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[ Old Settlers' Cemetery ]
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[ Old Settlers' Cemetery ]
You are now entering a part of Uptown Charlotte known as Fourth Ward.
Except for the dwellings on Trade and Tryon Streets, the finest homes in
Charlotte in the late 1800's and early 1900's were built on the back
streets of Fourth Ward. This fancy brick dwelling with its distinctive
corner tower was constructed by E. M. Andrews, a local developer, in
1892-1893. The first owner
Bagley-Mullen House
was Andrew J. Bagley,
a railroad ticket agent.
Most folks don't realize how important the railroad has been in Charlotte's history. Until 1852, when the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad linked Charlotte with Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina, this community did not have easy commercial contact with the outside world. By 1880, Charlotte had an impressive array of railroads, running east, west, north and south; and it was this rail transportation network that played a major role in making Charlotte the largest city in the two Carolinas by the early twentieth century. Think about it. Charlotte is the economic capital of the two States. Listen carefully. You may hear trains rumbling along the tracks at the edges of Fourth Ward several times daily.
The most colorful owner of the Bagley-Mullen House was Walter N. Mullen, a native of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Mullen was a medicine man. He concocted a brew he called the "Hornet's Nest Liniment." He promised it would make the old look young and the fat look thin. He swore that his secret potion would put hair on a man's head and take it off a lady's face. A Charlotte newspaper explained that Mullen "made a lucrative living from the much advertised and meritorious composition." The house is now a Bed and Breakfast. Go in and see if they have any liniment.
Continue north on Poplar Street. Just after you cross Fifth Street, enter the Old Settlers' Cemetery that covers most of the next block.
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