Earl – Cleveland County History

Formerly known as “Swangs,” Earl is in Township No. 3, as is neighboring Patterson Springs. The former communities of Durbro and Stice Shoals were also in Tws. 3.

Earl was first incorporated in 1891. It was reincorporated in 1971 following restructuring legislation passed by the NC General Assembly. Earl’s first mayor was J. S. Thomasson.

Earl’s Beginnings

The town of Earl was once known as “Earl Station.” Its namesake was Abel Earl, who donated land for the construction of a train station.

Elva Thompson Gheen interviewed Abel Earl’s descendants in 1963. She wrote an article about the house that Abel built in 1840. The article is here.

Earl Schools

Continued at: https://archive.org/details/heritageofclevel01clev/page/12/mode/2up

Earl Churches

Earl Over the Years

Earl Mayors

Additional Information about the town of Earl

Town of Earl Facebook page

Earl, NC Wikipedia entry

_{mayor/dob-dod}	_{term in office}	_{portrait/photo}
J. S. Thomasson	1881
	town government inactive 1881-1971
Joseph F. Austell, 1916-1991	1971-x
Arrie Bailey Ellis, 1916-2011	1985-2005 (Cleveland County’s first female mayor)

Max Hopper	x-2017
Noah Anderson	2017-x
Derrick Brooks	x-present

Earl’s Beginnings

Earl Schools

Earl Churches

Earl Over the Years

Earl Mayors

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