Mecklenburg County, North Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mecklenburg County
U.S. county
Uptown Charlotte skyline Old Mecklenburg County Courthouse Governors Island on Lake Norman First Presbyterian Church Pineville Historic District President James K. Polk Historic Site Charlotte Research Institute campus at UNC Charlotte
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Meck County
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	December 11, 1762
Named for	Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Seat	Charlotte
Largest municipality	Charlotte
Area
• Total	546.09 sq mi (1,414.4 km2)
• Land	523.61 sq mi (1,356.1 km2)
• Water	22.48 sq mi (58.2 km2)  4.12%
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,115,482
• Estimate  (2023)	1,163,701
• Density	2,130.37/sq mi (822.54/km2)
Demonym(s)	Mecklenburger
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	12th, 14th

Mecklenburg County (/ˈmɛklənˌbɜːrɡ/) is a county located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it the second-most populous county in North Carolina (after Wake County), and the first county in the Carolinas to surpass one million in population. Its county seat is Charlotte, the state's largest municipality.

Mecklenburg County is the central county of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. On September 12, 2013, it was estimated the county surpassed one million residents.

Like its seat, the county is named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of the United Kingdom (1761–1818), whose name is derived from the region of Mecklenburg in Germany. It was named for Mecklenburg Castle (Mecklenburg meaning "large castle" in Low German) in the village of Dorf Mecklenburg.

History

Mecklenburg County was formed by English colonists in 1762 from the western part of Anson County, both in the Piedmont section of the state. It was named in commemoration of the marriage of King George III to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, for whom the county seat Charlotte is named. Due to unsure boundaries, a large part of south and western Mecklenburg County extended into areas that would later form part of the state of South Carolina. In 1768, most of this area (the part of Mecklenburg County west of the Catawba River) was designated Tryon County, North Carolina.

Determining the final boundaries of these "western" areas between North and South Carolina was a decades-long process. As population increased in the area following the American Revolutionary War, in 1792 the northeastern part of Mecklenburg County was taken by the North Carolina legislature for Cabarrus County. Finally, in 1842 the southeastern part of Mecklenburg County was combined with the western part of Anson County to form Union County.

The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was allegedly signed on May 20, 1775, and if the document is genuine, Mecklenburg County was the first part of the Thirteen Colonies to declare independence from Great Britain. The "Mecklenburg Resolves" were adopted on May 31, 1775. Mecklenburg continues to celebrate the declaration each year in May, the date of which is included on the flag of North Carolina.

The first gold rush in the United States, the Carolina Gold Rush, began after a 12-year-old boy named Conrad Reed discovered a gold nugget in a stream in neighboring Cabarrus County. Many miners and merchants began settling in the county during that time. The first United States branch mint was established in 1837 in Charlotte and continued operations until 1913. The original building was moved from its original site and redeveloped as a museum.

In 1917, during World War I, Camp Greene was established west of Charlotte as an army training camp. In 1919, after the end of WWI, it was decommissioned. Around the 1930s and 1940s, the population began to rapidly increase. During this time, Carolinas Medical Center and Charlotte College (now the University of North Carolina at Charlotte) were built. Lake Norman was also completed in 1964, after a five-year construction period.

In the mid-20th century, the county continued to see rapid growth. Many new government buildings were constructed, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport was expanded in 1954. By 1960, a quarter million people were living in the county, with the population reaching half a million by 1990. A proposal to form a consolidated city-county government with Charlotte was considered, but voted down by residents in 1971. The metropolitan statistical area now includes 11 counties in both North Carolina and South Carolina, and had an estimated combined population of 2,805,115 in 2023.

In mid-2020, the county was the site of the 2020 Colonial Pipeline oil spill, wherein about 2,000,000 U.S. gal (7,600,000 L) of gasoline leaked from the Colonial Pipeline in the Oehler Nature Preserve near Huntersville. It is one of the largest gasoline spills in U.S. history, and cleanup efforts are expected to last for several years.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 546.09 square miles (1,414.4 km²), of which 523.61 square miles (1,356.1 km²) is land and 22.48 square miles (58.2 km²) (4.12%) is water.

