For generations, the stories of enslaved men, women, and children who lived and labored at a historic Mecklenburg County property went largely untold. Now, after years of controversy and closure, the site is being rebuilt — this time with their stories at the center.
Mecklenburg County broke ground Monday on an $11.2 million redevelopment project at Historic Latta Place in Huntersville, officially launching a construction effort that county officials say will transform how visitors understand and experience the site. The county plans to reopen it in 2027 with a new visitor center and an interactive trail designed to reflect the full history of everyone who once occupied the land.
More than 50 people attended Monday’s ceremony, which included a formal recognition of the enslaved people who once called the property home. Among them was Kodi Ardrey, 47, who learned through research that his own ancestors were enslaved at the site. He described the experience as layered and emotional.
Ardrey said, “It’s mixed because it brings so much context to everything. The good is that I found my family and I know where they lived. At the same time, I know what they were subjected to. Overall, it’s a wonderful thing to know that I’m connected to this area and something I can share with my own family to preserve our history.”
The site’s road to this moment has not been straightforward. Formerly known as Latta Plantation, it shut down in 2021 following intense public backlash over a planned Juneteenth event. Rather than centering the experiences of enslaved people on a day meant to commemorate their emancipation, the program was built around the perspective of white residents — framing them as “white refugees” following what it called the “downfall of the Confederacy” and advertising stories told from “the massa himself.” When criticism mounted, the site’s manager posted a lengthy public defense and declared that no apology would be offered. Mecklenburg County responded by ending its contract with the organization that had been running the property.
Ardrey said accountability measures should be part of any path forward. “It shouldn’t happen in the first place,” he said. “There should be ways to make sure something like that never happens again. In terms of the site being used for any purpose, there should be some level of oversight.”
County officials say the new management structure is designed to prevent a repeat. Leslie Johnson, Mecklenburg County’s deputy county manager, explained that the county will now operate the site directly rather than through an outside vendor.
“One of the significant differences is that when we closed Latta, we chose not to renew the contract with the vendor,” Johnson said. “Operations moving forward will be managed and maintained by Mecklenburg County instead of being contracted out. That allows us to ensure what happens on the site aligns with our values rather than having someone independently do it for us.”
The redesigned experience is intended to present the site’s history through multiple perspectives, a deliberate shift from how many historic properties have traditionally been interpreted. Johnson described what visitors can expect: “It will allow you to see what the site would have looked like from an Indigenous person’s perspective, from an enslaved person’s perspective, as well as from the perspective of the landowners. Historically, when you visit certain sites, you only see it through the lens of the landowners. The intentionality here is ensuring we tell the stories of all who have touched this soil.”
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