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This is Charlotte's first burial ground. Many people assume that the
cemetery belongs to First Presbyterian Church. It doesn't. The City
owned the cemetery in the 1700's, and it still does. Most of the folks
buried here were Presbyterians, but not everybody.
The oldest known grave is that of Joel Baldwin, who died October 21, 1776. He was 26. Thomas Polk, the founder of Charlotte, and his wife, Susannah Spratt Polk, are buried here. Major General George Graham, a Revolutionary War hero who fought at the Battle of McIntyre's Farm on Beatties Ford Road, is buried here.
The Old Settlers' Cemetery contains the earthly remains of Civil War veterans, like Colonel William Allison Owens of the North Carolina 53rd Regiment, who died from wounds suffered at the Battle of Snicker's Gap, Virginia on July 18, 1864.
Distinguished politicians are buried here, including William Davidson, a member of the U. S. House of Representatives from 1818 to 1821, and Dr. Nathaniel Alexander, a Revolutionary War surgeon and Governor of North Carolina. Even slaves are buried here. The northwest or lower left-hand corner of the cemetery was reserved for them.
The City closed Old Settlers' Cemetery on August 1, 1867, but burials occurred here with special permission until 1884. You are only two blocks from the Square where the Uptown Charlotte Walking Tour began. The vast majority of people meandering about that bustling intersection give little thought to the Old Settlers' Cemetery. But one is reminded of an epitaph written on a gravestone somewhere in Virginia:
"As you are, so once was I. As I am, you will soon be. Prepare for Death!"
Standing in the middle of Old Settlers' Cemetery, look at the old, red brick building bordering the lower right-hand edge of the burial ground. This was the home of the North Carolina Medical College.
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