Settlers' Cemetery

Settlers' Cemetery. . , Charlotte was established in 1768 by settlers who were, for the most part, Scots-Irish Presbyterians. In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, a church was built in "town" to be used by all denominations. Presbyterian minister John Thomson is said to have preached "in the blacksmith's grove" (now the grounds of First Presbyterian Church across Fifth Street from the cemetery) as early as the 1750's. As was the custom, a graveyard was laid off adjacent to the church to be used as a common burying ground for the town of Charlotte. Settlers' Cemetery is still owned by the City of Charlotte., Surviving gravestones date from 1776 to 1884. During this time, many of Charlotte's founding pioneers and veterans of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars were laid to rest here. Graves are arranged in family groups and not in rigid rows. The northeast area of the cemetery is said to have been set aside for the servants of the families buried here. None of the markers for these graves, typically plain wood or stone, have survived., Additional information about the cemetery and the early history of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County can be found on plaques at the cemetery's edge along Fifth Street. Full transcriptions of surviving gravestone epitaphs can be found at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, 310 North Tryon Street.