The Cleveland Star. (Shelby, N.C.), Sept. 27, 1935, Edition 1

Cleveland Has Been Divided Eight Times
By P. Cleveland Gardner

If a citizen of present Cleveland county had been spared to live from colonial until today, it would have been possible for him to have lived in eight different counties, without changing his place of residence. Cleveland county has been eight different counties since March 24, 1663 when King Charles granted to eight men all of the country between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, between 31 degrees and 36 degrees parallels of latitude, called "Carolina" in honor of Charles.

Granville District

In 1729, all of these Lord Proprietors, except Lord Granville, surrendered their charter to Carolina, each proprietor received 2,500 pounds sterling.

In 1743, Lord Granville was laid off his one-eighth share of Carolina. This one-eighth of Carolina, was by deed set off to him by metes and bounds, wholly in that part of the Province known as North Carolina, and reached from the Virginia line on the north to the parallel 35 degrees 34 minutes north latitude on the south, a line running near or through the old towns of Bath, Snow Hill, Princeton and along the Southern borders of the counties of Chatham, Randolph, Davidson and Rowan, a little below the southern border of Catawba county, but not so low down as Lincolnton, thence to the present three-county corner of Lincoln, Burke and Cleveland on state highway No. 18 and so on westward to the Mississippi.

This district contained above 26,000 of the 52,000 square miles in the state as it now stands. The district allotted Lord Granville embraced the older and more thickly settled parts of the province of what is now North Carolina. In 1743, the population of the entire province was only 10,000, less than that of Shelby today.

In 1782, at the close of the Revolutionary war, the state confiscated Granville's claims. However the act of congress, Art. 5 of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, made it incumbent upon congress to recommend the restoration of property belonging to Loyalists. This congress did, but without avail in many of the states. The Granville heirs sued the state of North Carolina, first in the U.S. circuit court at Raleigh, where they lost, Chief Justice Marshall presiding. Appeal was then to the United States supreme court, where the case was dropped in 1809 for want of an appeal bond.

Eight Different Counties

The territory embraced in the present boundary of Cleveland county has at different dates, since 1729, been known and designated as some eight distinct counties, as follows:

1. Clarendon, 1729.
2. New Hanover from Clarendon, 1729.
3. Bladen from New Hanover, 1734.
4. Anson from Bladen, 1749.
5. Mecklenburg from Anson, 1762.
6. Tryon from Mecklenburg, 1768.
7. Rutherford and Lincoln from Tryon, 1779.
8. Cleveland from Rutherford and Lincoln, 1841.

First White Man Born

The first white man born in what is now Cleveland county, of which we have any record, was William Green, who was born on Buffalo Creek near the state line, May 16, 1753. The county at that time was known as Anson. During the Revolutionary War, Green served as both captain and major. Following the war, he represented Rutherford county in the house of commons in 1798 and fourteen times in the State senate, from 1800 to 1824. He died in what is now Cleveland county on November 6, 1832, being nearly eighty years of age, and was buried in the old Green family cemetery located some two miles north of the present town of Bostic, in Rutherford county.

Tryon County, 1768-1779

While the territory now embraced by Cleveland county was not settled as early as that of the counties lying east of us, yet there is scarcely a country or section of the entire state that is richer from an historical point of view than that of Cleveland county. Tryon county of this county extended from Rowan and Burke on the north to the South Carolina state line on the south, and from the Catawba river on the east to the Pacific ocean on the west. There is a tradition that the first session of court held for Tryon county was in a residence situated near old Bethany Presbyterian church in York county, S.C. south of Kings Mountain. This old building is now used as a barn.

There is also a tradition that the county seat of Tryon was first laid out at Ellis Ferry on Broad river, just south of Shelby, which place is known as "Bur Town." However, the permanent seat of Tryon county was established on the farm of Christian Mauney, now in Gaston county, between Cherryville and Bessemer City.

