Origins of Plaza Midwood

Although businesses existed along Lawyers Road around 1900, early residential development in the area now known as Plaza Midwood was sporadic.  Oakhurst (1903) was the only successful small-scale development during the first decade of the twentieth century.

However, the area would change with the introduction of streetcars.  During a turf war between longtime Charlotte developer Edward Dilworth Latta and industrial magnate James Buchanan Duke, developer Paul Chatham made plans for a streetcar suburb of boulevards and spacious estates down Lawyers Road.  In 1912 Paul Chatham began selling lots for his Chatham Estates development.  But despite grand plans and an extensive marketing campaign, lots sold at a slower than expected rate.  So Chatham diversified the development, with more homes aimed toward middle class residents. 

Gradually, residential developments filled in around Chatham Estates, including

• Club Acres (began in 1911, but didn’t take off until the late 1920s)
• Midwood (platted 1914, but also no homes built until late 1920s)
• Johnston Courts (created 1913, but little development until 1920s)
• Eastern Retreat (1947), and
• Masonic Drive (1951).

But why did this area of Charlotte, which was noted for its high ground, develop so slowly?  Historian Thomas W. Hanchett identifies the issues as the railways.  Commuters traveling from the Plaza Midwood area had to cross the Seaboard Air Line track, which carried freight between Wilmington, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia.  This busy line caused continuous traffic jams on Central Avenue.