"I remember once when two mules with an empty wagon were stalled on the square because of the deep mud,” said W.M. Barnett, one of the oldest citizens of Charlotte, but now a resident of Polk County. Mr. Barnett is instigating a meeting of the Charlotte business men of 1870-80, which will take place at the Y.M.C.A. Friday night at 8 o’clock. The purpose is to form an organization of those who can boast of activity in the business life of Charlotte in those years.
“We just want to exchange greetings and talk over old times,” said Mr. Barnett. “It is interesting to recall those days when Charlotte was in the making.
“I recall that in 1869 there were only 5,000 people in the city. The Southern Railroad had not been completed and hardly any of the present day structures were standing.”
Mr. Barnett first worked in Charlotte with Elias & Cohen, which concern moved here about 20 years before that time, 1869, from Gold Hill, this state. Most of the old firms of that day, however, have gone out of business, said Mr. Barnett. He said the Elias & Cohen concern and Whittkowsky and Rintels were the two largest dry goods establishments in the city.
“But Charlotte was the biggest wholesale center for miles around,” he declared. “We had a lot of hustlers in those days who made things move along. The town was small but full of life. John butler, now dead, was the only jewler in town and the police force consisted of Henry Blackwelder, Bill Taylor, Henry Hill and Joe Orr. And they were good ones, too. They kept the city quiet, and there was little lawlessness. Everybody was satisfied with everything. There was A.R. Williams, who worked with Kuester’s gun shop, who might be mentioned. He worked for nothing, boarded himself and always had plenty of money! Everybody seemed to be in a bright humor.”
The greatest number of similar concerns in the city at that time, said Mr. Barnett, were barrooms. He declared that there were about 25 or 30 going in full swing all the time.
“I attribute the growth of Charlotte,” continued Mr. Barnett, “to the building and loan associations. That institution enabled many a poor man to get on his feet, build up the town and make a better man of himself. They surely helped me along when I needed it.”
Cotton, said Mr. Barnett, was worth 50 cents a pound when he first moved to Charlotte. He said that all cotton was paid for in gold, adding that he sold 100 bales once to Williams, Birney & Company of New York, who paid him 50 cents a pound for it in gold. The gold was sent down tied up in small sacks. Cotton soon after that, however, he contended, went down to 11 cents a pound, and caused a lot of men to lose their money.
“The most vivid incident I recall,” Mr. Barnett declared, “was just before Zeb Vance was elected governor of the state. We were all pulling for Vance, and just before the election was formed a torchlight procession six miles long. I never saw such a sight in my life. Everybody had burning torches and big banners. The line stretched miles out of town in every direction, and everybody seemed to believe that the election depended solely on himself. It was the biggest procession Charlotte ever had, and I dare say, ever will have.”
“When I left, the town had grown to about 15,000 people,” he reflected. “It had secured many improvements and was a whole lot different from the little town I knew years before. Now as I look upon the city, I can hardly believe that it has grown so much. Why, I was offered the lot at the square upon which the Realty building is located for $1,500. And it had a building on it at the time which would have been thrown in, of course. Later on, the lot by itself sold for $96,000. That’s where I played the deuce. But it shows you how Charlotte has progressed.”
From the Charlotte News, March 19, 1921
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