Editing Shelby, North Carolina (section)

==History==
The area was originally inhabited by [[Catawba people|Catawba]] and [[Cherokee]] peoples and was later settled around 1760. The city was chartered in 1843 and named after Colonel [[Isaac Shelby]], a hero of [[Battle of Kings Mountain|the battle of Kings Mountain]] (1780) during the [[American Revolution]]. Shelby was agricultural until the railways in the 1870s stimulated Shelby's development.

In 1916, [[Thomas Dixon, Jr.]], the author of ''[[The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan]]'', planned to erect a statue of his uncle [[Leroy McAfee]] on the courthouse square.<ref name="gastoniacullingsstatue">{{cite news|title=Cleveland Cullings|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/73935871/?terms=%22Leroy%2BMcAfee%22|access-date=September 28, 2016|work=The Gastonia Gazette|location=Gastonia, North Carolina|date=September 22, 1916|page=7|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration |quote=The announcement that Thomas Dixon will erect a monument on the Shelby court square to the memory of Col. Leroy McAfee is hailed with delight.}}</ref><ref name="resentingdixonsplan">{{cite news|title=Cleveland County Is Resenting Dixon's Plan|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/76347713/?terms=%22Leroy%2BMcAfee%22|access-date=September 28, 2016|work=The Charlotte Observer|date=October 29, 1916|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration |quote=Whether or no Thomas Dixon suspected that such a project would meet with spirited opposition all over his home county and as a piece of news, become circulated widely by newspapers of the South, is another matter but if Mr Dixon wants to stir up things and keep his name before the public to better advertise his productive "The Fall of a Nation", he could not have selected anything more timely. Mr Dixon proposed to erect this monument to Colonel McAfee in Shelby, the county seat of Cleveland County, where "Tommy" was "brought up" and to include a Ku Klux masque.}}</ref> The project was initially met with enthusiasm,<ref name="gastoniacullingsstatue" /> until it was announced that Dixon wanted the statue to be wearing a [[Ku Klux Klan]] mask.<ref name="resentingdixonsplan" /> A Confederate monument is located on the west side of the courthouse square, while foreign war monuments stand on the north and south sides.

Nevertheless, the [[Ku Klux Klan]] did have a significant presence in Shelby in the 1870s and its crimes were the subject of depositions<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=Albion |title=Depositions from Some of the Victims of the Ku Klux, 1871–1872 |date=1871–1872 |publisher=Unpublished manuscript |location=Shelby, N.C. |url=https://archive.org/details/howe-a-kkkdepositions-f-600grey-bmwm/mode/1up |access-date=31 December 2023}}</ref> and affidavits<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=Albion |title=Book of Affidavits of Numerous Outrages in the Same Vicinity |date=1871–1872 |publisher=Unpublished manuscript |location=Shelby, N.C. |url=https://archive.org/details/howe-kkkcollected-exhibits-wm/mode/1up |access-date=31 December 2023}}</ref> collected by Captain Albion Howe (1841–1873) of the 4th Regiment Artillery.

[[File:Shelby, 1925.png|thumb|right|Shelby in 1925]]
Textiles later became its chief industry during the [[1920s]], when production of cotton in [[Cleveland County, North Carolina|Cleveland County]] rose from 8,000 to 80,000 bales a year. Cotton production peaked in 1948 with Cleveland County producing 83,549 bales, making it North Carolina's premier cotton county. In the [[1930s]], Shelby was known as "The Leading Shopping Center between Charlotte and Asheville". People from surrounding counties came to Shelby to shop, since there were numerous types of local and chain stores. By 1947, Shelby was a true thriving town with the mills paying among the highest wages in the South. In the [[1950s]], droughts, insect infestations, and government acreage controls resulted in the decline of cotton as Cleveland County's primary crop.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/shelby/history.htm|title=National register of historic places|website=NPS.Gov}}</ref>

Shelby was home to a group of political leaders in the first half of the 20th century, that have become known as the "Shelby Dynasty." These political leaders wielded power through the local, State and Federal governments. The most notable of Shelby's political leadership were brothers [[James L. Webb]] and [[Edwin Y. Webb|Edwin Yates Webb]] and brothers-in-law [[Oliver Max Gardner|O. Max Gardner]] and [[Clyde R. Hoey]]. As governors, NC representatives, and US congressman, the group impacted Shelby life and Shelby's reputation throughout the state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/shelby/dynasty.htm|title=Shelby Dynasty Essay: Shelby, North Carolina: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref>

The architecture of Shelby is noteworthy in that despite being in a rural area, there are magnificent homes and buildings with unique character. Some buildings are county landmarks, such as the [[Historic Campbell Building]] and others are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]: [[Banker's House]], [[Joshua Beam House]], [[Central Shelby Historic District]], [[Cleveland County Courthouse (Shelby, North Carolina)|Cleveland County Courthouse]], [[East Marion-Belvedere Park Historic District]], [[James Heyward Hull House]], [[Masonic Temple Building (Shelby, North Carolina)|Masonic Temple Building]], [[Dr. Victor McBrayer House]], [[George Sperling House and Outbuildings]], [[Joseph Suttle House]], [[Webbley]], and [[West Warren Street Historic District]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>