Union County Real Estate Talk

Monroe Hardware Opens in Mint Hill NC

Every small town needs a hardware store.  Not the blue or orange big box store out on the highway.  A real hardware store where locals gather to discuss town news and you can find items that you didn’t think existed anymore.

Mint Hill NC once again has its own hardware in the center of town.  Monroe Hardware opened recently in the former Harris Teeter grocery space at the Mint Hill Festival Shopping Center.  While Monroe Hardware is new to Mint Hill, it is a historic company started in Monroe NC 124 years ago.  The first Monroe Hardware opened in 1886.  Its motto was “everything under the sun, from a pin hook to a Gatlin gun.”

The Monroe Hardware is not the only hardware that has occupied Mint Hill’s town center, just the most recent.  For 90 years, the McEwen Hardware offered Mint Hill residents a place to shop for nuts and bolts.  It closed in the 1990s.

Monroe Hardware is a fun place to shop.  Last weekend, my husband and I strolled through the store.   A couple were purchasing live baby chicks and supplies and getting advice from the manager.  My husband, who works for one of the big box home improvement stores, found some items that he can’t get from his employer.  The store is advertised as having 30,000 items in the hardware, gardening, animal and pet supplies, cleaning and housewares and sporting goods.

Related article:  Renfrow Hardware in Matthews NC

Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com to learn more about living in Mint Hill NC.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Monroe Hardware Opens in Mint Hill NC*

Mint Hill Historical Society Preserves the Heart and Soul of Mint Hill NC

The heart and soul of any small town is its people and their memories.  Like other small towns, Mint Hill NC has a community of residents who know each other and remember the past.  But what makes Mint Hill so charming and so prone to remember its history is the dedication of a group of people who form the Mint Hill Historical Society (MMHS).  April 17, 2010 is the 25th anniversary of the founding of MMHS.

The Mint Hill Historical Society began in 1985 and was founded to preserve the town’s historic sites.  What began as an effort to preserve a doctor’s office has evolved into the Society’s Carl J. McEwen Historical Village.  The Historical Village now included a country store, a doctor’s office, an Ashcraft school, a gold assay office and a number of activities year round.

Saturday, April 17th, from 9am to 3pm, downtown Mint Hill will be hosting the MMHS anniversary celebration, an herb and flower festival, and Discover Mint Hill, a new event that brings Mint Hill’s various civic organizations together in one location.  Double decker buses will take residents on tours of historic sites in Mint Hill.  These events will take place in the area from the Historical Village to the VFW building on Bain School Road to the Mint Hill Arts gallery on Matthews-Mint Hill Road.

See more photos of the Carl J. McEwen Historical Village.

Enjoy these photos of last year’s flowers, herbs and arts festival in Mint Hill NC.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Mint Hill Historical Society Preserves the Heart and Soul of Mint Hill NC*

Mint Hill NC Plans for Growth around Bridges of Mint Hill Mall

The Town of Mint Hill held a three-day charrette this week to get input from residents about how they would like to see the area around the Bridges of Mint Hill develop.  Interested citizens were invited to stop by Town Hall from 9am to 6pm each day to discuss preliminary concepts for the area.  At 6pm each day, planners summarized the day’s comments and produced a map showing conceptual options. 

The Bridges of Mint Hill study area and final conceptual map is shown here.  The study area encompasses an area from Fairview Road to the north to Lawyers Road to the south.  The area is bisected by I-485 and includes areas to the east of I-485 along Allen Black Road and west along Thompson Road. The Bridges of Mint Hill mall is identified with red buildings in the lower part of the map.

On the conceptual map, a broad green swath clearly shows citizen preferences for preservation of sensitive areas and greenway development.  The plan proposes a greenway from the town’s Fairview Park in the north through the Bridges of Mint Hill property and on to the Stevens Nature Preserve in the south.  This plan would set aside areas between I-485 and Allen Black Road for business parks and institutional uses.

A key question is what will happen with the proposed Bridges of Mint Hill mall.  Land was cleared for the mall two years ago but development stopped when one of the mall developers filed for bankruptcy.  Originally the mall was supposed to have over a million square feet of retail development, including restaurants and a movie theater.  According to the town planner, a representative for the mall attended the charrette and discussed the changes that will be required by the current economic environment.  The mall will be different now with approximately 800,000 square feet of space.  Construction is still planned to start within the next few years.

Click here to learn more about real estate and living in Mint Hill NC.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Mint Hill NC Plans for Growth around Bridges of Mint Hill Mall*

Discover Mint Hill NC This Saturday

The Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce, the Mint Hill Historical Society, Mint Hill Arts and various Mint Hill service organizations want you to discover Mint Hill NC this Saturday October 10th.  These organizations will sponsor activities at four locations in downtown Mint Hill.  The Mint Hill Town Hall will have representatives of the Mint Hill Volunteer Fire Department, the Mint Hill Police Department, the Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary Clubs, the Mint Hill Scottish Society and the Mint Hill Women's Club.  At the Mint Hill library, you can find a book sale, craft tables and take a tour of the library.  Artist demonstrations and a gallery exhibit will take place at Mint Hill Arts.  The Mint Hill Historical Village will be the site of folk entertainment and folk life demonstrations, gold panning and a movie about the history of area gold mining plus double decker bus tours of Mint Hill historic sites.  The Discover Mint Hill sites and activities will be open from 9am-5pm on Saturday.

