Shelby

History

The area was originally inhabited by Catawba and Cherokee peoples and was later settled around 1760. The city was chartered in 1843 and named after Colonel Isaac Shelby, a hero of the battle of Kings Mountain (1780) during the American Revolution. Shelby was agricultural until the railways in the 1870s stimulated Shelby's development. In 1916, Thomas Dixon, Jr., the author of The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan, planned to erect a statue of his uncle Leroy McAfee on the courthouse square. The project was initially met with enthusiasm, and affidavits collected by Captain Albion Howe (1841–1873) of the 4th Regiment Artillery. Textiles later became its chief industry during the 1920s, when production of cotton in Cleveland County rose from 8,000 to 80,000 bales a year. Cotton production peaked in 1948 with Cleveland County producing 83,549 bales, making it North Carolina's premier cotton county. In the 1930s, Shelby was known as "The Leading Shopping Center between Charlotte and Asheville". People from surrounding counties came to Shelby to shop, since there were numerous types of local and chain stores. By 1947, Shelby was a true thriving town with the mills paying among the highest wages in the South. In the 1950s, droughts, insect infestations, and government acreage controls resulted in the decline of cotton as Cleveland County's primary crop. Shelby was home to a group of political leaders in the first half of the 20th century, that have become known as the "Shelby Dynasty." These political leaders wielded power through the local, State and Federal governments. The most notable of Shelby's political leadership were brothers James L. Webb and Edwin Yates Webb and brothers-in-law O. Max Gardner and Clyde R. Hoey. As governors, NC representatives,…

Geography

Shelby is located in south-central Cleveland County. U.S. Route 74, a four-lane highway, runs through the city south of the center, and leads east to Gastonia and west to Rutherfordton. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.17%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,224
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,938
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  4,767
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  4,589
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,475
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,372
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,280
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,258

Largest nearby schools

• Pinnacle Classical Academy
  Other · Shelby · 1,132 students · 29.8:1 ratio
• Crest High
  High · Shelby · 1,114 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• Burns High
  High · Lawndale · 934 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Crest Middle
  Middle · Shelby · 849 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• Shelby High
  High · Shelby · 825 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Burns Middle
  Middle · Lawndale · 734 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Shelby Middle
  Middle · Shelby · 630 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Elizabeth Elementary
  Elementary · Shelby · 569 students · 12.9:1 ratio

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 3 — 2014-12-15
  13 km NNW of Cedar Rock, North Carolina
• M 2.5 — 2014-06-12
  4 km NE of Blowing Rock, North Carolina