The men behind the names of 12 well-known Charlotte-area businesses, parks and institutions

I’m talking about the ones named after the (mostly) men who made such a lasting impact on the city and surrounding area that their names will live forever. Take Belk, for example. The store is synonymous with upscale Southern style, but its founder, William Henry Belk, was raised in the backwoods of Lancaster County, South Carolina and was 3 years old when his father was killed at the end of the Civil War by raiders of Sherman’s March.

These are the people who lived such amazing lives that books have been written about them.

With that in mind, I decided to look behind the names that some of our great institutions are named after. Who were these great men and what were their stories?

Belk

The current chairman and CEO of Charlotte’s homegrown upscale department store is named Thomas Belk. However, the store is not named after him. Rather, its name comes from William Henry Belk and, to a lesser extent, his brother and cofounder, Dr. John Belk. The two started the department store in Monroe in the late 1800s. The Belk lineage also includes John M. Belk, former mayor of Charlotte and the namesake of the John Belk freeway in uptown and the Belk Arena on the Davidson College campus.

Harris Teeter

Yes, there was once a Harris, and yes there was once a Teeter. William T. Harris and Will Teeter ran successful and innovative grocery stores in the Charlotte area for years before finally merging in 1960. Harris’s innovations include keeping the store opened past 5 p.m., offering air conditioning, and allowing shoppers to select products directly off the shelves. Harris Boulevard is also named after W.T. Harris.

Lowe’s Home Improvement

Early morning at @loweshomeimprovement #latergram #darkroomapp

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Lowe’s began to take off when Carl Buchan, partner of a hardware store in North Wilkesboro, NC, bought out his partner and brother in law, James Lowe, just after World War II. Over the next 50 years, the store would become one of the largest home improvement stores in the world. Incidentally, Lowes Foods was founded in 1954 by James Lowe’s son, Jim. Notice the home improvement store uses a possessive apostrophe, while the grocery store does not.

Lance Crackers (technically speaking, Snyder’s-Lance)

The story goes like this: Phillip L. Lance bought 500 pounds of peanuts in 1913 with the intent of reselling. The buyer reneged on the deal, so Lance roasted the nuts in his home and sold them on the streets of Charlotte. His son-in-law, Salem Van Every, joined him in 1915 and Lance Packing Company was born.

Duke Energy

The company was founded in the early 1900s by Dr. W. Gill Wylie (see Lake Wylie), who spearheaded the effort to dam the Catawba River to generate electricity. James Buchanan Duke (of the Duke cigarette fortune) was an early investor and the the company was renamed “Duke Power” in 1924. The Duke Mansion in Myers Park and Duke University are the same Duke family.

Marshall Park

Chill spot 😌 #InstaSize #like4like #follow4likes A photo posted by Ginio Donio™ (@sir_gee.no) on

Named for James B. Marshall, the city manager of Charlotte from 1935-1940. Marshall was the man who in 1946 led efforts to design a master plan for Charlotte streets. Out of that plan, Independence Boulevard was born.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport

Ben Douglas was mayor of Charlotte from 1935 to 1941 (the first elected mayor), and was instrumental in the construction of the airport. It was named after him in 1941.

Ovens Auditorium

David Ovens was a local philanthropist and civic leader who led efforts in the construction of Charlotte Coliseum and a civic center (now Ovens Auditorium) on Independence Boulevard.

Latta Park

A wet stroll through the park. #lluvia #andando #parque #bosque #blancoynegro #byn #rain #park #woods #blackandwhite #bnw #dilworth #lattapark #exploreclt #walk5mileswithme #charlotte #charlottenc #clt #cltnc #crowntown #queencity #VSCOcam #igers #ighub #instagramers #instagramhub #outside #afuera #10000steps #urbanexploration #walk5mileswithme

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Named after Edward Dilworth Latta, the park is known as Charlotte’s first (although, technically speaking, it was a privately owned park). Latta was also the developer of Charlotte’s first suburb, Dilworth, as well as Latta Arcade in Uptown. (Latta Plantation, the nature preserve in Huntersville, is named after James Latta, who owned the land in the early 1800s.)

Myers Park

my favorite drive in charlotte 🌳 #canopy #NClove

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John Springs Myers owned the cotton farm on the outskirts of the city where the neighborhood was built, but it was his son-in-law George Stephens who was the driving force behind developing Myers Park. Stephens also helped develop the Elizabeth neighborhood and according to a book by Bob Quincy, was the recipient of the first forward pass in the history of football. (Stephens was a running back for UNC in 1895 and the game was against Georgia.)

The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture

Named for Charlotte’s first African-American mayor (1983-1987), and the first African-American to attend Clemson University. Gantt’s political career was thrust in the national spotlight when he ran against then-U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms in the mid-1980s. It was one of the most contentious – and expensive – Senate battles in history (up to that point). Gantt’s daughter, Sonja, is a long-time anchor at WCNC News.

Photo credits: Belk image via Mike Kalasnik, Lance truck image via Ezra Wolf and Duke Energy building image via Duke Energy.