George A. Selwyn, having obtained, by some means, large grants of
lands from the British Crown, proceeded to have them surveyed, through
his agent, Henry E. McCullock, and located. On some of these grants,
the first settlers had made considerable improvements by their own
stalwart arms, and persevering industry. For this reason, and not
putting much faith in the validity of Selwyn's claims, they seized
John Frohock, the surveyor, and compelled him to desist from his work,
or _fare worse_. Here was manifested the early _buzzing_ of the
"Hornets' Nest." which, in less than ten years, was destined to
_sting_ royalty itself in these American colonies. The little village
of Charlotte, the seat of justice for Mecklenburg county, was in 1775,
the theater of one of the most memorable events in the political
annals of the United States. Situated on the beautiful and fertile
champaign, between the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers, and on the general
route of the Southern travel, and among the earliest settlements in
the Carolinas and Georgia, it soon became the centre of an
enterprising and prosperous population. The fertility of the soil, the
healthfulness of the climate, and abundance of cheap and
unappropriated lands, were powerful inducements in drawing a large
influx of emigrants from the Northern colonies, and from the Old
World. These natural features of middle and western Carolina; in
particular, were strongly attractive, and pointed out, under
well-directed energy, the sure road to prospective wealth and
prosperity.

The face of the country was then overspread with wild "pea vines," and
luxuriant herbage; the water courses bristled with cane brakes; and
the forest abounded with a rich variety and abundance of
food-producing game. The original conveyance for the tract of land,
upon which the city of Charlotte now stands, contained 360 acres, and