[graphic] National Park Service Arrowhead and link to NPS.gov [graphic] Shelby, North Carolina a National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary [graphic] rotating images of Shelby
 [graphic] Link to Shelby Home Page  [graphic] Link to List of Sites  [graphic] Link to Maps  [graphic] Link to Essays  [graphic] Link to Learn More Page  [graphic] Link to Itineraries Home Page  [graphic] Link to NR Home Page
[Graphic} Property Title
[graphic] Link to  Next  Site

[photo] The Cleveland County Courthouse Square is the focal point of the Central Shelby Historic District, and is surrounded by several blocks of late 19th- and early 20th-century commercial architecture
Photos courtesy of Uptown Shelby Association

The Central Shelby Historic District encompasses the historic civic, commercial and residential core of Shelby. The architectural centerpiece of the district is the Cleveland County Courthouse, and the public square surrounding it. Shelby's initial town limits included all land within a quarter mile from the center of the courthouse, the first of which was built in 1845. At that time, Shelby was a tiny hamlet clustered around the square. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Shelby's central business district developed around this square and residential neighborhoods for Shelby's leading industrialists, merchants and professionals developed to the south and west. Influential North Carolina Democratic politicians, known as the "Shelby Dynasty," lived and worked in this historic section of Shelby, including Governor O. Max Gardner, Governor Clyde R. Hoey, James L. Webb, E.Y. Webb and others who held State and local offices.

[photo] The Blankton-Eskridge House is typical of those found in the Central Shelby Historic District
Photo courtesy of Uptown Shelby Association

As the county seat of a major cotton producing county, Shelby experienced commercial and industrial growth stimulated by the county's agricultural production and prosperity, with the greatest amount of growth occurring after 1900. This growth over time is reflected in the range of architectural styles found in the historic district. The central business district includes many turn-of-the-century brick commercial buildings, with traces of their original detailing, as well as many notable edifices such as the Masonic Temple and the Rogers' Theater Block dating from the 1920s and 1930s when Shelby saw its greatest commercial growth. The wide tree-lined streets of the residential neighborhoods include fine examples of the Greek Revival, Second Empire, Gothic, Colonial Revival and Bungalow architecture. Most of the commercial and institutional buildings in the district constructed after the 1930s were designed by local architect V.W. Breeze, who worked primarily in the Georgian Revival and Moderne styles, such as his designs for Shelby City Hall and the former Shelby High School. Few buildings in the district were completed after World War II. Today, the well-preserved buildings of the Central Shelby Historic District reflect the popular architectural tastes and pragmatic economics of four generations of Shelby's leading families.

The Central Shelby Historic District extends west and south from Courthouse Square along W. Marion and S. Washington sts., roughly bounded at the north by Marietta, at the south by E. Elm St., and on the west by N. Thompson St.; the district also includes several blocks along W. Warren St. southwest of the courthouse. Refer to the Central Shelby Historic District Map for the exact boundaries of the district. The focal point of the district, the Cleveland County Courthouse, now the Cleveland County Historical Museum, is open to the public as are many of the commercial buildings during normal business hours.

 [graphic] link to History of Shelby essay  [graphic] link to Shelby Dynasty essay  [graphic] link to Preservation in Shelby essay

 

Shelby Home | List of Sites | Maps| Learn More | Itineraries | NR HomeNext Site
Essays: History of Shelby | Shelby Dynasty| Preservation in Shelby|

[graphic] National Park Service Arrowhead and link to nps.gov

If you like this page, e-mail it to someone:

Comments or Questions

JPJ/RQ/SB