Shelby Had About 900 People in 1880

In 1880, Shelby was still a very small town. According to the census figures cited, Cleveland County had a population of 13,700 white people and 2,871 Negroes, making a total of 16,571. Of that number, only about 900 people lived in the town of Shelby itself. One longtime resident recalled that he had personally watched the construction of nearly every brick building in the town, with only a few structures having been built before his memory began. Those earlier buildings included several well-known homes, churches, hotels, banks, and public buildings that later disappeared or were replaced. At the time, Shelby was little more than a courthouse village, with most of its later growth still ahead.

Source: Mamie Jones