This state marker points out the first store in the Belks chain, which began here in Monroe. The…read moremarker reads, "William Henry Belk, 1862-1952, Merchant, philanthropist, and Presbyterian layman. Opened first store, May 29, 1888, two blocks east." Online, there is more information. "William Henry Belk, merchant and founder of the department store chain that bears his name, was born in Lancaster County, South Carolina, in 1862 to Abel and Sarah Belk. His father was drowned by Union general William T. Sherman's troops in 1865. Eight years later the family moved to Monroe. At age fourteen Belk went to work in a dry goods store. At twenty-six he struck out on his own. Belk called his first store "The New York Racket," believing it "sounded big." Soon after its opening on May 29, 1888, Belk painted the slogan "Cheapest Store on Earth" on the side of the two-story brick building." "Belk adopted several innovations such as trading on a cash-only basis and refusing to haggle, as was then common practice. W. H. Belk was the sole proprietor of the business until 1891. In that year he was joined in the operation by his brother Dr. John Belk and the name was changed to W. H. Belk and Bro. The original building was replaced in 1941 with a new, larger structure on the same site. The "Mother Store of the Belk Stores" operated there until it was moved to a mall location in 1979." "The effects of W. H. Belk's merchandising skills have been felt in practically every North Carolina city and town. The Belk stores were unique in that they were not chain stores or franchises in the usual sense, but in that there was a local part-owner for each store, thus Belk-Leggett, Belk-Hudson, and the like. In time Belk stores, headquartered in Charlotte, numbered nearly 400 businesses in sixteen states throughout the South. The organization is the largest family- and management-owned department store operation in the nation with nearly two billion dollars in annual sales. William Henry Belk's "genius as a merchant" was hailed during his lifetime, and, through the store name, remains well-known to this day. Less well-remembered perhaps are Belk's philanthropic efforts and his devout Presbyterianism." [Review 15442 overall, 946 of 2021, number 2989 in North Carolina.]

The BEST! I never thought that Matthews would have a chamber but, they do and it is excellent!…read more It is a built-up building that is next to the railroad tracks in the brick/flower new area of town. (This also features; Kristopher's (see review), the Matthews library, Beantown cafe, etc.) The building has a real old caboose you can walk through. (my 9 yr. old enjoyed that!) The women that work in the Chamber a ultra helpful. You can get maps, brochures, free giveaways, information, coupons, etc. This should be your first stop in Matthews!

For fun in Center City, Charlotte Center City Partners has it covered!…read more Yes, these are the folks largely responsible for the big ole event Uptown. Whether it's Beer, Blues & BBQ, Taste of Charlotte, Speedstreet or pumpkin carving for Halloween - I give these guys credit. Considering only 10-12K people live in Uptown, they have a large feat of bringing the masses into Center City. As a whole, these events are well organized, nicely promoted and generally a really good time. Stephen puts it well - every event won't be for everybody, but I appreciate that they try to bring Charlotte together (as we're a large group of transplants). In addition to the events, they also send out a really great calendar of what's going on in Uptown & South End every week. If you don't get it already, definitely check it out.

Festivals. Fun. Beer. Lots of beer. Charlotte Center City Partners (or Find Your Center) puts on a…read morelot of these types of festivals Uptown and in South End. When you check out their website or their weekly newsletter you'll be able to see lots of events coming up like Beer, Blues and BBQ, Taste of Charlotte, Speedstreet and the like. Many of these events and festivals usually have beer available, hence why I'm a fan. And, yeah, I also really like supporting the local organization that's responsible for Uptown's development. If only there was a PBR festival...!

It's been awhile since I saw this masterpiece by Cerny a few years ago, and I found the perfect…read moreopportunity to go see it again... We went with some friends to check out this event, Metalmorphosis @ Whitehall with CSO Roadshow (and food trucks). What a fun idea! Surprisingly, it wasn't packed when we first got there, but gradually all the seats filled up. First of all, the Metal head was working (which is dicey!)...Thank God! I did wonder why it couldn't spew water from its mouth. THAT would be so spectacular! Still, the head did spin around, and segment into different pieces too. So amazing! It made a great backdrop for the CSO roadshow, which featured many pop songs over the decade. Surprisingly good...even for cheesy numbers like "Living La Loca" and "YMCA"!! The funny thing is...this corporate park is located near the airport, so there were many, many planes that flew over during the concert. Luckily, we were still able to hear the orchestra pretty good. The food truck was a bit disappointing though. Only 3 vendors...and the vendor we chose (King of Fire) was so slow, I almost gave up! More on that on another review. The sculpture looked so out of place...too majestic for such a common corporate park. In any case, I took several pictures of the sculpture this time. Hope they feature many more events here in the future.

