*****************************The White Lilly******************************
Chapter 2. Tic Tac Toe About Town
Charlotte North Carolina rested in the southern center of the state near the South Carolina border. It was the largest city in the state. There were numerous manufacturing and business trading concerns. Banks, trucks, and insurance were prominent ones. The city had roads into an out of downtown. It is the Queen City named so in honor of the German princess Charlotte of Mecklinburg-Strelitz who was the Queen Consort of Great Britain and Ireland in 1761 seven years before the city was incorporated. It was also called the Hornet’s Nest called so by the Revolutionary War British commander General Charles Cornwallis whose city occupation was destroyed and driven out by hostile residents.
Charlotte was in the Deep South. Cotton was king. People there easily and frequently went to nearby mountains and beaches. They were native born locals and the out of town-ers. They lived side by side, together.
Center city was an old part of the town. It was also called downtown or uptown. Where two streets, Trade and Tryon, met were four corners marking the four city wards or neighborhoods here. They were Ward One, Ward Two, Ward Three, and Ward Four. This was the commercial center with banks, office buildings, apartment buildings, restaurants, government, and downtown department stores. Other stores and insurance agencies were also here. The flashy, expensive looking, high class, glitzy banks, large stores, and businesses were located here.