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Charlotte was founded in 1755 when a settler by the name of Thomas Polk built a house that was located at the crossroads of an Indian trading path and the Great Wagon Road. The area was first named Charlotte Town and was incorporated in 1768. Many early settlers in Charlotte were Scottish, Irish, and German immigrants.

During the Revolutionary War Charlotte was home to both the American and British armies. The residents of Charlotte however were unhappy with the British troops being there and fought against the British army and in turn the city was giving the name Hornets Nest by a British General.

In 1799 Conrad Reed a boy from Charlotte brought home a rock weighing 17 pounds that he found while fishing. The rock was so large that his family used it as a door stop at their home for 3 years until it was discovered that what they thought was a rock was actually gold. This turned out to be the first gold find in the United States and subsequently started what is now known as the Gold Rush. The nation’s first gold mine began operation in Charlotte under the name of Reed Gold Mine and a large amount of gold was found during the mines operation. It stayed in operation until 1912.

The discovery of gold in the Charlotte area let the U.S. Congress to establishing a branch of the United States Mint in the city. The Charlotte Mint stayed open until the Confederate Army took the facility over in 1837 at the beginning of the Civil War.

Charlotte has long been a financial center in the United States and that became even truer during the 1970’s. A large part of the city’s banking success is due to financier Hugh McColl who molded North Carolina National Bank into a banking conglomerate that through several accusations would become the financial institute that is now known as Bank of America. The Bank of America which happens to be the second largest banking institution in the country has helped put Charlotte on the map in the financial world.

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