History

Fourth Ward takes its name from Charlotte’s early political structure. In the mid 1800s, Charlotte was divided into four political Wards; the NW Quadrant was called Fourth Ward. It was a prosperous area where merchants, ministers, physicians, and other community leaders lived. First Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church and Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church served as both religious and social centers and listed some of Charlotte’s most prominent citizens as members. In the early 1900s, the trolley opened up the suburbs and home sites in Dilworth and Myers Park and lured people away from the center city. Fourth Ward began to show its age. By World War II, many of the large Victorian homes had been divided into small apartments or had become boarding houses. When the war ended, several homes were remodeled as trade schools to meet the educational needs of returning veterans. By the 1950s, Fourth Ward was rapidly becoming an undesirable area and people began to abandon their homes. By the late 1960s, vacant weed-choked lots abounded with the overgrowth giving cover to drug dealing, prostitution and violence. Neglect, fire and/or vandals had destroyed many of the homes. Others had become liquor houses and brothels. Fourth Ward was an eyesore on the downtown area and wasn’t producing measurable tax revenue. However, some lovely Victorian homes, know as the “Grand Old Ladies” of Fourth Ward, were still in existence and some people dreamed of restoring them. In the early 1970s, the Junior League, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Bank of America Chairman and CEO Hugh McColl Jr., and neighborhood activist, Dennis Rash, envisioned uptown residential areas. They recognized Fourth Ward’s potential and worked diligently to interest the City, local banks, and the citizens of Charlotte in saving Fourth Ward. What grew from this was a joint venture between Charlotte city government and the then North Carolina National Bank. The bank funded a special city program where urban pioneers could obtain mortgages at very favorable rates to buy and restore properties in Fourth Ward. The Junior League purchased the first home in Fourth Ward in 1976 to begin the renaissance. By 1978, almost all of the homes had been bought by adventurous pioneers eager to restore their homes and the neighborhood. The payoff for the risk, imagination and creativity was the re-establishment of a viable, thriving Center City neighborhood. Parks, businesses, cultural, religious, and educational activities are all within walking distance of the lovely homes, town homes, and apartments that make this one of Charlotte’s showcase areas. Fourth Ward’s population now stands at greater than 3,300 residents. Between 1993 and 2003, more than 1,100 new housing units were established. This includes projects like the restoration of Charlotte’s Cotton Mills on Graham Street. The two buildings, originally erected in 1881, provide a unique setting for both office and commercial businesses. The City’s first successful textile plant now has 183 apartment homes that offer upscale metropolitan living as the entire project becomes part of the city’s future while preserving an important part of its past. You will often see tourists and Charlotteans alike wandering through Fourth Ward admiring the parks, upscale condominiums, and wonderful Victorian homes. In fact, you may want to further explore the neighborhood yourself. Click on the walking map of Fourth Ward at www.charlottecentercity.org/nav.cfm?cat=19&subcat=107&subsub=24#.

Fast Facts

Approximately 12,000 people live downtown. The wave of high rise condominiums continues with the recent completion of “Courtside”, continued development of Fourth Ward projects such as “The Avenue” and “Trademark”, and an upcoming ground breaking of “The Vue” located in our backyard at 5th and Pine St. A total of 14 residential high-rise projects have been announced in Uptown in the past 1.5 years. We expect the number of people claiming Center City as home to double and possibly triple over the next 5-10 years. For more on the changing face of Uptown, go to “Imagine Your Future in Charlotte” on Page 21 of this guide.

In 1897 Dr. Paul Barringer founded the Davidson School of Medicine at Davidson College, the only medical school for whites in North Carolina at that time. In 1907 the institution moved to Charlotte, with its many hospitals, and was renamed the North Carolina Medical College. When this new building opened, St. Peters Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, the Charlotte Sanitarium and the original facilities of Mercy and Presbyterian hospitals were all located within walking distance downtown. Soon after instruction commenced in the Charlotte facility, however, an evaluation report by the Carnegie Foundation criticized the college for having inadequate facilities. It closed in 1914.

In May 1863, General Thompson A. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson) lived in Fourth Ward.

Many people died in the Civil War and were buried in Elmwood Cemetery, just on the outskirts of Fourth Ward.

Many people buried in Elmwood Cemetery were from prominent families in Charlotte’s Fourth Ward including: The Myers, Lattas, Belks, McNiches, Springs, Dillards, McAdens, and Tates.

The early settlers of Charlotte were buried in the Settlers Cemetery, which is also in Fourth Ward behind the First Presbyterian Church (200 W. Trade Street). Tombstones dating from the 1700s are in the cemetery.

The Gothic Revival church, which takes up a city block and faces West Trade Street, reflects the prosperity of early settlers and their descendants.

Poplar Street Books is housed in the Victorian Young-Morrison House (226 W. 10th Street).

U.S. president William Taft spent the night in the McNinch House (511 N. Church Street), now a 5-star restaurant, when he visited Charlotte in 1909.

For decades, the Crowell-Berryhill Store (1897) at 401 W. 9th Street was the neighborhood commercial center of Fourth Ward. It was extensively renovated in the early 1980s, and returned to its original exterior appearance. Today it is the last of the nineteenth century neighborhood groceries that once dotted the original four Wards. You may recognize it now as Alexander Michael’s Restaurant and Bar.