local history
Tenant house: It really is saved, but it won’t move to a town park
April 6. By Dave Yochum. As of April 5, Preserve Mecklenburg says they “can now see a way to preserve the tenant house” on the Alexander Farm property which will soon become a large mixed-use development. It all came down to the wire with the developer at odds with the Town of Cornelius over where […]
Local history: The Alexander Farm
April 6. By Dan Morrill/Preserve Mecklenburg. J. Wilson Alexander (1887-1972) owned and operated a large cotton farm in Northern Mecklenburg. Cotton was a labor-intensive crop. It took a lot of people to plant, cultivate, and harvest cotton. Most of the labor was provided by sharecroppers and tenant farmers. They lived in modest houses on the […]
No place for home: Historic tenant house has no place to go
March 14. By Dave Yochum. It turns out there’s a glitch in the efforts to save the tenant house on the Alexander Farm at the corner of Westmoreland and West Catawba. The town may have identified a permanent site, but it won’t be ready any time soon. Meanwhile, an April 12 demolition deadline is looming. […]
Black History Month observances Saturday include plaque for Potts Barber Shop
Feb. 25. The town will celebrate Black History Month with a special event called “Embracing Heritage” from 1 pm to 3 pm Saturday, Feb.26 at Town Hall. Special presentations: —HEARTS Park: Abigail Jennings will be sharing the vision for HEARTS Park in Huntersville. —Potts Barber Shop Historic Designation: Regarded as the oldest ongoing Black-owned business […]
Deadline to save Cornelius tenant farmhouse is Feb. 1
Dec. 22. By Dave Vieser. Preserve Mecklenburg, which hopes to save the tenant house at the old Alexander Farm at West Catawba and Westmoreland, would move the historic structure to a site near the Cedar Grove mansion on Gilead Road in Huntersville. The deadline is apparently Feb. 1. “There were many sharecroppers at Cedar Grove,” […]
