Charlotte City Hall

In November 1891, John Carr began to assemble what eventually became a large tract of land northeast of the intersection of North McDowell Street and East Fifth Street. By 1895, he had purchased the final portion of the tract and was preparing to establish the family residence at what was then 903 Myers Street, soon to be renamed East Fifth Street. From there he also operated a moving company that would become his vocation for the remainder of his life. Barns and other outbuildings were constructed behind the dwelling to house the mules and the equipment necessary to sustain the enterprise. But the single-story frame structure that housed the Carr family soon became too crowded with the birth of their fifth and final child in 1898. In 1904, the family moved to their new larger home at 200 North McDowell Street. John personally supervised the construction of the house, as his prior work experience had introduced him to the principles of sound construction and the aesthetic qualities of wood. Most of the lumber used for the house was cut in his boyhood Hopewell community and brought to Charlotte on John’s mule-drawn company wagons. His choice of the Queen Anne architectural style reflected the most fashionable domestic architecture in Charlotte during the late 1800s and early 1900s.  

Meanwhile, John’s business thrived, allowing him to replace mules and wagons with an impressive collection of specialized vehicles. He became the local expert on moving heavy equipment, transporting the presses of the Charlotte Observer from the railroad depot to the newspaper's headquarters and moving buildings of all types, sizes, and shapes. He played a major part in transporting materials to the site of Camp Greene and was the major deliverer of merchandise that arrived at the Seaboard and Southern railway stations in transit to local merchants. Active in the community, John served as First Ward’s representative on the Charlotte Board of Aldermen, a member of the Executive Committee of the county’s Democratic Party organization, a trustee of the Carnegie Public Library, and a deacon of Second Presbyterian Church. As a member of the Presbyterian Hospital Board of Directors, John joined with four other men in 1917 to underwrite a $40,000 loan that enabled the hospital to purchase and relocate to the vacated Elizabeth College campus after a fire seriously damaged the hospital’s former West Trade and Mint Streets location. 

After John’s death, Anna Carr remained in the family home until 1951, when she sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. William R. Lee, Sr., and moved into her youngest daughter’s home on Hermitage Road. After living in the Carr House for several years, the Lees began renting the house to male boarders. The house was moved slightly in the late 1960s to make way for a modification in the route of East Fifth Street.