Before literary fame, a room in Dilworth
Plus: The news of the week — Plan unveiled for new music venue; Local library supplier to shut down; Developers drop Matthews data center plan; CMPD boosts uptown patrols; ‘Roofman’ premieres
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Historical Heavyweights: Before she became a literary legend, a young writer found refuge — and her voice — in a rented room on East Boulevard
Editor’s note: You see their names on street signs or parks, but who were some of the big-name people from decades ago who shaped Charlotte? They have fascinating stories, and for the next few Saturdays, we’re sharing them with you.
by John Short
In the fall of 1937, a 20-year-old woman stepped off a train in Charlotte carrying a suitcase, a failed dream and a new husband.
She would one day become the nationally renowned writer Carson McCullers, but at that moment, she was simply Lula Carson Smith of Columbus, Ga. — recently rejected by Juilliard and now settling, with her husband, into her sister Margarita’s spare room. Margarita taught dance in town, and Charlotte was still a sleepy Southern city.
It was in Charlotte that young Carson McCullers, shown here in 1955 in an Associated Press photo, began drafting the novel that would become “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.”
McCullers came to Charlotte not to be discovered, but to recover. She was broke, chronically ill since childhood and creatively restless. Her musical ambitions had been derailed in New York — she’d lost her Juilliard tuition money on the subway, a detail so tragic and absurd it might have come from one of her own stories.
Undeterred, she pivoted to writing, taking classes at Columbia and New York University. A professor admired a semi-autobiographical story she wrote about a child prodigy who gives up music. Published in “Story” magazine under the name Carson Smith, it earned her $25 — which she promptly spent on wine and chocolate cake.
By the time she arrived in Charlotte, Carson was married to Reeves McCullers, whom she’d met back home in Georgia. They moved into the Mayer House in Dilworth, then an apartment building at 311 East Blvd. — today the restaurant Copper. The couple made a pact: one would work while the other pursued creative dreams. Carson went first; Reeves took odd jobs. She took to the typewriter.
She began drafting a novel she called “The Mute” — a story about people who couldn’t quite say what they meant, or couldn’t be heard even when they did. It explored loneliness, race, gender and the quiet violence of being misunderstood. It was about the South. And it wasn’t hard to see her own experience in its characters.
After less than a year, Carson and Reeves left Dilworth for a house on Central Avenue, then soon moved to Fayetteville. There, she finished the book — now titled “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” When it was published in 1940, it exploded onto the literary scene, landing on best-seller lists and launching the 23-year-old McCullers into American stardom.
She was suddenly mentioned alongside Faulkner, Williams and O’Connor — not bad company for a young woman who once lost her tuition money on the subway.
The characters in “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” were strange, wounded and restless. They lived in mill towns and spoke through silences. One of them — a frustrated 13-year-old girl with musical talent — was a barely disguised version of Carson herself.
Though the novel was set in Georgia, Charlotte’s influence lingered — in its mill-town backdrop and its sense of Southern dislocation.
Her next novel, “Reflections in a Golden Eye,” was serialized in “Harper’s Bazaar” but didn’t resonate as strongly. Then came turmoil: divorce, illness and time at an artists’ colony in Saratoga. She later rented a Brooklyn Heights brownstone known as February House, sharing it with “Harper’s Bazaar” editor George Davis. Their dinner guests included Benjamin Britten, Gypsy Rose Lee and Marilyn Monroe — a bohemian, brilliant and ultimately unsustainable life for someone with Carson’s fragile health.
She kept returning South to recover. She suffered strokes, battled depression and endured multiple surgeries. Still, she wrote. She earned a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1942, remarried Reeves after the war and produced “The Ballad of the Sad Café” and “The Member of the Wedding,” which Tennessee Williams helped adapt for the stage. The play ran for 501 performances and later became a film.
Her health continued to fail. She died in 1967 at age 50 of a cerebral hemorrhage, but her work endured. Hollywood adapted her novels — Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor starred in “Reflections in a Golden Eye” in 1967, and Alan Arkin appeared in “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” the next year. Broadway staged her plays. Her characters — mute, wounded, yearning — forever changed how America understood loneliness and identity.
Charlotte gave her a room, a desk and a year to write. McCullers didn’t stay long, but the city offered her an early foothold — a place to work and dream before fame carried her away.
John Short is a freelance writer and co-host of The Charlotte Podcast who loves digging up Charlotte’s past and pondering its future. Say hey when you see him on the streetcar.
Today’s supporting sponsor is Dye Culik:
Dye Culik is a corporate and litigation law firm based in Charlotte, NC, representing businesses and franchises in NC, SC, MA, and MI.
This week in Charlotte: Charlotte hires new city attorney; CMS shifts Halloween football schedule; I-85/I-485 construction begins; Charlotte’s new pro women’s basketball team
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
A push to drop class rank from transcripts: (WFAE) Charter schools can leave out class rankings from high school transcripts, and the N.C. Board of Education wants traditional public schools to have that option, too.
