Shelby Once Rejected Free Public Schools

In August of 1841, just as the new county of Cleveland was being organized, an election was held to decide whether the county would accept free public schools funded by local taxes and matching money from the State Literary Fund. The sheriff reported the results to the court: 243 people voted for schools, and 562 voted against. This meant that Cleveland County officially chose not to have free public schools, even though the state would have provided twice as much money as the county raised. The majority of voters did not want to be taxed for education, and the idea of public schooling was still unpopular in the community.