Newspapers

The first newspaper in the county was a four page, letter-size, weekly called Rip’s Pop Gun. Named for the nickname of its publisher, its circulation began in 1854; it is unknown how long it ran. In the same year, The Carolina Intelligencer began circulating. Edited and printed by A. J. Cansler, it was a Baptist denominational paper.

Over the next several decades, newspapers came and went. Dozens of Cleveland County newspapers have been digitized and can be accessed at DigitalNC.org or Chronicling America. Lincoln County newspapers can be accessed here. Rutherford County newspapers can be accessed here.

Below is a summary of historical newspapers, along with their publication periods, and first publishers and/or editors.

The Mountain Eagle, Shelby, NC; published weekly, 1861-1865.
Cleaveland Banner, Shelby, NC; 1871-1874
The Rural Chronicle, Waco, NC; 1884-18__
New Era, Shelby, NC; 188_-1889.
The Progressive Reformer, Kings Mountain, NC; 18__-1894.
Shelby Banner; 1874-1876.
Shelby Review, Shelby, NC; 1892-1894.
The Cleveland Star, Shelby, NC; 1894-1936.

William H. Miller established the Shelby Aurora in 1866. It was published longer than any other newspaper other than The Cleveland Star (which became The Shelby Daily Star, renamed Shelby Star, presently named The Star.)

Shelby Aurora; published weekly, 1875- June 26, 1911.
The Highlander, Shelby, NC; published semi-weekly, 1910-1915.
The Aurora-Highlander, Shelby, NC; x-1917.
The Highlander and Shelby News, 1920.
The Kings Mountain Herald, 1888-present.
Hot Off the Hoover Rail, Lawndale, NC; 1944-1945.
The Shelby Daily Star; 1936-1984.
The Foothills View, Boiling Springs, NC; 1981-1985.
The Shelby Shopper began publishing a weekly paper in 1983.

A Sampling of Local News Over the Years

Some of these articles have been automatically clipped from the online images, then organized into two or three columns for optimal display on your computer screen. As a result, they may not look exactly as they did on the original page. The articles can be seen in their original form by visiting the cited online source.

Antebellum Years, 1836-1861
  • 1838
  • 1841
  • 1846
  • 1861
  • 1861
The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1875
  • 1861
  • 1861
  • 1861
  • 1861
  • 1861
  • 1861
  • 1861
  • 1861
  • 1865
  • 1906. Nathaniel Abernathy had built the first mill in Cleveland County–the Double Shoals Mill in 1871.
  • 1871
  • 1875
  • 1875
  • 1875
  • 1875
  • 1875
  • 1875
The Rise of Industry, 1876-1890
  • 1879 – the shooting of Emily Hord Williams.
  • 1879
  • 1879
  • 1884
  • 1884
  • 1884
  • 1886
  • New Era, Oct. 19, 1887.
  • Feb. 15, 1888
The Progressive Era, 1890-1929
  • 1876
  • 1879
  • 1888
  • 1890
  • 1891
  • 1892
  • 1893
  • 1894
  • 1896
  • 1897
  • 1902
  • 1904
  • 1904, slide 1 of 3
  • 1904, slide 2 of 3
  • 1907
  • 1904, slide 3 of 3
  • 1905
  • 1906
  • 1906. Nathaniel Abernathy had built the first mill in Cleveland County–the Double Shoals Mill in 1871.
  • 1906
  • 1910
  • 1910
  • 1911
  • 1911
  • 1911
  • 1912
  • 1912
  • 1912
  • 1916
  • 1917
  • 1918
  • 1918
  • 1919
  • 1920
  • 1921
  • 1921
  • 1921
  • 1922
  • 1923
  • 1923
  • 1916 – the slogan goes back a long way.
  • 1923
  • 1922
  • 1924 – the 1st CC Fair
  • 1925
  • 1927
  • 1928
  • 1929
The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945
  • 1929
  • Long Branch School; 1930s.
  • Clipping from the collection of Greg Payseur.
  • 1933
  • 1933 article about the history of Casar School
  • 1935
  • 1936
  • Minette Mills Baseball Team; 1930s. From the collection of Greg Payseur.
  • 1935
  • Shelby High School, 1937.
  • 1945 – Train carrying FDR’s body travels through Grover and Kings Mountain.
  • 1945
  • 1945
Post-War, Civil Rights, and Cold War Era, 1945-1991
  • 1952. From the collection of John E. Barrett.
  • 1955
  • 1956
  • 1958
  • 1975

There were also earlier articles about people and events in the Charlotte and Raleigh newspapers of the day. Those may be found at Newspapers.com, although a paid subscription is required.

Radio

WOHS. The first radio station in Cleveland County started in 1946 as WOHS, 730 AM. Robert Wallace was the manager and soon turned over the programming to Hugh Dover. Dover had a popular morning show called “Carolina in the Morning.” One segment of his show was wishing happy birthday to those having a birthday, and so became known as the “Happy Birthday Man.”

The history of radio in Cleveland County continues here.