Rutherford And Lincoln

Tryon county was abolished in 1779 and the territory divided into two counties, Lincoln and Rutherford. The dividing line between Lincoln and Rutherford ran from South Carolina on the south along the ridge between First Broad river and Buffalo Creek, passing through the village of Earl, thence along the old Post Road by the present county fairground, thence by Fallston, Toluca, and to the three-county corner of Burke, Lincoln and Cleveland, since known as the county line road.

First Settlers

Some few settlers took up land on Kings Creek southeast of Kings Mountain between 1762 and 1768, when the section was in the county of Mecklenburg. The Dixons and Hambrights were among the very first settlers. A majority of the pioneers of the section now known as Cleveland County migrated to this section between 1768 and 1779, when the section was known as Tryon County. After the formation of Lincoln and Rutherford from Tryon in 1779 and up until 1820, many other families from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and eastern North Carolina settled in what is now Cleveland county. Most of these early settlers were patriots and served in the Revolutionary War.

Until recently it was considered a unique distinction to trace his ancestry to the Revolutionary war so as to enable one to be a member of the Daughters or Sons of the American Revolution. However in recent years it appears that more than half of our citizens of Cleveland county are eligible for membership in these Patriotic organizations.

Revolutionary War Soldiers

The following is a list of Revolutionary war soldiers who resided or died in Cleveland county, and most of whose graves have been recently marked by the U.S. government: Col. William Graham, Col. Frederick Hambright, Capt. Samuel Espey, Capt. William Earl, Capt. James Cook, Capt. Perrygreen Magness, Capt. Benjamin Magness and Privates Willis Weathers, William Wellmon, Martin Elliott, James Irvin, William Patterson, William Vaughn, Samuel Connor, William Wood, Edward Cook, William McSwain, William Humphries, Joseph Willis, Thomas Wilkins, Sr., John Dixon, Isaac Robertson, Housand Harrill, Joseph Hardin, John Barber, William McEntire, John Long, Preston Goforth, William Logan, Joseph Logan, Arthur Patterson, Sr., Arthur Patterson, Jr., Thomas Patterson, William Patterson, James Lindsay, William Twitty, David Dickey, John Lattimore and probably others.

Three Battles

The territory now embraced by Cleveland county was the scene of considerable activity and warfare during the Revolutionary war. Three of the most important battles of the south were fought at our very door, that of Cowpens, Kings Mountain and Ramseur's Mill and most of our settlers engaged in these battles.

Battle Of Cowpens

The battle of Cowpens was fought January 17, 1781. After the battle Lord Cornwallis was nearer the crossing of the Catawba river than General Morgan. Cornwallis was encamped on the east side of Main Broad river near the North Carolina state line. He continued to move up the country on the east bank of Main Broad river into what is now Cleveland county, thus compelling General Morgan to take a circuit around him in order to cross the Catawba river at Island Ford.

It was here in Cleveland county that the historical race between Cornwallis and Morgan began that ended at the Dan River in Virginia. Lord Cornwallis expected General Morgan to retreat on the south side of South Mountain as the nearest route to reinforcements. Morgan, however, went around the South Mountain crossing Main Broad river in Rutherford county at Island Ford, thence past Gilbert Town, thence to Morganton, thence along the State Road by the site of Maiden, thence crossing the Catawba river at Island Ford on the twenty-ninth of January. From the twentieth to the twenty-third of January, Cornwallis delayed several days in what is now Cleveland county, his main army leaving camp at Sander's plantation on Buffalo Creek in S.C. on Jan. 20, and passing near the present town of Blacksburg, then by Buffalo Baptist church, thence along the Old Post road by present Cleveland county home, the county fairground, thence up the Old County Line road to the home of the late David Blanton.

