By 1932, there were 12 high schools operating in the Cleveland County public school system. All of these were closed through the consolidation movement that lasted into the 1960s. It was during this era that desegregation began and the county began building super high schools. Students attending the high schools listed in the newspaper clipping here were reassigned to either Burns or Crest High Schools.
Belwood High School
Belwood High School had its origin in the Belwood Academy which was established in the 1880s by the Methodists. It operated under this name through1893. In 1894 the name was changed to the Belwood Institute. It is unclear when the Belwood Institute became a public school, but newspaper articles indicate sometime before 1919.
The photo caption of the Belwood girls team states the 1926-1927 school year marked the opening of the Belwood High School, however, another news item mentions Belwood High School opening in 1919.
The photos below came from the 1954 Belwood High School yearbook, School Daze, digitized and accessible on Ancestry.com. The yearbook includes photos of students in grades 1-12, not just high school students.
Bethware High School
The photos below came from the 1954 Bethware High School yearbook, The Harvester, digitized and accessible on Ancestry.com. The yearbook includes photos of students in grades 1-12, not just high school students.
Boiling Springs High School (public school)
The last graduating class at Boiling Springs High School was the class of 1967. The following school year, students began attending the newly constructed Crest High School. The former building, across from Gardner-Webb, served elementary school students. The 1940s era building is now home to the Communications Studies Department of Gardner-Webb University.
For the Boiling Springs High School that was associated with the Kings Mountain and Sandy Run Baptist Associations, see this page that is currently under construction.
Burns of Fallston High School
The school at Fallston operated as Burns of Fallston High School from about 1960 to 1967. In the early 1960s, a new high school was constructed in Lawndale to replace the old Piedmont High School. Students at Burns of Fallston began attending the new Burns High School in Lawndale in 1967.
Burns at Polkville High School
The school at Polkville operated as Burns of Polkville High School from about 1960 to 1967. In the early 1960s, a new high school was constructed in Lawndale to replace the old Piedmont High School. Students at Burns of Polkville began attending the new Burns High School in Lawndale in 1967.
Photo shared by Gale R. Sudduth.
Camp High School
Camp High School had its origin as Shoal Creek School for African American students. In 1942, James Camp, Sr. donated land for a high school. A two-story frame structure was built just west of the intersection of Hwy. 18 South and Mt. Sinai Church Road. Feeder schools were Earl and Ellis Chapel.
The first principal at Camp High School was A. J. Taylor; the first graduating class was in 1943. The school added a new building for elementary grades in 1951 and continued to enlarge through the 1950s.
After integration, Camp High School was closed; the last graduating class was in 1968. The high school building was razed; the other buildings remained as an elementary school.
Casar High School
The photos below came from the 1955 Casar High School yearbook, The Knob, digitized and accessible on Ancestry.com. The yearbook includes photos of students in grades 1-12, not just high school students.
In 1925, a new brick building was constructed in Casar that would house both elementary and high school grades. In 1960, students in grades 9 through 12 were reassigned to the Burns/Polkville High School. Then in 1966, that school was closed and all students attended the newly constructed Burns High School in Lawndale.
Cleveland Training School / Cleveland High School
Cleveland Training School traces its origin, circa 1880, to a small frame building located behind Sunset Cemetery. In 1895, a new two-room structure was built on Hudson Street in Shelby to serve the growing number of African American students in Shelby’s east side.
In 1920, a new building was constructed but was partially destroyed by fire in 1926. It was repaired and enlarged the following year. Additions were constructed in the following decades.
The photos below came from the 1940 Cleveland High School yearbook, The Cleveland High Tiger, digitized and accessible on DigitalNC. The yearbook includes photos of students in grades 7-11. (Twelth grade was not added in NC schools until 1942.)
In the 1950s, the Cleveland High athletics program flourished. The Cleveland High School Tigers football team was led by Head Coach, John Winston and Assistant Coach, Jethro Henry.
Photo from the collection of Rusty Patterson.
Bobby Bell, graduated from Cleveland High School in 1959 and went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs (1963–1974). A legendary outside linebacker and defensive end, he played a pivotal role in the franchise’s early dominance and was a key piece of the Chiefs’ defense in Super Bowls I and IV.
Coming up two years behind Bell was Melvin Phillips. Phillips also advanced to the NFL after NC A&T University. Phillips played for the San Francisco 49ers.
It was during the 1967-1968 school year, Cleveland Training School’s high school students were integrated at Shelby High School. The school’s name was changed to Cleveland School and became home to all of Shelby’s sixth graders from 1967-1977.
The building is now home to the congregation of the non-denominational Changers Church.
A history of Cleveland Training School is recorded in the National Register of Historic Places, Registration Form.
Compact High School
The photos below came from the 1965 Compact High School yearbook, The Cobra, digitized and accessible on DigitalNC. The yearbook includes photos of students in grades 1-12, not just high school students.
Davidson High School
Built in the 1920s, the Davidson School was a beneficiary of the Rosenwald Fund. Rosenwald Schools were a network of over 5,000 schools, shops, and teacher homes built for African American children in the rural, segregated South between 1912 and 1932.
The high school was demolished in 1967; the elementary school is still standing.
Douglas High School
Douglas School was established in Lawndale to serve the African American Community. Early in its history, the school included room and board. Feeder schools to Douglas were: Cornwell, Flat Rock, Hopewell, Knob Creek, New House, Palmer’s Grove, Philadelphia, Ramseur, Riverside, Vance Grove, Weathers Grove.
Douglas High School’s first graduating class was in 1936. Three girls graduated: Ollie Harshaw, Lillie Ruth Hawk, and Salema Hawk.
Fallston High School
Green Bethel/West Cleveland High School
John W. Watkins was the founder of Green Bethel Church and School in Boiling Springs.
The photos below came from the 1951 Green Bethel High School yearbook, The Torch, digitized and accessible on DigitalNC.
Grover High School
The photos below came from the 1957 Grover High School yearbook, The Treasure Chest, digitized and accessible on Ancestry.com. The yearbook includes photos of students in grades 1-12, not just high school students.
Lattimore High School
The photos below came from the 1955 Lattimore High School yearbook, The Lattimorean, digitized and accessible on Ancestry.com. Lattimore High School also included 8th grade that year. In 1956, the name of the yearbook was changed to The Cavalier.
Mooresboro High School
Mooresboro High School had its origin in the Mooresboro graded school that opened in 1904. When the high school grades were added is unclear, but the earliest newspaper mention of “Mooresboro High School” was in 1921.
In 1960, Mooresboro High School was consolidated with Crest High School (the first one) in Boiling Springs. This original Crest High closed in 1967 after the new Crest High School building was completed.
Number Three High School
Number Eight High School (Polkville)
This news item is the only record of a “No. 8 Township” High School. This school may have been Polkville High School.
Piedmont High School (public school, 1924-1967)
Prior to the 1924-1925 term, Piedmont High School had been a private boarding high school serving students from all over the county and many parts of the state and beyond. After it became a public state-supported high school, board and dormitory facilities remained privately operated. See the dedicated tab for this school’s unique history here.
The privately held Piedmont High School became a public high school in the 1924-1925 academic year. This school served students in Lawndale and other upper Cleveland communities until its closure in 1967. Its students began attending the newly constructed Burns High School on Stagecoach Road in Lawndale.
The photos below came from the 1958 Piedmont High School yearbook, The Summit, digitized and accessible on Ancestry.com. The yearbook includes photos of students in grades 1-12, not just high school students.
Waco High School
Cleveland County History 