Atkins Special Collections

Atkins Special Collections UNC Charlotte's Special Collections and University Archives: Working to preserve and share the history and culture of and the Charlotte region.

Overview Special Collections & University Archives
J. Murrey Atkins Library Department of Special Collections and University Archives is dedicated to connecting people with the knowledge available in unique and rare resources. We work to preserve and share the history and culture of UNC Charlotte and the Charlotte region. Our collections include manuscripts (the personal archives of individuals and families as well as those of local organizations), the university's records, rare and unique books, maps, and oral history recordings. Special Collections and University Archives resources are available in the Dalton Reading Room on the 10th floor of Atkins Library, and everyone is welcome. We offer reference help and instruction services. Some of our collections are available online.

09/21/2026

On September 20, 1961, Charlotte College welcomed students to its brand-new campus on Highway 49. After fifteen years operating out of a single high school building, Charlotte College finally had its own 260-acre campus with a dedicated science and engineering building and a dedicated humanities building to welcome an estimated 900 students to the 1961-1962 school year. This video clip was recorded that first week of school, and includes one of the very first assemblies to be held on the UNC Charlotte campus.

Sixty-five years later, Niners can see this and more footage from 1961 in “Documenting the Opening of Charlotte College,” a 15-minute recording that followed Charlotte College’s move from the Central High campus to the new Highway 49 campus. The full video can be seen on Goldmine, UNC Charlotte Atkins Library’s digital collections site: https://bit.ly/4rocbb3

Documenting the Opening of Charlotte College, September 21, 1961. UA0069 Office of Public Information and Publications Records, UNC Charlotte.

09/18/2026

This Saturday, September 19th, the International Festival returns to ! First held in September 1975 as a way for international students to share their cultures across campus, the event has become one of the largest annual cultural events in Charlotte, featuring the cultures of over 35 nations.

In the early 2000s, the Niner Telecommunications Network captured video from the festival on MiniDV tape, which we present here for the first time!

Cone University Center records, UA0470.

After two long years of renovation, is making its triumphant return to the top of library! 🎉🎉🎉The Dalton Reading Readi...
08/21/2026

After two long years of renovation, is making its triumphant return to the top of library! 🎉🎉🎉

The Dalton Reading Reading Room reopens this Monday, August 24 for walk-in research appointments and visitors, and will be open to the public Mondays through Thursdays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Fridays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

On this day 51 years ago, Eastland Mall opened to the public with a grand opening ceremony held on its ice skating rink....
07/30/2026

On this day 51 years ago, Eastland Mall opened to the public with a grand opening ceremony held on its ice skating rink. The mall would become a social destination for generations of young people and still has a special place in the hearts of many Charlotteans.

When Eastland Mall opened in 1975, it was unlike any other in the city. With 101 stores, it had more stores than SouthPark Mall, which had only opened five years before. Eastland was the first mall in the region to have a food court and a movie theater, and the only one with an ice skating rink. But for Charlotte’s young people, the new mall was much more than just a shopping center—it was a social destination.

Children would go to Eastland Mall for field trips and birthday parties at the Ice Capades Chalet, for holiday visits to see Santa Claus and the singing animatronic bears, and for a safe place to go trick-or-treating from store to store. For tweens and teenagers, Eastland Mall was the mall-as-destination hangout spot. It was the first place where many young Charlotteans could go without parental supervision, where they went to meet people and hang out with friends, and home to countless first dates.

For generations of Charlotteans, Eastland was a key backdrop for their lives growing up here. That’s why, despite being torn down in 2013, Eastland Mall and its iconic sun signs still has a special place in the hearts of many Charlotteans.



Eastland Shopping Center, Charlotte, NC, undated. MS0121 Mary Boyer collection of historical postcards and papers, UNC Charlotte.

Skating Party, undated. MS0356 Irwin Avenue Open School records, UNC Charlotte.

Today marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and as part of the America 250 comm...
07/04/2026

Today marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and as part of the America 250 commemorations, a new exhibit at UNC Charlotte Atkins Library tells the story of how Charlotte earned its reputation as a "hornet's nest of rebellion.”

British General Charles Cornwallis bitterly described Charlotte as a “hornet’s nest of rebellion” upon his retreat from the region in 1780. While there are no known writings by Cornwallis to verify this account, there is evidence that he indeed may have called Charlotte a hornet’s nest. And the more you know about the battles fought here, the more you understand why he would have felt that way.

This exhibition at Atkins Library tells the story of how the war was waged in our region, highlighting battles fought at Trade and Tryon, off of Beatties Ford Road, near the border with South Carolina, and on Kings Mountain. At these locations, the British faced unexpectedly fierce fighting, constant harassment, and surprise ambushes as they attempted to crush the Patriot resistance in the South.

Who were these Patriots? In large part, they were rugged backcountry rebels and frontiersmen. Women such as Jane Parks McDowell, whose story is told here, supported the Patriot cause in a number of ways. Many Black men did as well, including Ishmael Titus, a soldier from Rowan County who fought the British at Kings Mountain and Guilford Courthouse. Members of the Catawba Nation also fought on the side of the Americans during the Southern Campaign.

Ultimately, the hornet's nest Cornwallis encountered came to define the war in our region, creating a legacy that has left an indelible mark on the identity of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to this day.

The Atkins Library building will be closed for maintenance work the week of May 11th. During that time our reference ser...
05/07/2026

The Atkins Library building will be closed for maintenance work the week of May 11th. During that time our reference services will be virtual-only. Please email us at [email protected] with any reference questions.

Our mission at Atkins Special Collections is the preservation of UNC Charlotte's history, so when poor weather threaten...
04/30/2026

Our mission at Atkins Special Collections is the preservation of UNC Charlotte's history, so when poor weather threatened the impromptu memorials following the tragic events of April 30, 2019, the department sprang into action to protect these remembrances. The items left at the memorial sites were collected and preserved as a part of the UNC Charlotte April 30 Tragedy Memorial Collection.

A selection of these items, along with photographs, videos, audio recordings, and oral histories, are a part of the April 30 Memorial Digital Exhibit. This permanent online exhibit explores the ways in which UNC Charlotte and the City of Charlotte grieved together in the days following the tragedy, the resilience of Niner Nation, and how we remember those who were lost.

April 30 Memorial Digital Exhibit ➡️ NinersRememberApril30.charlotte.edu

04/09/2026

If you ever wonder why we’re the Charlotte 49ers, then this video is for you!

On this 4/9 Day, learn the real story behind the Charlotte 49ers name straight from the source—UNC Charlotte founder Dr. Bonnie Cone!

1949 is often referred to as the year of UNC Charlotte’s survival because the school - then called the Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina - was supposed to be shut down that year. But thanks to the extraordinary work of Miss Bonnie, the CCUNC faculty and staff, and the school’s many supporters, the North Carolina Legislature was convinced that the program should remain open past the 1949 spring semester. That fall, the newly renamed Charlotte College opened its doors as a 2-year junior college, and set us on the path of becoming UNC Charlotte.

Today we are the 49ers to honor that pivotal year, the year of our survival. (The fact that Charlotte was home to the first gold rush in U.S. history was an added bonus.)
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49ers Forum: A Video Feature Magazine, 1984. MS0112 Bonnie Ethel Cone papers, UNC Charlotte.

Address

9201 University City Boulevard
Charlotte, NC
28223

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Monday 10am - 3pm
Tuesday 10am - 3pm
Wednesday 10am - 3pm
Thursday 10am - 3pm
Friday 11am - 2pm

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