STEELE CREEK NEWS

Steele Creek Township Shrinks as Charlotte Annexes

(March 6, 2009) Steel Creek Township was established under the North Carolina Constitution of 1868. Townships in North Carolina originally elected Justices of the Peace and performed other governmental functions, including maintaining roads and assessing property for taxation. In 1895 townships were stripped of their powers but remained as administrative areas.

A Road Map of Mecklenburg County from 1923 that is available on the Steele Creek Historical and Genealogical Society web site shows Steel Creek Township (with one less "e" in its name).

The map below shows the 1923 boundaries of Steel Creek Township on a modern road map base. The green and blue shaded areas are the 1923 township. The green area is Steel Creek Township as shown on 1980 census maps. The blue area is that part the original Steel Creek Township that had been annexed by the City of Charlotte by 1980.

The City of Charlotte is its own township. When Charlotte annexes, area automatically is removed from its original township and added to the Charlotte Township. On Census maps, it's called "Township 1, Charlotte."

It's interesting to note that the area around Carowinds and the I-77/Westinghouse Boulevard interchange was in Pineville Township rather than Steel Creek Township.

Up until recently, census maps have shown the name as "Township 3, Steel Creek." Mecklenburg County submitted a correction to the Census Bureau a few years ago, and the name now appearing in census records is "Township 3, Steele Creek." The spelling apparently changed from Steel Creek to Steele Creek early in the 1900's.

The area shown with orange crosshatching is Steele Creek Township as of January 1, 2008 according to current census records. This will shrink further on June 30, 2009 when Charlotte annexes parts of Berewick and adjacent areas.

The boundaries for the 1923 township on the map above were delineated by taking the 1980 census boundaries and extending them straight eastward to Nations Ford Road. The southern line on this map that runs through the I-77/I-485 interchange is at a different angle than the same line on the 1923 Road Map. This line also hits Nations Ford Road just north of a sharp curve that doesn't appear on the 1923 map. The curve is at the location of the Vulcan Materials quarry, and Nation's Ford Road has been moved from its 1923 alignment to avoid it.

This map also is available in pdf format here: Steele Creek Township

Do you have information that would confirm or dispute these boundaries? If so, post your comments on the Message Board or sent them to info@steelecreekresidents.org.