Queen City Sequel

In my March 21 entry, I wondered which city was first known as the Queen City. Charlotte or Cincinnati?

I was visiting friends in Cincinnati at the time and promised to try to find an answer when I got home.

Here's what I got from Tom Hanchett, staff historian at the Levine Museum of the New South. His e-mailed response:

"What an interesting question!
I'd assume that Charlotte has always been "the queen city" since we were
named for Queen Charlotte when we were incorporated in 1768.
Cincinnati's nickname "Queen City of the West" came about around 1820,
according to this website: http://www.queencityfeis.com/content/view/14/26/
And there's yet another Queen City of the West: Indianola, TX, a
short-lived town in the second half of the 19th century:
http://www.indianolatx.com/
And here are some other Queen Cities:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6882/
So my guess is that we were first. Though it is possible that some
Charlotte booster formally started using the "Queen City" name at some
particular point. In fact, it'd be interesting to include that question
in your article."

My friend Andrea Tortora, a journalist in Cincinnati, sent this from the Cincinnati Museum Center Web site.

"How did Cincinnati come to be known as the Queen City?
During the first forty years after its founding, Cincinnati experienced
spectacular growth. By 1820, citizens, extremely proud of their city, were
referring to it as The Queen City or The Queen of the West. On May 4, 1819,
B. Cooke wrote in the Inquisitor and Cincinnati Advertiser, 'The City is,
indeed, justly styled the fair Queen of the West: distinquished for order,
enterprise, public spirit, and liberality, she stands the wonder of an
admiring world.' In 1854, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem, Catawba
Wine, to memorialize the city's vineyards, especially those of Nicholas
Longworth. The last stanza of the poem reads:
"And this Song of the Vine,
This greeting of mine,
The winds and the birds shall deliver,
To the Queen of the West,
In her garlands dressed,
On the banks of the Beautiful River."
http://library.cincymuseum.org/cinfaq7menu.htm#queencity

So it sounds like Charlotte was first known as the Queen City -- if it indeed earned that moniker soon after incorporation. If anyone has any more thoughts, I'd like to hear them.