Editing Charlotte, Tennessee (section)

==History==

Charlotte was established in 1804 by an act of the state legislature 
as the county seat for Dickson County, which had been created in 1803.  The town was named for Charlotte Reeves Robertson, the wife of [[James Robertson (explorer)|General James Robertson]], who played prominent roles in the settlement of Middle Tennessee.  Charlotte was officially incorporated in 1837.<ref name=hollis>Rick Hollis, "[http://www.dicksoncountychamber.com/community/dickson_county_history.pdf A Brief History of Dickson County, Tennessee] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513190235/http://www.dicksoncountychamber.com/community/dickson_county_history.pdf |date=May 13, 2008 }}," 4-5. Retrieved: February 11, 2008.</ref>

On May 30, 1830, a tornado destroyed most of downtown Charlotte.  The roof of the courthouse was found {{convert|13|mi|km}} away, and most of the county's early records were permanently lost.  A new courthouse was completed in 1833, and still stands as the oldest functioning courthouse in the state of Tennessee.<ref name=hollis />  While Charlotte thrived as a stage coach hub for much of the 19th-century, the arrival of the railroad in the latter half of the century shifted the area's industrial focus to Dickson, several miles to the southwest.<ref name=hollis />