Pottstown Historic District

The historic African American Community of Pottstown, located in Huntersville, NC, was founded by the formerly enslaved after the Civil War and is named for Ortho Potts. “He was a very prominent man. He moved here from around the Asheville area. He was a farmer and a brick mason, and he was highly sought after for his brickwork,” explained Pottstown historian and author Bee Jay Caldwell. Pottstown was primarily an agriculturally based economy where most families made a living by working on farms. Often freed African Americans such as indentured servants and descendants of the enslaved were relegated to a certain area of town, and this was the case in Huntersville. Pottstown sits just to the east of the Norfolk Southern railway as it runs through eastern Huntersville and now boarders the new Bryton Town Center development just north of the interstate 485 loop around Charlotte, NC.

Much of the land and homes in Pottstown are owned by the descendants of the formerly enslaved, such as indentured servants and sharecroppers, who owned the land and built the homes in the 1800s. Pottstown’s current and former residents, its’ descendants, and their families want to retain their land and their homes and equally important, to preserve the culture and history of Pottstown.

Faith is a strong part of Pottstown’s black community and four historic African American churches are located nestled inside its’ neighborhood streets, including Huntersville AME Zion, Huntersville United House of Prayer, St. Philips, and Huntersville United Methodist church.

In the 2000s, residents founded the Huntersville Community Development Association (HCDA) to guide current and future development plans and negate any potential negative impacts to the community and its residents. The association was helpful in 2022 with convincing the Mecklenburg County Commissioners to vote unanimously to purchase 30 acres of vacant land that borders Pottstown for $1,724,000 instead of allowing the quaint and quiet historic neighborhood made up of mostly one-story homes to be over-developed by three-story half-million dollar single family homes. At the time, County Commissioner Pat Cotham was quoted as saying, “It was just the right thing to do. We believe in equity and diversity and the history. It just made sense for us to do this and protect it for history as we have protected other properties.” The County is also working with residents to determine future plans for the property.

"It's important that we as residents and family of this community, continue to keep this community historic, keep it alive, keep it well known, because so many people don’t know about Pottstown. But we are a wealth of history to share."

- Latoya Rivers, Pottstown native

A mural in front of the Torence-Lytle School building was unveiled Oct. 11th 2023 by the chair of the Pottstown Heritage Group - Photo Courtesy of HEARTS.

Preserving, restoring, and revitalizing this historically underserved African-American community is the mission of the Pottstown Heritage Group. Their vision is to maintain the rich history of Pottstown by making sure residents can age in place, advocate to build the community infrastructure and neighborhoods around them, and to eliminate gentrification. The Pottstown Heritage Group supports the Huntersville Community Development Association and your support helps build community, raise awareness, and drive positive change. Connect with the Pottstown Heritage Group to make a donation today!