State and local protected areas/sites

• Carolina Raptor Center
• Charlotte Museum of History
• Historic Latta Place
• Historic Rural Hill/Nature Preserve
• Little Sugar Creek Greenway
• Mint Museum Randolph, uses the original Charlotte Mint building
• Mint Museum Uptown
• Oehler Nature Preserve
• President James K. Polk Historic Site

Nature preserves in Charlotte:

• Auten Nature Preserve
• Big Rock Nature Preserve
• Cowans Ford Wildlife Refuge
• Ferrelltown Nature Preserve
• Latta Nature Preserve
• McDowell Nature Preserve
• Possum Walk Nature Preserve
• Reedy Creek Nature Preserve
• Sherman Branch Nature Preserve
• Stevens Creek Nature Preserve

Major water bodies

• Catawba River
• Lake Norman
• Mountain Island Lake
• Rocky River

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Population grew 2.5% per year from 1970 to 2008

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,115,482 people, 426,313 households, and 254,759 families residing in the county.

Economy

Data represents January 1990 to November 2009

Data represents January 1990 to November 2009

The major industries of Mecklenburg County are banking, manufacturing, and professional services, especially those supporting banking and medicine. Mecklenburg County is home to ten Fortune 1000 companies.

Wachovia, a former Fortune 500 company, had its headquarters in Charlotte until it was acquired by Wells Fargo for $15.1 billion. Wells Fargo maintains the majority of the former company's operations in Charlotte.

Goodrich Corporation, a former Fortune 500 company, had its headquarters in Charlotte until it was acquired by United Technologies Corporation for $18.4 billion. Charlotte is now the headquarters for UTC Aerospace Systems.

Transportation

Air

The county's primary commercial aviation airport is Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte.

Intercity rail

With twenty-five freight trains a day, Mecklenburg is a freight railroad transportation center, largely due to its place on the NS main line between Washington and Atlanta, and the large volumes of freight moving in and out of the county via truck.

Mecklenburg County is served daily by three Amtrak routes. The Crescent train connects Charlotte with New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlottesville, and Greensboro to the north, and Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans to the southwest.

The Carolinian train connects Charlotte with New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro.

The Piedmont train connects Charlotte with Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro.

The Amtrak station is located at 1914 North Tryon Street. A new centralized multimodal train station, Gateway Station, has been planned for the city. It is expected to house the future LYNX Purple Line, the new Greyhound bus station, and the Crescent line that passes through Uptown Charlotte.

Mecklenburg County is the proposed southern terminus for the initial segment of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor operating between Charlotte and Washington, D.C. Currently in conceptual design, the SEHSR would eventually run from Washington, D.C. to Macon, Georgia.

Light rail and mass transit

Light rail service in Mecklenburg County is provided by LYNX Rapid Transit Services. Currently, the 19-mile (31 km) Lynx Blue Line runs from University of North Carolina at Charlotte, through Uptown Charlotte, to Pineville; build-out is expected to be complete by 2034. The CityLynx Gold Line, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) streetcar line runs from Sunnyside Avenue, in Plaza-Midwood, through Uptown Charlotte, stopping at the Charlotte Transportation Center and future Charlotte Gateway Station, before continuing to French Street in Biddleville (Charlotte neighborhood), near the campus of Johnson C. Smith University.

Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus service serves all of Mecklenburg County, including Charlotte, and the municipalities of Davidson, Huntersville, Cornelius, Matthews, Pineville, and Mint Hill.

The Lynx Silver Line is a proposed 29-mile (47 km) east-west light rail line that would connect the outlying cities and towns of Belmont, Matthews, Stallings and Indian Trail to Uptown Charlotte and the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Originally setup as two separate projects known as the Southeast Corridor and West Corridor, they were merged in 2019 by the Metropolitan Transit Commission. The tentative opening date in 2037.

Freight

Mecklenburg's manufacturing base, its central location on the Eastern Seaboard, and the intersection of two major interstates in the county have made it a hub for the trucking industry. Also located in the county is the Inland Port of Charlotte, which is a major rail corridor for CSX rail lines.

Major highways

Education

School system

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) serves the entire county; however, the State of North Carolina also has approved a number of charter schools in Mecklenburg County (independently operated schools financed with tax dollars).

Colleges and universities

Current

• Central Piedmont Community College
• Davidson College
• Johnson C. Smith University
• Johnson & Wales University
• Pfeiffer University
• Queens University of Charlotte
• Union Presbyterian Seminary
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Wake Forest University Charlotte Center

Former

• King's College

Libraries

The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County serves residents of Mecklenburg County. Library cards from any branch can be used at all 20 locations. The library has an extensive collection (over 1.5 million items) of reference and popular materials including DVDs, books on CD, best sellers, downloadable media, and books.

