CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - There are several references to hornets or a hornet’s nest in Charlotte.
Nolan Dahm, the exhibits manager at the Charlotte Museum of History, recently took time to explain the origin of the “hornet’s nest” reference as it applies to the city’s history.
Dahm said the reference dates to the Revolutionary War. In the later years of the war, the British military was trying to retake the southern colonies in America. Dahm said that American troops repelled the British troops in Charlotte. He said historians believe that American effort led to British general Lord Charles Cornwallis calling Charlotte a ‘hornet’s nest of rebellion.’
“It says a lot about Charlotte’s identity and who Charlotte has wanted to be,” Dahm said. “We’ve always embraced that rebel identity. I think sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.”
The hornet reference has withstood the test of time in Charlotte. Different organizations continue to embrace the threatening insect.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department logo features a hornet’s nest. A large park off Beatties Ford Road in west Charlotte was named Hornet’s Nest Park. The city’s NBA team is also named the Charlotte Hornets.
Dahm said he is surprised that many people are unfamiliar with the city’s historical connection to the reference.
“I think more people should know about this story, about the hornet’s nest story, about our place -- Charlotte’s place -- in the American Revolution and in the beginnings of this nation,” he said.
The local Girl Scouts council in Charlotte is named the Hornet’s Nest Council.
Tayuanee Dewberry, the CEO of the council, said she is often asked about the origin of the council name.
“I love being able to recount and talk about that sense of pride and that sense of persistence and resilience that is evoked when we talk about the context,” Dewberry said.
She said her council is still trying to embody that hornet spirit. She said national leaders recently tried to change their council name, and she wouldn’t let that happen.
“Believe me ... Right here at the hornet’s nest, if you stir the nest, you get the same type of resistance that the generals talked about,” Dewberry said proudly. “When they said this was a hornet’s nest of rebellion, the spirit lives on.”
For anyone looking to learn more about the city’s history, they can visit the Charlotte Museum of History on Shamrock Drive.
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