Save the Date for These Fall Events!

The Historic Landmarks Commission’s Adventure Club, in partnership with Historic Elmwood Pinewood, is taking our popular headstone cleaning event to Elmwood Pinewood Cemetery. This is the final resting place of many of Charlotte’s most notable citizens, including textile pioneer D.A. Tompkins, developer Edward Dilworth Latta, former Charlotte mayor S. S. McNinch, and W.W. Smith, Charlotte’s first major Black architect.    

The Historic Landmarks Commission’s Adventure Club, in partnership with SpookyCLT, will be holding our first-ever haunted history tour at Elmwood Pinewood Cemetery. As we tour the grounds, we’ll hear stories of people who were laid to rest here, including Foy Cooper who was murdered in Elmwood Cemetery.
Please note: Mature topics will be discussed. This tour is intended for an adult audience. 

The Historic Landmarks Commission, in partnership with Mecklenburg County and UNC Charlotte, is proud to host Donovan Rypkema, an expert on the positive economic impact of historic preservation. 

Official Book Club of Mecklenburg County Historic Landmarks Department

Mecklenburg County’s Historic Landmarks Department already offers its Adventure Club so that you can visit our county’s historic properties. Now we’re launching a new initiative so that you can learn more about those properties: a brand-new book club specifically associated with the history of Mecklenburg County and North Carolina, as well as historic preservation efforts in general. We call it “Historic Bookmarks” (yes, very “punny”!). 

Our Historic Bookmarks book club is holding its first-ever book club meeting at Camp North End and we want you to join us! We’ll be discussing Charlotte’s role during WWII with Charlotte’s own Meredith Ritchie, author of Poster Girls, a historical fiction novel set in Charlotte during WWII and based on true but forgotten events.  

Join us on November 2 for the Historic Landmarks Commission’s Celebration & Conversation 50th Anniversary Event! Register Here. 

Fifty years ago today, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission was created by joint action of the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners!

And what a time we’ve had! Historic preservation, particularly in a fast-growing area, is full of rewards and challenges and we’ve had our fair share of both. We’re proud of having designated over 360 local landmarks throughout Mecklenburg County over the last 50 years while also leading countless other preservation efforts, large and small.

We’d never be able to do this important work without a supportive community – committed property owners, local governing boards, other preservation groups, and of course each one of you keep our work going. And we can’t forget our current and past Commissioners and committee members who volunteer their time for this cause.

Contrary to what you may hear, Mecklenburg County remains full of history. While some landmarks are more popular than others – Optimist Hall, anyone? – all are important.

Come along with us and explore milestones from our first 50 years with this interactive story map.