CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When people think of Charlotte, historic is likely not the first word to come to mind. Dan Morrill might disagree.

“Maybe our historic culture isn't as obvious but people know NoDa, people know Fourth Ward,” Morrill said.

Morrill knows a little something about history. He’s lived in Charlotte for decades and he’s a historian.

“I don't think that people should think that historians are old fogies that just want to think about the good old days,” Morrill said. “The good old days weren't all that good to be frank.”

Morrill has made a lot of investments in Mecklenburg County.

“When you see an old building in Charlotte Dan Morrill probably had his hands on it,” said Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Historian in Residence Tom Hanchett.

Morrill has spent 46 years as the consulting director for the Charlotte-Meckleburg Historic Landmarks Commission. The commission protects historic properties from damaging changes. That's been key as Charlotte has grown.

“Dan Morrill and a number of people in his generation … began to say if we can safeguard some of our older properties, fourth ward for instance, that might inspire new development that will make a better city for all,” said Hanchett who knows Morrill well.

Hanchett said Morrill's focus on preservation was key when the city, for a time, was tearing down buildings at a rapid pace.

“Dan Morrill is somebody who has loved Charlotte. The whole city. The new parts, the old parts, the black parts, the white parts,” Hanchett said. “That love I think has communicated as people have come to understand charlotte as a place that has a history.”

Ask Morrill what history means and he'll tell you it's not about the past.

“History is like a big bag of marbles and you pick out different marbles to pick out what makes sense today,” Morrill said. “If you don't have a memory in a community you live a very different life.”

At 82, Morrill is moving on to something different. He's retiring from the landmarks commission but not from the work.

He'll continue to stay focused on keeping Charlotte...Charlotte.

Morrill will be working with a non-profit called "Preserve Mecklenburg" which is focused on some of the main issues he's worked on for years.

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