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The first train rolled into the community on December 15, 1874 and people from miles around came to see the "Iron Horse." The name of the town was changed to Matthews in honor of Edward Watson Matthews, a director of the railroad. The town was incorporated in 1879 and the first census in 1880 showed a population of 191. When originally surveyed, the Town of Matthews was laid out to include a one mile radius from what is now the town square at the intersection of John and Trade Streets. Election records of 1886 show that 51 people voted for the mayor -- Wilson T. Carpenter, 24 years old, a teacher and a registered pharmacist. Mr. (or Doctor as he was sometimes addressed ) Carpenter was born March 22, 1855 and is buried in the Matthews Cemetery. T. M. Chambers was the first Marshall of the town and, like his counterparts in the wild west, dispensed justice with a gun slung on his hip.
As cotton farming covered the South, around the turn of the century, small towns flourished as suppliers for the farmers' needs. The railroad became the lifeline of Matthews. Five passenger trains and eight freight trains came through town each day and the Depot did thousands of dollars in business. By 1901 Matthews' downtown boasted two cotton gins, three general stores, a bank, two doctors, a pharmacy, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, a livery stable and a hotel.
Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churches were organized around 1877. The churches at first operated private schools until 1895 when a three-room public school was built in Carpenter's Grove, where Stumptown Park now stands. All too soon, the little wooden schoolhouse was filled to bursting and in 1906 a modern brick building was erected at the cost of $14,000. The property was purchased by the Town of Matthews in 1984, and is now known as the Matthews Community Center. It is recognized as a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Property and renovations to the structure are under way.
The portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the dime was created by Dr. Selma Burke, remarkable sculptor, dedicated teacher and winner of the 1943 competition sponsored by the Fine Arts Commission for the District of Columbia. In 1944, President Roosevelt posed for the artist and her completed bronze plaque was unveiled by President Harry S. Truman in 1945. It can be seen at the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C. since the coin bears the initials of the engraver, John Sinnock, Selma Burke has never received proper credit for the portrait used on the dime. She credits the "good Matthews mud" as the beginning of her artistic endeavors. Dr. Burke donated an outdoor sculpture entitled "Family" to the Fullwood Trace neighborhood which is proudly displayed in front of a resident's home.
Johnny Crowell, the only North Carolinian ever inducted into the aviation hall of fame, was a Matthews native. He was the parade marshall of the Stumptown Festival in 1977.
After World War II, the farming community began to change. As Charlotte's booming growth spread, the Matthews community became filled with businesses, housing developments, and thousands of people. Large corporations founded their headquarters in Matthews. In 1994 a 240,000 square foot hospital facility was built and annexation for further growth spread Matthews' boundaries. Construction of the I-485 outer beltway connects Matthews directly with major interstate highways I-77 and I-85, to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, and increases its accessibility to regional and national commerce.
As Matthews moves forward into its second century, it continues to be one of the state's most affluent and desirable communities, while at the same time it retains the quaint, small-town atmosphere which has attracted thousands of visitors and families who have chosen to live and work here.
If you want to learn more about Matthews' history, a book entitled "Discover Matthews...from Cotton to Corporate" is available for $15. Over 100 pages and photographs, it looks back at Matthews from its early days before incorporation to 1999.
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