts in Charlotte on the National Register of Historic Places, as of its May 2026 data.

What was the first Charlotte property on the National Register?

The Hezekiah Alexander House at 3500 Shamrock Drive, part of the Charlotte Museum of History, was the first Charlotte property listed on the National Register, in 1970.