On This Site...

On This Site.... . (left panel) , 1600s , Catawba Indians , Catawba Indians farmed and hunted on this land long before Europeans arrived. Today the Catawba Indian Nation south of Charlotte is noted for its pottery tradition. , (caption) Chief Bill Harris 2011. Photo: University of South Carolina - Lancaster, 1700s , Scots-Irish Farmers , Scots-Irish families reached the rolling hills of the Carolina "back country" in the 1750s. By 1768 there were enough to formally charter a town, Charlotte. , (caption) Hezekiah Alexander Homesite. 5 miles northeast of here. Photo: Courtesy of Charlotte Museum of History, (center panel) , 1800s , Thompson Orphanage , Episcopal leaders began Thompson Orphanage here in 1887 on 72 acres - then farmland at the edge of town. It moved in 1970 but its St. Mary's Chapel remains a landmark. , (caption) Thompson Orphanage. Photo: Courtesy of Thompson Child and Family Focus, 1900s , Charlottetown Mall , Opened in 1959 by Rouse Company, Charlottetown Mall was the first enclosed shopping center in the South and only the fourth in the U.S. , (caption) North aerial view of Charlottetown Mall, 1960. Photo: 1960 Aerial APS, Inc., (right panel) , 2000s , Metropolitan … and Little Sugar Creek Revived , After the mall failed against suburban competition, Pappas Properties Ltd. led the effort to develop the Metropolitan. The mixed-use project includes residential units, stores and offices., Catalyst for the project was the restoration of Little Sugar Creek by Mecklenburg County. Hidden for years beneath the mall parking lot, it is restored to its natural beauty as the heart of Little Sugar Creek Greenway. , (captions) , Metropolitan, a place to live, work, shop and dine. , Demolition of concrete cap at Little Sugar Creek. Photo: Nancy Pierce , Streamside Terrace sits along the now restored Little Sugar Creek.