(Hardware store image - Courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room - Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.)

Commerce After the Railroad

Charlotte's mercantile business expanded rapidly in the wake of the town's first railroad.  The railroad enabled merchants to offer goods previously unavailable in the small isolated town.  The dry goods stores were no longer the only place to purchase groceries as the grocery business emerged in Charlotte.  Merchants opened specialty stores that stocked a specific product such as hardware, furniture, clothing, and "fancy" goods.  Because Charlotte's mercantile community supplied their patrons with a large, well-stocked selection of mass-produced, ready-made goods, the community as a whole, including those living in the country, slowly lost some of their self-sufficiency as home production of goods decreased.

 

The Railroad Comes to Charlotte Home Page

Return to Main Exhibits Page