Boiling Springs

History

People began settling the area around the namesake boiling springs in 1843. The first families to settle were the Hamricks, the Greenes and the McSwains. It was only appropriate that the settlement be named Boiling Springs. One of the first buildings was Boiling Springs Baptist Church, built in 1847 about 100 yards from the springs. Boiling Springs was known as a sleepy community, with no railroads, no industries, few stores and no paved streets. At the turn of the 20th century, Kings Mountain Baptist and Sandy Run Associations began looking for a place to build their denominational high school and chose Boiling Springs because it was geographically situated between the two associations and because the Boiling Springs community made concerted efforts to attract the school. The Boiling Springs High School boarding institution opened for business in 1905. School authorities felt that neither intoxicating drinks nor cigarettes should be sold near the school, so in 1911 the town was incorporated in order to ban the sale of such items. Town limits were decided by drawing a mile and a half radius from the school's original bell tower. Incorporation of the town proved to be a major step forward because it provided a government that could function and enable the town not only to grow but to furnish water, police and fire protection, paved streets and garbage collection for the town and the school. As time progressed the growth of the town was largely tied to the growth of the Boiling Springs High School which became the Boiling Springs Junior College in 1928, Gardner Webb Junior College in 1942, and finally after achieving status as a senior college and developing several graduate programs, Gardner–Webb University in 1993. Voters approved ordinances to allow for the sale of…

Geography

Boiling Springs is located in southwestern Cleveland County. North Carolina Highway 150 passes through the town, leading east to Shelby, the county seat, and south to Gaffney, South Carolina. The South Carolina border is less than south of the town. Mooresboro is north. Charlotte, approximately east, is the closest major city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. The Broad River runs south of the town, and is the location of the Broad River Greenway, providing recreational facilities, activities and trails.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,674
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  5,338
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,209
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,090
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  5,001
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,914
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,718
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,425

Most recent

• M 2.73 — 2025-08-14
  7 km N of Columbus, North Carolina
• M 2.69 — 2022-12-08
  0 km S of Laurel Park, North Carolina
• M 2.65 — 2021-08-17
  6 km N of Morganton, North Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2017-10-22
  15 km N of Old Fort, North Carolina
• M 2.53 — 2016-04-25
  6 km N of Weaverville, North Carolina
• M 3 — 2014-12-15
  13 km NNW of Cedar Rock, North Carolina