Last time we were out here visiting looked up some art to see. Came across the Metalmorphosis Giant…read moreHead sculpture and thought that would be cool to take my grandkids out to see. It was a bit of a drive to get here and the sculpture is located tucked away around some office buildings. The day we came it was empty and we had the whole grounds to ourselves except for security, lol. This sculpture is really cool and I liked how it rotated around. It was really awesome to see how someone's vision can come to life with determination.

The entrance fee to walk around independently is $5 but there isn't much to see except some…read morebuildings with animals that is like visiting a small farm. The buildings that are meant to appear as being refurbished appropriate to the era when the plantation was functioning are minimal, three small single room buildings. Not worth the price. I did not do the guided tour that was $9 to tour the single plantation home for 45 minutes which seemed like a really long tour for the small plantation house. Might be a good tour for school children but wasn't worthwhile for an adult. Plenty of onsite parking on a quiet weekday visit.

Took a bunch of out of towners who wanted to check out a Civil War era place to Latta Plantation…read more Located in the Latta Nature Reserve in Huntersville, the plantation consists of a visitors' center, plantation house, farm, and other assorted buildings. There are a couple of very friendly animals roaming around the farm area and the people who work there are really nice and informative. A Civil War Infantry demonstration was going on the day we went, that was neat, got to learn about how the Confederate infantry lived and operated. Great place to take the kids or people who like Civil War Era history. Admission is $6 for adults and $5 with student ID.

Located in the center where the main streets of Mount Pleasant meet, this marker points out the…read morehistory of a local religious school. The marker reads, "Mont Amoena Seminary. Lutheran school for girls, 1859-1927. The name is Latin for "Mt. Pleasant." Site is one block south." Online, there is more information. "In 1858, Susan E. Biglow Bittle founded the Mount Pleasant Female Seminary. A private liberal arts academy for young women, the school consisted of a two-room schoolhouse. Acquired by the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church the following year, the school educated students in fields such as mathematics, music, English and Latin." "The school survived the Civil War, unlike many male academies in the South. According to one alumnus, it became "an island of culture in the difficult years" after the war. In 1892, the school's name was changed to Mont Amoena, the Latin equivalent of Mount Pleasant." " In 1927, Mont Amoena closed, having provided educations for young women for over sixty-five years. Financial difficulties, combined with the improvements in public education in North Carolina, led to the closure of numerous academies across the state." [Review 14391 overall, 1716 of 2020, number 2716 in North Carolina.]

The North Carolina Welcome Center on I-77 SOUTH-BOUND is very nice. The building is spacious,…read morewell-lit, and has lots of travel information. The staff was very nice, and personable. Very willing to answer questions and provide information. The staff also seemed very knowledgeable about what to do and where to go in North Carolina.

dis place is really nice... i mean nice... has wifi access... ladies at the office r pretty…read morehelpful n so was dis gentleman who was a grounds keeper. bathrooms r clean ! dis 1 i could shh-eat wid out toilet seat covers n b koo wid me (but i still used my Bathroom Party Pack cuz i aint DAT krazy 2use da toilet widout it.. )

This marker is located on Franklin Blvd in front of the Loray Mill building, which has been…read moreconverted from manufacturing to offices and lofts. Back in the day, it was once the largest factory under one roof in the world. The marker recalls a specific incident. It reads, "Loray Strike. A strike in 1929 at the Loray Mill, 200 yards S., left two dead and spurred opposition to labor unions statewide." Online there is detail on those deaths (one, the chief of police) and information on the backers of the union. "The National Textile Workers Union, widely acknowledged to be under Communist influence, exploited the situation by sending activist Fred Beal and others to Gastonia... The strike dragged on through the summer and fall of 1929. Moderate labor leaders denounced the NTWU and some workers returned to the job. Still, violent incidents increased. O. F. Aderholdt, Gastonia's chief of police, was shot and killed in June. Ella May Wiggins, ballad singer and union sympathizer, was killed in September. Beal and several fellow Communists were convicted of Aderholdt's murder, but there were no convictions for the assaults on union backers. The strike and associated violence dealt a setback to union efforts, bolstering anti-union sentiment both locally and, owing to the wide press coverage, across the state and region." [Review 12616 overall, 2408 of 2019.]