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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Charlotte, North Carolina

city in and county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ16565 ↗
Source-derived summary

Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. With a population of 874,579 at the 2020 census, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., seventh-most populous city in the South, and second-most populous city in the Southeast (after Jacksonville, Florida). The Charlotte metropolitan area, with an estimated 2.88 million residents, is the 21st-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of an 18-county combined statistical area with an estimated population of 3.47 million as of 2024. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County.

Between 2004 and 2014, Charlotte was among the country's fastest-growing metropolitan areas, with 888,000 new residents. Based on U.S. census data from 2005 to 2015, Charlotte tops the U.S. in millennial population growth. Throughout the 2020s, it has remained one of the fastest-growing major cities in the United States. Residents of Charlotte are referred to as "Charlotteans".

Charlotte is home to the corporate headquarters of Bank of America, Honeywell, Truist Financial, and the East Coast headquarters of Wells Fargo, which, when combined with other Charlotte-based financial institutions, makes the city the second-largest banking center in the nation.

Charlotte's notable attractions include three major league professional sports teams, the Carolina Panthers of the NFL, the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA, and Charlotte FC of MLS. The city is also home to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Opera Carolina, Charlotte Symphony, Charlotte Ballet, Children's Theatre of Charlotte, Mint Museum, Harvey B. Gantt Center, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Billy Graham Library, Levine Museum of the New South, Charlotte Museum of History, Carowinds amusement park, and U.S. National Whitewater Center.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Charlotte, North Carolina” as city in and county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2020, 2024, 2004, 2014—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1768. The account is most persuasive where Charlotte, North and Carolina can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in and county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16565. VIAF identifies the subject as 145400371. The Library of Congress control number is n79022863. Authority coordinates are 35.227, -80.843. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 2024, 2004 and 2014.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Charlotte, North Carolina”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Charlotte, North Carolina primary sources, Charlotte, North Carolina archive and Charlotte research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Charlotte, North Carolina”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Charlotte, North Carolina” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.