Editing Cleveland, North Carolina (section)

==History==
The town dates from 1831 but was not incorporated until 1833.  The first post office in Cleveland—which was named Cowansville at that time—was established on 18 March 1831 with John Cowan the first postmaster. On 7 January 1856, prior to the US Civil War and the completion of the Western Carolina Railroad, the town was renamed to Rowan Mills. Rowan Mills was the name the nearby plantation owned by Osborn Giles Foard. Foard was also the first postmaster of the Rowan Mills Post Office.  The Rowan Mills Post Office served the area until 25 February 1884 when it was renamed to Third Creek. In the 1880 U.S. Census, there were 17 families and 89 persons living in the Third Creek community.  It was not until 2 March 1887 that the townspeople renamed the town after [[Grover Cleveland]], who is supposed to have visited the town during his presidential campaign.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://townofclevelandnc.gov/cleveland-community/history/|title=History of Cleveland, North Carolina|website=Town of Cleveland|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.carolana.com/NC/Towns/NC_POs_1785_to_1971_M_thru_Z.htm|title=Towns with post offices in North Carolina from 1785 to 1971|website=Carolana.com|access-date=July 2, 2022}}</ref><ref>U.S. Federal Census for Scotch Irish Township, Rowan County, North Carolina, pages 3-5, June 2–4, 1880</ref> William L. Allison was the first postmaster of both the Third Creek Post Office and the Cleveland Post Office.