Slaves
Unlike most Piedmont counties, Cleveland County had a small number of slaves. Out of a total population of 12,348 in 1860, only 2,131 were slaves. A few of the prominent planters who owned slaves in 1850 included: William H. Green (twenty-three slaves), Richard Champion (twenty-two slaves), James Elliott (twenty-one slaves), Edward Rippy, Jr., (nineteen slaves), and Joshua Beam (eighteen slaves).  Although farming was Joshua Beam"s primary pursuit, he also engaged in the iron industry, employing many slaves. Beam's circa 1845 house and some of the remaining acreage are listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NR, 1980).