Charlotte is the most populated city in the state of North Carolina. Nicknamed the Queen City, Charlotte was named in honor of the German Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg. In 2008, Charlotte was chosen the "Best Place to Live in America" by Relocate-America.com in its annual ranking, based on factors including employment opportunities, crime rates, and housing affordability.

History

The area that is now Charlotte was first settled in 1755 when Thomas Polk (uncle of United States President James K. Polk), who was traveling with Thomas Spratt and his family, stopped and built his house of residence at the intersection of two Native American trading paths between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers. Within the first decades following Polk's settling, the area grew to become the community of "Charlotte Town" and was officially incorporated as a town in 1768.

Charlotte was a site of encampment for both American and British armies during the Revolutionary War and, during a series of skirmishes between British troops and Charlotteans, the village gained the lasting nickname "Hornet's Nest" from a frustrated Lord General Charles Cornwallis. It was an ideological hotbed of revolutionary sentiment during the Revolutionary War and for some time afterwards, the legacy endures today in the nomenclature of such landmarks as Independence Boulevard, Independence High School, Independence Center, Freedom Park, Freedom Drive, and the former NBA team Charlotte Hornets.

Economy

Charlotte has become a major U.S. financial center, and the nation's largest financial institution by assets, Bank of America, calls the city home. Thanks in large part to the expansion of the city's banking industry, the Charlotte skyline has boomed in the past two decades and boasts the Bank of America Corporate Center, the tallest skyscraper between Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Charlotte is also a major hub in the US motorsports industry, with NASCAR having multiple offices in and around Charlotte. Approximately 75% of the NASCAR industry's employees and drivers are based within two hours of downtown Charlotte.