Mecklenburg County officially began construction on a “reimagined” Latta Place with a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday — years after the former plantation was closed to the public following uproar over a Juneteenth event.
The 16-acre site, formerly known as Latta Plantation, is part of the larger, county-owned Latta Nature Preserve in Huntersville. It previously operated as a “living history museum and farm” under the direction of a nonprofit and was first built by James Latta in 1800.
But many in the community and multiple elected officials slammed the nonprofit operating the site in 2021 for an event timed to the Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the United States. Promotional materials for the event, called “Kingdom Coming,” promised to tell the story of “white refugees” and defeated Confederate soldiers and referred to a slave owner as an “overseer” and “massa.”…