On October 4, 1975, a twin-engine Cessna 310 carrying Ric Flair, David Crockett, Bob Bruggers, Tim Woods, and Johnny Valentine crashed while approaching Wilmington Airport. The plane was on its way from Charlotte at the time, Flair suffered a broken back in three places and was told that his wrestling days were over. All survived…
Remembering the 2000 Charlotte Motor Speedway Pedestrian Bridge Collapse
On May 20, 2000, as the crowd was leaving the NASCAR All-Star Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, an 8-foot section of the walkway fell 25 feet onto U.S. 29. One hundred seven fans were hurt in the collapse, but miraculously, no one died. The failure was blamed on the bridge…
Remembering the Deadly 1975 Siloam Bridge Disaster
On Sunday night, February 23, 1975, a vehicle hit a supporting beam of the steel-truss structure spanning the Yadkin River in North Carolina, on the border of Yadkin and Surry counties. The bridge broke and crashed into the river below. People began to drive off the side of the road due to the thick fog,…
Ghosts in the Stadium: The 1913 Lynching of Joe McNeely
Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, sits on top of where a 1913 lynching took place. The area where the stadium now stands was once a thriving African-American community called the Brooklyn community. On the same site where the Panthers play professional football, the Good Samaritan Hospital served black Americans during that time….
The Deadly Loray Mill Strike of 1929
Demands for higher pay and a 40-hour workweek ignited the Loray Mill Strike in Gastonia, North Carolina, in 1929. We often like to think that we have come a long way with better working conditions, higher wages, and even a work-life balance, but have we? Despite what is currently taught in our educational systems across…
The Jackson Building and the Stock Market Crash of 1929
The Jackson Building in Asheville, North Carolina, built in 1924, at 22 South Pack Square, has a reported dark history attached to it. The building held the title of being the tallest building in the city for 41 years, and during the Stock Market Crash of 1929, a reported 17 people jumped to their deaths….
The 1987 Carowinds Wave Pool Shooting
On June 7, 1987, a horrible tragedy unfolded at the popular Carowinds amusement park on the North and South Carolina state border when two girls were struck by stray bullets while playing in the wave pool in the Ocean Island section. A 16-year-old from Rock Hill was killed in the incident, while a 6-year-old from…
Henry Gatling and his Flying Contraption
Many believe the Wright Brothers were the first to fly, but that is not entirely true, depending on how one defines flight. James Henry Gatling, also a North Carolina resident born in Hertford County, conducted numerous ground and air trials of his aeroplane in 1873. Gatling was able to achieve a 100-foot flight from a…
Frontier Land in Cherokee, North Carolina
The theme park boom in Western North Carolina during the 1960s helped usher a new generation of vacationers to the area. Overnight, the scenic landscape of the Blue Ridge Mountains transformed many towns like Cherokee into tourist destinations. Frontier Land opened in 1964 on a 140-acre plot of land along U.S. 19. An adult ticket…
The 1955 Cherokee Bridge Collapse
On July 3, 1955, a deadly accident occurred when a 150-foot bridge gave way in Cherokee, North Carolina. The incident happened just before noon when the cables supporting it jerked from the structure, hurling tourists to the rocks and waters below. It was first thought that overcrowding may have played a role in the bridge…