Where you stand today, used to once be part of a 3,000 acre working farm owned by Gov. Cameron Morrison (1869-1953). His herds included about 500 hogs and 100 sheep; in addition he kept flocks of 500 guineas, 30,000 chickens, and 10,000 turkeys. However, the real prizes of his farm were his Hereford beef cattle and 1,000 Jersey dairy cows.
Built in 1927, Morrison lived on the farm in his 14,000 sq ft mansion he named Morrocroft (a combination of the family surname Morrison and the Scottish word for house).
Morrison is best remembered as the "Good Roads Governor." He secured funds to build paved highways to every county seat in the State. Morrison died on August 21, 1953, of a heart attack at the age of eighty-three. Mrs. Morrison died in 1950. Mrs. Morrison served on the Board of the Charlotte YWCA and the Stonewall Jackson Training School. Moreover, she was generous in her support of Queens College in Charlotte, where Morrison Hall was named in her honor. Mrs. Morrison bequeathed Morrocroft to her step-daughter, Angelia Lawrence Morrison Harris, and to her step-daughter's husband, James J. Harris. Over the years, Mr. and Mr. Harris have disposed of all but ~2 acres of the Morrocroft Estate. Portions of the estate were developed from the 1950's on for residential communities, Cotswold, Sharon Road, and Southpark Shopping Centers and an industrial park on Fairview Road.
The privately owned house still exists today at 2525 Richardson Drive in Charlotte, NC. You can take a virtual tour here:
http://tours.tourfactory.com/tours/tour.asp?t=663676
Congrats to Team Harkey for FTF!