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Homecoming celebration at the football game in 2018

Did You Know?

Badge with 49ers written on it.

Think You Know UNC Charlotte?

Put your Forty-Niner knowledge to the test with the facts below!

  • In 1799, a 12-year-old boy named Conrad Reed found a 17-pound shiny rock when he went fishing on a farm 26 miles east of Charlotte. The shiny rock sat in his house for 3 years before his father had it appraised. This began the first gold rush in the United States!
  • The Reed Gold Mine still exists to this day can be visited throughout the year.
  • The name of our first mascot was the Night Owls as classes were initially only held during the evening hours. 
  • The first school colors of Charlotte College were light grey and maroon. 
  • The crown in the UNC Charlotte logo is reminiscent of Queen Charlotte for whom the city is named.
Graduation Class of 1965, first senior class at Charlotte College.

 

  • The first senior class graduated Charlotte College in 1965.
  • The first two buildings on campus were Kennedy Hall and the Library. 
  • The Botanical Gardens began in 1966 to serve as a living classroom and resource for the campus and greater Charlotte community. The co-founders were Bonnie Cone and Dr. Herbert Hechenbleikner. 
  • The lake at the front of UNC Charlotte’s campus is named Lake Hechenbleikner. 
  • The “gold nugget” that sits outside of the Barnhardt Student Activity Center was mined at the Reed Gold Mine and appears to be quartz from the outside; however there is a gold vein that runs through it.
Original location of Charlotte College, in downtown Charlotte. CPCC now occupies the building.
  • The Self-Made Man Statue is a 14-foot statue located in the plaza outside of Fretwell and Cato Hall. Bobbie Carlyle designed the statue with the vision of a man carving himself out of stone, carving his character and carving his future. This statue is one of the most recognizable statues on campus, and serves as reminder to students to never give up on their own personal growth. Students can take a photo with the Self-Made Man to honor the work they are each investing into their future.