50 free Charlotte trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
43 free Charlotte trivia questions with answers. Charlotte, North Carolina grew from a crossroads of two Native American trading paths into the second-largest banking centre in the United States, and this quiz covers the whole arc: the German-born queen it is named for, the British general who called it a hornet's nest, the 12-year-old whose gold nugget became a doorstop and started America's first gold rush, and the banker who turned NCNB into Bank of America. You will also find the Panthers, Hornets, Charlotte FC and Checkers, the NASCAR industry that surrounds the city, Carowinds and its painted state line, the Whitewater Center, the Lynx Blue Line, and hometown names from Billy Graham and Randolph Scott to Ric Flair and Stephen Curry's Davidson. Questions run from easy ones any newcomer will get to details that only a longtime Charlottean will know, so it works for a trivia night in NoDa, a company icebreaker or a welcome-to-town quiz. Every answer has been checked against Wikipedia and reference sources, and each question shows an explanation and its citation once you answer.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Queen City is named after the wife of which British king?
George III
The German-born princess married George III in 1761, seven years before the town was incorporated, and the county is named for her homeland.
Q 02Charlotte's other historic nickname, the Hornet's Nest, comes from a remark by which British commander?
General Cornwallis
He occupied the town during the Revolutionary War, was driven out, and wrote that it was 'a hornet's nest of rebellion'.
Q 03In what year was the Town of Charlotte incorporated?
1768
Thomas Polk, great-uncle of a future president, had built his house where two Native American trading paths crossed.
Q 04Uptown's central intersection, known as The Square, is where Trade meets which other thoroughfare?
Tryon
Tryon follows the old Great Wagon Road and is named for a colonial royal governor; the crossing is formally Independence Square.
Q 05On which date was the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence supposedly signed?
May 20, 1775
The text was not published until 1819 and historians still dispute whether it existed; May 20 is celebrated as Meck Dec Day.
Q 06What was the 17-pound rock a Cabarrus County boy found in 1799 that his family used as a doorstop?
Nearly solid gold
A jeweller paid the Reed family $3.50 for it, and the find set off the first gold rush in the United States.
Q 07The gold-coin facility that opened in Charlotte in 1837 holds what distinction in US history?
The first US branch mint
It specialised in gold coins, was seized by Confederate forces in 1861 and never reopened; the building now houses the Mint Museum of Art.
Q 08Measured by assets, Charlotte is the second-largest banking headquarters in the US after where?
New York
Bank of America and Truist are headquartered there, and Wells Fargo runs its East Coast operations from the city.
Q 09Which financier built North Carolina National Bank into what became Bank of America?
Hugh McColl
His NationsBank bought San Francisco's BankAmerica for $62 billion in 1998 and kept the acquired name.
Q 10Charlotte-based First Union, later renamed Wachovia, was bought in 2008 by which bank?
Wells Fargo
The buyer keeps its East Coast headquarters in Charlotte, one of the city's largest employers.
Q 11Which company moved its corporate headquarters to Charlotte in November 2018?
Honeywell
The city's Fortune 500 roster also includes Nucor, Lowe's, Duke Energy, Sonic Automotive and Brighthouse Financial.
Q 12The Carolina Panthers began play in which year?
1995
While their Charlotte stadium was being built they played the first season at Clemson's Memorial Stadium in South Carolina.
Q 13The Panthers have reached two Super Bowls, after the 2003 and 2015 seasons. Which of these is true?
They lost both
The 2015 team went 15-1 and Cam Newton was named league MVP, but Denver won Super Bowl 50.
Q 21Roughly what share of NASCAR's race teams, employees and drivers are based in the Charlotte area?
About 75 percent
The city also hosts the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the only US-based Formula One team, Haas.
Q 22Charlotte Motor Speedway is actually located in which neighbouring city?
Concord
The 1.5-mile quad-oval opened in 1960 and was called Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009.
Q 23The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte opened in which year?
2010
The first artefact unveiled was the Plymouth Belvedere Richard Petty drove to 27 wins in 1967.
Q 14When the Panthers' Uptown home opened in 1996, what was it called?
Ericsson Stadium
The Swedish telecom company held the first naming rights; the stadium seats about 75,000 and also hosts Charlotte FC.
Q 15The original Charlotte Hornets NBA team, founded in 1988, relocated in 2002 to which city?
New Orleans
The city got the Bobcats in 2004, and they took back the Hornets name and history in 2014 once the New Orleans team became the Pelicans.
Q 16The 1988 Hornets set off a sports fashion craze by choosing which primary colour?
Teal
The uniforms, by North Carolina designer Alexander Julian, were also the first in the NBA with pinstripes.
Q 17Which basketball legend led the group that bought a majority share of Charlotte's NBA team in 2010?
Michael Jordan
The North Carolina native had first bought a minority stake in 2006 and sold his majority share in 2023.
Q 18Charlotte FC's home debut in March 2022 was played before 74,479 people. Why was that notable?
Biggest MLS single-match attendance to that date
The team lost 1-0 to the LA Galaxy and finished its first season averaging 35,260, second only to Atlanta.
Q 19The Charlotte Knights, who play at Truist Field in Uptown, are the Triple-A affiliate of which MLB team?
Chicago White Sox
The affiliation dates from 1999, and the Uptown ballpark opened in 2014.
Q 20The Charlotte Checkers hockey team plays in which league?
AHL
They play at Bojangles Coliseum and are the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers.
Q 24Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a fortress hub for which airline?
American Airlines
The airport is named for Ben Douglas, the mayor when it opened in 1935, and is famous for the white rocking chairs in its terminal.
Q 25The Lynx Blue Line, which opened in 2007, was which milestone for North Carolina?
Its first major rapid rail service
The first phase ran from I-485 up South Boulevard to 7th Street and was later extended to UNC Charlotte.
Q 26The Carowinds amusement park is unusual because what runs straight through its main entrance area?
The state line
The park opened in 1973 with part of it in Fort Mill, South Carolina, and Six Flags moved its headquarters nearby in 2024.
Q 27The U.S. National Whitewater Center in Mecklenburg County claims what record?
Largest recirculating artificial rapids river
It opened in 2006 with an Olympic-standard slalom channel and a longer wilderness channel.
Q 28Lake Norman, northwest of Charlotte, was created by Duke Energy building which dam?
Cowans Ford Dam
It is the largest man-made body of fresh water lying entirely within North Carolina and is named for a former Duke Power president.
Q 29Which world-famous evangelist was born on a dairy farm in Charlotte in 1918?
Billy Graham
The city is home to his library and to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Q 30The 11th US president, born in a log cabin in Pineville just south of Charlotte, was who?
James K. Polk
His great-uncle Thomas Polk was one of Charlotte's founding settlers.