Tunis Hood came to Mecklenburg County in the 1760s. He settled and sired a passle of kids who married and populated the area for generations. My mother descends from Tunis Hood. The only obvious remnants of his presence are street names and a sign on a small shopping area. But I feel good riding through the area recognizing names I have seen on census records and land documents. Names like Clear Creek, Morning Star, and Rocky River.
Gated housing communities with imposing titles on the rock walls dot Hwy #51 like some big giant had planted them along the road. Shopping centers with names like Arboreteum and Sycamore Commons have sprung up taking over acres of trees and farm lands. The road reeks of progress and expansion.
Mama says she first drove a car by herself down to Mint Hill and back because there were no cars on the road and Mint Hill was a "wide place in the road" where she could turn the car around. Today its much more than than - four lanes run through downtown and I saw new shops and we passed a couple of shopping centers on either side of town. Its a large suburb of Charlotte.
Wonder what this sign means?
Money probably.
I remember some years ago telling a friend of mine in Charlotte that Mama's family sold their "rock poor" farm in Mint Hill in 1889 so they could move to town for better opportunities. He laughed and shook his head, " too bad - your family sold too soon, Ellouise. Now is the time to make money on that land."
Today we sell the land and buy our food overseas.
4 comments:
Ellouise,
When we were first married (June 29will be 34 years) we lived in Charlotte. I got my first post- college job actually using my education there. It was as the Director of Christian Education at Matthews United Methodist Church. At that time the congregation might have number 300. I just checked and the stats from 2006 according to the conference was 3,869 members. I bet there just might be a United Methodist living on that land now where you saw the sign. I went back there a little over 14 years ago and didn't know the place.
Betty, talk about small world. Thanks for the comparison numbers. Puts a perspective on the changes. Ellouise
The same thing has happened to so many small towns. I think what happened with that farm is it got annexed into the city limits and the twaxes got exorbitant. Or the city declared eminent domain and took it for some project. Sad.
That's what I thought too. The sign sits close to the the road and has its SAY very effectively. We turned around top get the picture and it started me thinking about what I was seeing along the road.
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