Gardner-Webb University
Gardner-Webb began in 1905 as Boiling Springs High School through a partnership between the Kings Mountain and Sandy Run Baptist Associations. It was to be a boarding high school designed to offer a Christian influence. Planning for a new building began in 1906.
James Dwyer Huggins was the school’s first principal. He served from 1905 to 1928.
The school became Boiling Springs College in 1928. James Blaine Davis was the first president of Boiling Springs College.
See other presidents here.
In 1942, Governor O. Max Gardner and wife Fay Webb Gardner became major donors to the college–so much so that the college’s board of trustees voted to change the name of the college to Gardner-Webb College.
It remained a junior college until the 1971-1972 academic year when it was fully accredited to confer four year degrees. It began offering a Master of Arts degree in education in 1980. By 1993, its name changed again to Gardner-Webb University. Read more. . .
Visit Gardner-Webb University history timeline here.
Gardner-Webb Athletics
Gardner-Webb University’s sports program, known as the “Runnin’ Bulldogs,” has a history rooted in its transition from a high school to a junior college, and eventually, a four-year university and Division I program. Initially part of Boiling Springs High School, the program developed its own identity as Gardner-Webb Junior College, achieving notable success in football, including a state championship in 1930 and a Golden Isle Bowl victory in 1952. The transition to a senior college in 1969, followed by the introduction of women’s athletics after Title IX, marked significant milestones in the program’s evolution.
| Boiling Springs Junior College, football history, by Richard Walker. |
| Boiling Springs Junior College, basketball history, by Richard Walker. |
| Gardner-Webb baseball history, by Richard Walker. |
1933 BS Jr. College football champs. 
Artis Gilmore was a standout at Gardner-Webb who went on to play in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Boston Celtics. 
George Adams was born in Kings Mountain. He went on to play in the ABA for the San Diego Conquistadors. 
Johnny L. Searight was born in Alabama, but remained in Boiling Springs after college. He and wife Shirley reside there now. 
Alvin Jones later became a championship-winning high school coach in Lakeland, FL. (He is the father of a player by the same name who played at Georgia Tech and in the NBA.) 
Dave Bormann was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 1977.
Cleveland Community College
Cleveland Community College began on July 1, 1965 as a satellite campus of Gaston College. It held classes in the former Porter Brothers and McBrayer buildings on North Morgan Street in Shelby. The college offered only a few select programs–one of which was the practical nursing program. Only 40 students registered for classes that first session.
Two years later the college began operating independently from Gaston College and took the name Cleveland County Technical Institute. By 1969, the college required more space and moved to the location of the old county home–the same property on which it is located today. The college was renamed again in 1980 and became Cleveland County Technical College
When the college began offering two-year transfer programs in 1987, its name changed yet again to Cleveland Community College.
Ambassador Baptist College
Ambassador Baptist College was founded in 1989 in Shelby by Dr. Ron Comfort. In 1994, the college relocated to a former public school campus in Lattimore, NC, where it remains today. The college emphasizes a strong Bible foundation and practical ministry training, with a focus on local church service. Read more from their webpage.
Cleveland County History 