January 13, 2008
Iredell natives left mark on Queen City
By O.C. Stonestreet
The study of local history is a funny thing. Sometimes people flower in home soil; sometimes they bloom in a distant garden.
Today, I’m going to tell you about two Iredell County men you may not have heard of, but who have likely affected your life.
You have probably departed from or picked up someone arriving at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and chances are that at some time, you’ve taken your life in your hands driving on Charlotte’s Brookshire Freeway.
Douglas International was named in honor of Mayor Ben Douglas of Iredell County’s Scotts community, and the freeway was named in honor of Queen City Mayor “Stan” Brookshire of Troutman.
Although all times have their difficulties, Douglas and Brookshire served Charlotte during especially trying times and served that city well.
BEN DOUGLAS SR.
Ben Elbert Douglas Sr. of Scotts was the first Charlotte mayor to serve three two-year terms, 1935 through 1941.
Douglas was also noted as being the first Charlotte mayor elected directly by the voters. Previously, the city’s mayors had been appointed. Because of his accomplishments in the office, Douglas has been called “The Builder of Modern-Day Charlotte.”
Born in 1894, Douglas was raised in Gastonia and served as a lieutenant during World War I. Moving to the Queen City in 1926, he owned Douglas Furs, located at the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Independence Boulevard.
Douglas’ administration was during the last half of the Great Depression. Douglas was successful in applying for and receiving federal funds during desperate times.
The airport is the project that is most associated with Ben Douglas. The proposal to build a modern facility for the town was met with skepticism by some, and Douglas devoted his considerable skills into promoting the airport.
By receiving funding from President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, the airport became the WPA’s largest allotment of funds at the time in North Carolina. This provided many jobs.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held in 1935, and the facility was dedicated as Douglas Municipal Airport on April 21, 1941. Douglas later called the event “the proudest day of my life.”
Besides his involvement with the air travel, Douglas also helped to get federal funding for the Mint Museum of Art, which opened on Oct. 22, 1936. He also was instrumental in having the first public housing built while he was in office.
The American Legion Memorial Stadium, not far from his place of business, was opened while Douglas was mayor. The stadium is the site of the first annual Shrine Bowl Game of the Carolinas between some of the best high school athletes of North and South Carolina.
Due in no small part to advances the city made during Douglas’ administration, in recruiting industry and jobs, by 1940, Charlotte had become North Carolina’s largest city.
After serving as mayor, Douglas continued in public service as the state director of civilian defense during World War II, was a member of the state Highway and Public Works Commission from 1945 to 1949 and was instrumental in bringing new industry and improving state parks while he was chief of the state’s Department of Conservation and Development in the 1950s.
Ben Douglas died on July 27, 1981, at 86, and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte.
STANFORD BROOKSHIRE
Stanford Raynold “Stan” Brookshire of Troutman was mayor of Charlotte for four two-year terms, from 1961 to 1969, and at the time of his service, was the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history.
He was born on July 22, 1905, in Troutman, one of nine children of James C. and Effie Perry Brookshire. The new Walgreens on Main Street, Troutman, occupies the site of the old Brookshire homeplace.
After graduating from Trinity College, now Duke University, Brookshire came to Charlotte to work for the Charlotte Observer.
He served as president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce before being elected mayor.
While the Great Depression had long since passed by the time Brookshire took the mayoral reins in hand, there were potentially difficult times for Charlotte during his administration.
Charlotte peacefully integrated its gargantuan school system and public accommodations in the 1960s and largely avoided much of the violence that saw part of large cities like Los Angeles and Detroit burn following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1969.
Brookshire founded the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee.
Lake Norman, North Carolina’s “Inland Sea,” was developed by Duke Power Company during Brookshire’s mayorship, becoming North Carolina’s largest man-made lake.
Brookshire championed urban renewal and beautification and, like predecessor Ben Douglas, realized the importance of transportation to the city’s future, resulting in the planned automotive expressway that bears his name.
While Brookshire was mayor, the trolley car system was ended in 1938, in favor of diesel buses, and it is only recently that the electric trolley system has been revived.
Brookshire died Oct. 10, 1990, at 85. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Charlotte.
He was survived by his wife, a son, a daughter and eight grandchildren.
The next time you’re going down Interstate 77 and see the exit for the Brookshire Freeway or for Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, remember Ben and Stan, sons of Iredell County.