The Billy Graham Library contains the papers and memorabilia related to the career of the well-known 20th century evangelist, Billy Graham.

Healthcare

Two major healthcare providers exist within Mecklenburg County, Atrium Health, and Novant Health. The two healthcare systems combined offer 14 emergency departments throughout Mecklenburg County, including a psychiatric emergency department and two children's emergency departments. Two hospitals in the region offer trauma services with one level I trauma center and one level III. Atrium Health, legally Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, is the public hospital authority of the county.

The residents of Mecklenburg County are provided emergency medical service by MEDIC, the Mecklenburg EMS Agency. All emergency ambulance service is provided by MEDIC. No other emergency transport companies are allowed to operate within Mecklenburg County. In the fiscal year 2022, MEDIC responded to over 160,000 calls for service and transported over 107,000 patients. While MEDIC is a division of Mecklenburg County Government, a board guides and directs MEDIC that consists of members affiliated with Atrium Health, Novant Health and a swing vote provided by the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. Atrium and Novant are the two major medical institutions in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Arts and culture

Museums and libraries

Sports and entertainment

Music and performing arts venues

Amusement parks

• Carowinds
• Great Wolf Lodge in Cabarrus County
• Ray's Splash Planet

Other attractions

Communities

Map of Mecklenburg County with municipal and township labels

Mecklenburg County contains seven municipalities including the City of Charlotte and the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville (north of Charlotte); and the towns of Matthews, Mint Hill, and Pineville (south and southeast of Charlotte). A small portion of Stallings is also in Mecklenburg County, though most of that town is in Union County. Extraterritorial jurisdictions within the county are annexed by municipalities as soon as they reach sufficient concentrations. Townships are administrative divisions of unincorporated county land and do not have any government function.

City

• Charlotte (county seat and largest municipality in the county and state)

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Townships

By the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, Mecklenburg County was divided into 15 townships. However, one township, Sharon, was later annexed to the Charlotte township and ceased to exist. The townships, which are both numbered and named, are as follows:

Notable people

• Abraham Alexander (1717–1786), on the commission to establish town of Charlotte, North Carolina, North Carolina state legislator
• Evan Shelby Alexander (1767–1809), born in Mecklenburg County, later United States Congressman from North Carolina
• Nathaniel Alexander (1756–1808), born in Mecklenburg County, United States Congressman and governor of North Carolina
• Nellie Ashford (born c. 1943), folk artist born in Mecklenburg County
• Romare Bearden (1911–1988), 20th century African-American artist
• Sarah Frew Davidson (1804-1889), educator
• Brigadier General William Lee Davidson (1746–1781), was a North Carolina militia general during the American Revolutionary War.
• Ric Flair (born 1949), retired professional wrestler
• Anthony Foxx (born 1971), former United States Secretary of Transportation, former mayor of Charlotte.
• Judge Shirley Fulton (1952–2023), chief resident judge in the Superior Court of North Carolina
• Billy Graham (1918–2018), world-famous evangelist
• Eliza Ann Grier (1864–1902), born in Mecklenburg County, first African-American female physician in Georgia
• Anthony Hamilton (born 1971), American R&B/soul singer
• Daniel Harvey Hill (1821–1889), Confederate general during the American Civil War and a Southern scholar.
• Gen. Robert Irwin (1738–1800), a distinguished commander of Patriot (American Revolution) militia forces, who is said to have been a signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence
• Willie Kirkpatrick Lindsay (1875–1954), Dean of Women, Erskine College; President, North Carolina State Woman's Christian Temperance Union
• Pat McCrory (born 1956), former Governor of North Carolina, former seven-term Mayor of Charlotte.
• James K. Polk (1795–1849), 11th president of the United States. Polk was born in Mecklenburg County in 1795; his family moved to Tennessee when he was an adolescent.
• Colonel William Polk (1758–1834) banker, educational administrator, political leader, renowned Continental officer in the War for American Independence, and survivor of the 1777/1778 encampment at Valley Forge.
• Shannon Spake (born 1976), ESPN NASCAR correspondent

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Mecklenburg (Carolina del Norte) para niños