Thursday night football: (Observer) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is shifting most high school football games originally scheduled for Friday, Oct. 31, to Thursday, Oct. 30, to avoid games on Halloween. The week marks the end of the regular season, with NCHSAA playoffs starting Nov. 7.
Politics
Mecklenburg’s transportation referendum: Listen to and read about the case for and the case against Charlotte’s transportation sales tax referendum on The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, with accompanying opinion columns. Sustain Charlotte’s Shannon Binns argues it’s a necessary investment in the region’s future (Listen/read here), and Action NC’s Robert Dawkins contends the plan unfairly burdens low- and middle-income residents (Listen/read here).
WIC funding may run out in two weeks: (WFAE) Mecklenburg County officials say more than 26,000 local residents who receive food assistance through the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program could lose benefits soon if the federal government shutdown continues.
New city attorney: (WSOC) The Charlotte City Council unanimously hired Guilford County attorney Andrea Leslie-Fite as its new city attorney, with her start date set for Nov. 3.
Online driver’s license renewals: (WSOC) Gov. Josh Stein signed a bipartisan bill allowing North Carolina drivers to renew their licenses remotely for a second consecutive time, while also removing the driver’s log requirement for teens seeking a full provisional license.
Local news
Plan unveiled for new music venue: (Ledger🔒) Tepper Sports & Entertainment plans to build a 4,400-seat indoor music venue next to Bank of America Stadium by 2030, filling a gap between Charlotte’s smaller and larger concert halls.
Local library supplier to shut down: (Ledger🔒) Charlotte-based library wholesaler Baker & Taylor is shutting down by year’s end after financial struggles, a failed acquisition and mounting operational issues, leaving hundreds of employees and library systems like Charlotte Mecklenburg Library scrambling for alternatives.
Interstate construction: (Observer) A $45M project to ease congestion at the I-85/I-485 interchange near Charlotte’s airport began this week, bringing weeks of overnight lane closures as crews widen bridges, shift lanes and build new ramps to improve traffic flow and safety.
CMPD boosts uptown patrols: (WSOC) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are increasing officer presence around uptown entertainment areas under a new initiative called ‘CROWN’: ‘Center City’s Restoration of Order, Wellness, and Non-violence.’
Business
Developers drop Matthews data center plan: (Ledger🔒) Crosland Southeast withdrew its rezoning request for a 123-acre data center near I-485 after strong resident opposition and nearly 2,800 petition signatures. The Ledger’s took a closer look at the data center trend in our Friday newsletter.
Bank merger announcement: (Press release) Fifth Third Bank is merging with Comerica in an all-stock deal valued at $10.9B, creating the ninth-largest U.S. bank. The combined company will have $288B in assets and expand Fifth Third’s reach into key growth markets across the Southeast, Texas, Arizona and California.
Climate deception lawsuit: (Ledger) The town of Carrboro is suing Charlotte-based Duke Energy, alleging the utility misled the public about the link between fossil fuels and climate change.
Sports
New pro women’s basketball team: (Observer, subscriber-only) On Thursday, the Charlotte Crown revealed its name, logo and purple color scheme. The team will tip off at Bojangles Coliseum in May 2026.
Sources fault Belichick for football struggles: (WRAL) Multiple UNC Chapel Hill football parents, players and staff claim that Bill Belichick’s program has created a divided locker room, poor communication and a toxic culture. Belichick, 73, took over last winter after Mack Brown’s firing but has struggled to adapt to college football and NIL dynamics.
From the Ledger family of newsletters
How charitable giving is changing. Plus: N.C. town claims Duke Energy deception; Q&A on legal profession with new firm managing partner; Podcast on growth in the Carolinas; New city attorney; Excitable announcer praised
Wednesday (🔒)
‘Roofman’ teeters between truth and tale. Plus: Matthews data center plans withdrawn; American Express scouting office space; Music industry gives thumbs-up to Tepper concert hall; Grocery stores for North End and east Charlotte
Friday (🔒)
Behind the data center boom. Plus: Local library supplier to shut down; ABC Commission fines uptown club over marijuana; School board candidate raises $45K; CMPD boosts uptown patrols; WIC funding at risk
Ways of Life (🔒)
In memoriam: Shirley Kelley, a woman who grabbed every opportunity that came her way. Also remembered: Longtime media specialist and educator; author and creative writing teacher; director of the Mecklenburg County Health Department
American Express is looking in Charlotte for office space. Plus: Details on a grocery store planned for Charlotte food desert; New anchor tenant heading to Eastway Crossing; Uptown office tower sold
A letter from our new managing editor
A return to covering Charlotte: The Ledger’s new managing editor, Ashley Fahey, wrote a letter introducing herself to readers. Ashley reflects on why local journalism matters—both for an informed community and for the personal satisfaction of breaking news and telling nuanced stories—and shares how that passion has pulled her back to covering Charlotte for us.
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