Here the British army turned eastward by the way of New Prospect Baptist church, crossing Buffalo creek, and thence to the old Tryon County court house between Cherryville and Bessemer City, thence to Catawba river and back to Forney's. Those who are acquainted with this section or by reference to map, will see that General Morgan marched in a circuit from Cowpens to the Catawba river, while the main army of the British under Lord Cornwallis and Tarleton marched a direct route. General Joseph Graham in his Revolutionary papers, says: "Cornwallis reached Ramseur's Mill (Lincolnton) before Morgan did the site of Maiden. Morgan probably passed Maiden while Cornwallis was at Ramseur's, only nine miles distant. At any time, from the twenty-fourth to the twenty-eighth, fifteen miles to the left would have placed Cornwallis between Morgan and the Catawba river." Lt. Col. Tarleton, in his history of the campaign of 1780 and 1781 in the southern provinces of North America says: "The 19th, the army with the cavalry on the left flank moved toward Kings Creek. The 20th Lt. Col. Tarleton was directed to pass Broad river with the dragoons and Yagers, to obtain intelligence of General Morgan, and to give protection to the fugitives who might yet have escaped the power of the Victorious Americans. He recrossed the river (First Broad) in the evening, having received information that Morgan, soon after the action (Cowpens) had quitted the field of battle to pass his corps and the prisoners at the high fords on Broad river (Rutherford county) leaving the wounded under the protection of a flag of truce. This news induced Earl Cornwallis to cross Buffalo creek and Little Broad river (Cleveland county) in the hope of intercepting General Morgan." The English historian, Stedman, in his history of the American war, says, "Morgan quitted the Cowpens immediately after the action, and preceding to the upper fords on Broad river (Rutherford county) passed it with his detachment and the prisoners."

There is hardly a section of Cleveland county but what was traversed and overrun by both the British and American armies during the Revolutionary war. The battle of Kings Mountain was fought on Saturday, Oct. 7, 1780. On the approach of the British army from the south into South Carolina, under the command of Cornwallis, the military leaders of South Carolina fled into North Carolina. Consequently, on Oct. 2, 1780, we find Sumpter's command, under Cols. Hill and Lacey camped in the forks of the Main South Branch of the Catawba river in Lincoln county, west of Tuckaseegie Ford. The same day they crossed the Catawba river at Beattie's Ford, and received a call from Col. Williams. On the same day, the South Carolinians were joined by Cols. Graham and Hambright with 60 men from Lincoln (Cleveland and Lincoln). The following morning they were joined by Capt. Roebuck's company of some 20 or 30 men.

On Oct. 3, 1780, the army encamped on the Catawba marched through Lincoln county, crossing the upper forks of Dutchman's Creek, thence to Ramseur's Mill on the south fork of Catawba river, thence bearing somewhat southwest crossing Buffalo and Little Creeks, thence by present village of Fallston, thence crossing First Broad river at Gardner's Ford below Lawndale, thence by present Polkville consolidated schools, thence to Flint Hill, or "Jack Moore Mountain," south of Hollis in Rutherford county. At this time the Back Water men under Sevier, McDowell, Shelby and Cleveland, were marching toward Cowpens by way of Morganton and Gilbert Town. These armies met at Cowpens on Friday night, Oct. 6, 1780. They overtook the British army at Kings Mountain the following day.

Following the Battle of Kings Mountain the American army with their prisoners marched from the battleground of Kings Mountain, Sunday morning, Oct. 8, 1780, sixteen miles to Waldron's or Mints' plantation on Buffalo Creek, York county, South Carolina. On Monday, October 9, the army moved two miles to Bowen's Creek, the old residence of Henry Hamrick, south of Shelby in Cleveland county. On Tuesday, Oct. 10, the army moved twenty miles, crossing Chamber's Ford on First Broad river below Stices Shoals in Cleveland county, thence by the Sharon Methodist church, to the old McBrayer plantation on the west bank of Sandy Run creek near Mooresboro, thence to Col. Walker's, thence to Biggerstaff's plantation in Rutherford county.