The area that is now Kings Mountain was first settled in the early 1830s. Early families included surnames of Beason, Blythe, Crockett, Dickey, Husselberger, Kimball, Murphy, Potts, and Weer (Weir/Ware). About 1833 or 1834, Dr. James Wright Tracy, his wife Regina Stone Tracy, and his brother-in-law Ben F. and Mary Briggs and family moved to the area from South Carolina. Soon after, Mary Briggs discovered gold in a nearby stream. It is estimated the gold mined by the Briggs family was valued at upwards of one million dollars. The Tracy family began the operation of a post office. By 1866, the post office was using the name “White Plains.”
By 1872, construction for the Charlotte-Atlanta Airline Railway began. Capt. Freno Dilling moved his saw mill operation from Cherryville to furnish railroad ties for the project. Anticipating the future development of the area, Charlotte investor Rufus Yancey McAden (namesake of McAdenville) purchased 25 acres of land that would later become Kings Mountain’s business district. Brothers Jacob S. Mauney and William A. Mauney came to Kings Mountain and built a general store.
When the railway company built a station there, Regina Tracy was asked what its name should be. She decided on Kings Mountain after the 1780 Revolutionary War battle fought nearby. “Kings” was named after one of Britain’s King Georges, but it is unknown which one.
On February 11, 1874, Kings Mountain received its charter. The town’s first commissioners were D. C. Beam, Freno Dilling, W. F. Falls, W. A. Mauney, and Dr. James W. Tracy. William A. Mauney became Kings Mountain’s first mayor.
1846-1936
1841-1929
In 1876, William T. R. Bell opened a school in Kings Mountain. Born in Virginia, Bell had served in the Civil War as 3rd Lieutenant of the 59th Virginia Volunteer Infantry and as 2nd Lieutenant of the 9th Virginia Volunteer Infantry. After the war ended, Bell moved to North Carolina and married.
In 1878, Bell added military training to the school’s curriculum. The name, Kings Mountain Military Academy, was short-lived–the school became the public high school of Kings Mountain. Bell was retained as principal. In 1885, Bell opened the Shelby Military Academy. Later, he served as as Captain in the Spanish-American War.
In 1882, the first steam-powered grist and saw mills began operating. Built by William Oates Ware, it was the town’s first major industry. In 1888, the Mauney brothers and Capt. Freno Dilling started the town’s first cotton mill–Kings Mountain Manufacturing Company.
Tin mining began in the late 1800s, followed by the mining of other ores into the 20th century.
The Bank of Kings Mountain received its state charter in January of 1900–the first chartered national bank in Cleveland County.
In 1903, a movement began to create a new county to be called King County, but the movement failed.
Bonnie Mauney Summers was the daughter of William A. and Candace Miller Mauney. She wrote a book on the town’s history–Kings Mountain: Her Background and Beginning, (About 1780-1920). Much of its content is reproduced in the booklet below.
The complete 90 page PDF file of the Kings Mountain Centennial booklet is here.
Scenes from Old Kings Mountain
Kings Mountain Schools are covered under the “Schools” tab.
KM Mayors
| mayor1 | term in office |
| W. A. Mauney | 1874; 1874-1877; 1879-1880; 1893-1895; 1899-1900 |
| R. S. Suggs | 1874 |
| Isaac W. Garrett | 1877-1879; 1887 |
| Alfred V. Falls | 1880-1881; 1882-1886 |
| W. T. R. Bell | 1881-1882 |
| J. K. Dixon | 1886-1887 |
| F. M. Garrett | 1887 |
| Hugh Parks Allison | 1887-1889 |
| William White | 1889-1890 |
| R. S. Plonk | 1890-1891; 1895-1896 |
| C. M. Nolen | 1891-1893 |
| William T. Bradford | 1896-1898 |
| J. T. White | 1898-1899 |
| L. T. Mann | 1900-1901 |
| Edward Lee Campbell | 1901-1905 |
| George W. Kendrick | 1905-1907 |
| John C. Patrick | 1907-1909 |
| Charles A. Dilling | 1909-1913 |
| Austin E. Cline | 1913-1917 |
| Wiley H. McGinnis | 1917-1920; 1921-1923; 1925-1931 |
| William A. Ware | 1920-1921 |
| Plato Durham Herndon | 1923-1925 |
| William Kemp Mauney | 1931-1933 |
| James E. Herndon | 1933-1939; 1949-1951 |
| Jonah B. Thomasson | 1939-1941 |
| Joseph High Thomson | 1941-1947 |
| H. Tom Fulton | 1947-1949 |
| Garland E. Still | 1951-1953 |
| Glee A. Bridges | 1953-1961; 1963-1965 |
| Kelly Dixon | 1961-1963 |
| John H. Moss | 1965-1987 |
| Kyle F. Smith | 1987-1991 |
| Scott Neisler | 1991-1999; 2015-2023 |
| Rick Murphrey | 2000-2015 |
| Rob Wagman | 2023- current |
| 1 This list was compiled in part by Scot Hull and Jim Matthews for The Shelby Daily Star, May 30, 1991 edition. |
| Additional Information on Kings Mountain |
| City of Kings Mountain, NC |
| Kings Mountain, NC Wikipedia entry |
| Kings Mountain Historical Museum |
Cleveland County History 