Charlotte (N.C.) City records

Collection

Identifier: MS0127

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Primarily financial records concerning appropriations and expenditures of the city government, 1890s-1920s. Includes material relating to the overall budget and to schools, taxes, business licenses, payrolls, and Elmwood and Pinewood cemeteries. Also includes a copy of the petition (1919) to incorporate Myers Park and photographs of 25 mayors (ca. 1853-ca. 1953) and of 8 city commissioners (ca. 1917-ca. 1925).

Dates

1853 - 1957
1895 - 1920

Creator

J. Murrey Atkins Library. University Archives (Organization)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Historical Note

Charlotte was chartered on November 7, 1768 when the colonial assembly passed "An Act for Establishing a Town in Mecklenburg County." This act established a commission form of government for the city, which was used until the Civil War. Following the withdrawal of Federal troops from Charlotte, an aldermanic form of government was adopted with aldermen and mayor elected by the citizens. A change from aldermanic to commission form of government occurred in 1917. A referendum in 1929 resulted in the current city manager and council plan, with the mayor acting primarily as titular head of government. District representation was approved by the voters in 1977. [For more information, see LeGette Blythe and Charles Raven Brockmann, Hornets' Nest: The Story of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (Charlotte: McNally, 1961), as well as more contemporary sources.]