Downtown Shelby is characterized by blocks of historic commercial buildings like the Gardner-Webb Building Photo courtesy of Uptown Shelby Association

The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places in partnership with the Uptown Shelby Association, Historic Shelby Foundation, North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), proudly invite you to explore Shelby, North Carolina. Located in the southwest corner of the state, 40 miles west of Charlotte and 70 miles east of Asheville, Shelby is best known as the home base of a powerful, political organization, known as the Shelby Dynasty, that controlled North Carolina state government for more than a quarter of the 20th century. Shelby is within the North Carolina Piedmont belt (part of an upland plateau extending from Virginia to Alabama) at the center of Cleveland County. Established as the county seat in 1843, Shelby grew from a charming hamlet, to a thriving town. Today, the city has a population of approximately 20,000 people and covers 14 square miles. This travel itinerary highlights 29 historic places listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Shelby and its surrounding towns that reflect Shelby's history as an agricultural, industrial, cultural and political center.

Cleveland County Courthouse, Shelby's focal point Photo courtesy of Uptown Shelby Association

Shelby derived its name from Colonel Issac Shelby, an American officer in the Revolutionary War, and hero of the famous battle fought at nearby King's Mountain. To the west lies the Blue Ridge; to the north the South Mountains and South Mountain State Park; and to the east the low King's Mountain Range, Kings Mountain and Crowder's Mountain State Parks and Kings Mountain National Military Park (NPS) Shelby's picturesque architecture is representative of many a small town in North Carolina and its streets bear the names of Revolutionary heroes such as Washington, Lafayette, Marion, Warren, DeKalb, Sumter, Morgan and Graham. Many distinguished figures have come from Shelby: Governor O. Max Gardner (1923-1933) who also became Undersecretary of the Treasury and Ambassador to Great Britain; Governor Clyde R. Hoey (1937-1941), also a U.S. Senator; Congressman and Federal Judge E.Y. Webb; 1924 Pulitzer Prize winner Hatcher Hughes; and authors W.J. Cash and Tom Dixon, Jr. Also from Cleveland County were famous boxer, Floyd Patterson; 1970s disco singer, Alicia Bridges; and movie producer, Earl Owensby. In 1970, Shelby was named an "All American City" and in 1980 it was named one of the original five National Main Street communities by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Today Shelby's Uptown boasts wide, tree-lined streets where pedestrians and shoppers can stroll and enjoy the many specialty shops and restaurants.

The Shelby, North Carolina, travel itinerary offers several ways to discover the places that reflect the town's history. Each highlighted site features a brief description of the place's historic significance, color photographs, and public accessibility information. At the bottom of each page the visitor will find a navigation bar containing links to three essays that explain more about the History of Shelby, the Shelby Dynasty and Preservation in Shelby. These essays provide historic background, or "contexts," for the places included in the itinerary. In the Learn More section, the itinerary links to regional and local web sites that provide visitors with further information regarding cultural events, special activities, and lodging and dining possibilities. The itinerary can be viewed online, or printed out if you plan to visit Shelby in person.

Historic buildings of the Central Shelby Historic District, including the offices of the Uptown Shelby Association on the left Photo courtesy of Uptown Shelby Association

Created through a partnership between the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, Uptown Shelby Association, Historic Shelby Foundation, North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office and NCSHPO, Shelby, North Carolina, is the latest example of a new and exciting cooperative project. As part of the Department of the Interior's strategy to promote public awareness of history and encourage tourists to visit historic places throughout the nation, the National Register of Historic Places is cooperating with communities, regions, and Heritage Areas throughout the United States to create online travel itineraries. Using places nominated by State, Federal and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the itineraries help potential visitors plan their next trip by highlighting the amazing diversity of this country's historic places and supplying accessibility information for each featured site. Shelby, North Carolina, is the 31st National Register travel itinerary successfully created through such partnerships. Additional itineraries will debut online in the future. The National Register of Historic Places hopes you enjoy this virtual travel itinerary of Shelby, North Carolina. If you have any comments or questions, please just click on the provided e-mail address, "comments or questions" located at the bottom of each page.