It was the first municipal burial ground in Charlotte and contains the graves of many early settlers, with gravesites dating from 1776 through 1884.

[1] Prominent people buried in Old Settlers' include Nathaniel Alexander, Greene Washington Caldwell, Revolutionary War hero Major General George Graham,[2] and Thomas Polk,[3] Charlotte founding father and great-uncle of United States President James K. Polk.

Also contained in the cemetery is an obelisk honoring North Carolina planter and politician William Davidson.

[5] By the 1940s the cemetery was in poor condition and was only preserved through the efforts of Charlotte historian and legislator Julia McGehee Alexander.

[7] With its majestic old oaks and brick lined pathways, it is more park than cemetery and is a centerpiece of Charlotte's Fourth Ward Historic District.