Editing Matthews, North Carolina (section)

==History==
In the early 19th century, the new settlement that would become Matthews was unofficially named "Stumptown" for the copious amount of tree stumps left from making way for cotton farms. The community's name later changed to Fullwood, named after appointed area postmaster John Miles Fullwood. The establishment of a sawmill and the cotton and timber industry helped Fullwood change into a town. Prior to the first train arriving on December 15, 1874, Fullwood acted as a stagecoach stop between Charlotte and [[Monroe, North Carolina|Monroe]]. The town was incorporated in 1879, and was renamed Matthews in honor of Edward Matthews, who was director of the Central Carolina Railroad, which would later become the [[Seaboard Air Line Railroad]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gannett |first=Henry |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |year=1905 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n202 203]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.matthewsnc.gov/pview.aspx?id=20691&catid=563 |title=Our History - Matthews, NC |website=www.matthewsnc.gov |access-date=June 19, 2018}}</ref>

According to officials, the Matthews Alive Parade, part of a celebration held for the 31st time in 2023, was the largest [[Labor Day]] parade in the [[Southeastern United States]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article278814559.html |title=4 things to know about the annual Matthews Alive Festival over the Labor Day weekend |last=Jordan |first=Chase |work=[[The Charlotte Observer]] |date=September 1, 2023}}</ref>