Enjoy photos of 2008 Veteran's Day activities at the Mint Hill Historical Society.

Learn more about Mint Hill NC, one of Charlotte North Carolina's best small towns.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Real Estate.  *Discover Mint Hill NC This Saturday*

Mint Hill NC's Favorite Festival is Mint Hill Madness

Have you ever seen dachshund races?  If you haven't and if you're curious, be sure to head to downtown Mint Hill NC this weekend to check them out at the Mint Hill Madness Festival.  The Festival opens Friday evening, September 25th at the Mint Hill Park on Fairview Road.  Stop by and you'll find rides, music, food, arts and crafts and plenty of Mint Hill neighbors.

The Mint Hill Madness parade kicks off at 9:30am on Saturday, September 26th, in downtown Mint Hill along Matthews-Mint Hill Road.  Saturday afternoon activities at the park include a chili cook-off, a dog show and the dachshund races, a big trike race, hot air balloon rides, and of course, lots of music and food.  Fireworks at 9pm conclude Saturday's festivities at Mint Hill Park.  Mint Hill Madness continues from 10am to 5pm at the park on Sunday with rides, music, food, and arts and crafts all day long.

Did you know that the artist who draws the Dennis the Menace cartoon lives in Mint Hill NC?  His name is Marcus Hamilton and you can enter a drawing to win original Dennis the Menace artwork donated by Mr. Hamilton during the festival. 

Dennis the Menace and racing dachshunds.  Two good reasons to take in Mint Hill Madness in downtown Mint Hill NC this weekend!

Learn more about Mint Hill NC, one of Charlotte NC's best small towns.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Real Estate.  *Mint Hill NC's Favorite Festival is Mint Hill Madness*

What is more southern than pecan pie?

You can find out at Daphne's Bakery, one of Mint Hill NC's newest businesses.  Daphne's is operated by my young friend, Connie Long and her two cousins, under the supervision of their aunt.  These young ladies make southern desserts and breads "from scratch" as we say in the South.  Connie says that she is having a lot of fun with her new venture.

Here are some of the other southern treats available at Daphne's.

• Addie Mae's whole wheat dinner rolls
• southern praline cake
• Mama Bryte's coconut cake
• Grandma Jane's apple pie with lattice top

Daphne's, located in the McEwen Shopping Center in downtown Mint Hill, is open Tuesday through Saturday.

And the pecan pie?  I took one home for dinner yesterday.  It was delicious!

Want to know more about Mint Hill NC? 

Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com.

About the author:  Carol Fox of Allen Tate Realtors is a veteran agent who began her real estate career in Mint Hill NC over twenty years ago.

Copyright 2008.  Carol Fox.  All rights reserved.  "Southern Treats in Downtown Mint Hill NC"

Want to know how Veterans Day is celebrated in Carolina small towns?

I decided to check out the festivities in Mint Hill NC and in Matthews NC on a beautiful fall day with Carolina blue skies. 

Mint Hill's Veterans Day celebration was a learning experience.  It took place at the Carl J. McEwen Historic Village in downtown Mint Hill NC and was sponsored by the Mint Hill Historical Society.  Local veterans were honored with a ceremony that included a prayer and a patriotic song, a flag raising by a Boy Scout troop and a flag retirement ceremony.

A Living History program at the McEwen Historic Village took me back over a hundred years.  As I wandered among the old buildings from Mint Hill's history, I was able to speak with a gentleman farmer, a military recruiter from the Civil War, Clara Barton, and General Robert E. Lee and his youngest daughter.  Of course, these folks weren't actually a part of Mint Hill history but it was fun to listen to them tell stories about their lives.

What were these visitors from the past doing and talking about? 

The Farmer

The farmer was repairing his shoes.  He was making nails from slivers of wood to attach new heels to his shoes.

The Military Recruiter

The military recruiter talked about the difference between recruiting for the Civil War before 1861 when everyone thought that the war would be over in six months and after 1862 when it became obvious that it would be a long war.  Military recruiters after 1862 spent a lot of time looking for deserters.

Clara Barton

Clara Barton spoke of the 1895 Ashcraft school, a rural one-room school in Mint Hill.

Robert E. Lee and his Daughter

Robert E. Lee's daughter described how she and each of her 6 siblings had been given nicknames by their father.

Visit www.CarolinaSmallTownLiving.com for more information about living in Mint Hill NC and other area small towns.

About the author:  Carol Fox is a veteran agent who began her real estate career in Mint Hill over twenty years ago.

Copyright 2008.  Carol Fox.  All rights reserved.  "Veterans Day in Mint Hill NC"