Cleveland (county)

Transcription

[Music playing] His name was Colonel Benjamin Cleveland American patriot, military commander, and the man for whom one of the Carolina's most remarkable counties would one day be named. In 1780, things were looking bad for the American patriots. The colonists loyalties were sharply divided and many felt there was no way the upstart nation could defeat the well-armed and well-trained British forces, but all that would change, at Kings Mountain. [Gunshots] It was there, a diverse group of patriot and civilian militias would come together under the leadership of various commanders, among them, Colonel Benjamin Cleveland. On October the 7th, 1780 he was one the officers who led his militia into the famous battle. [Colonel yelling. Guns fired.] The fighting was fierce, but short, lasting just over an hour. When it was finished, over 240 British loyalists had been killed, including their commander, Major Patrick Ferguson. It was a resounding victory for the Patriots and as his trophy, Colonel Cleveland took the British commander's prized white horse. [Horse neighing] [Soldiers yelling] Pull! Fire! [Piano music] After the Battle of Kings Mountain, the American patriots would never again lose hope in their cause. It was on this day, that the determination to succeed as a new nation was re-established, and turned the course of the American Revolution. While the region's place in history was now secured, Cleveland County's place on the map was not quite worked out yet. It was sixty years later, in 1841 when Cleveland County was officially formed from parts of Lincoln and Rutherford counties. The new area was named Cleveland County, in honor the Revolutionary War hero. That spelling by the way, with the additional A, would remain the name until 1887, when the spelling would officially be changed to the present day, Cleveland. Two years after the county was formed, the town of Shelby - named after Isaac Shelby, another hero of the Kings Mountain Battle, was created as the county seat. [Music playing] Almost from the beginning, textile seemed destined to be an important part of Cleveland County's history. Carl: I love the architecture of these old mill buildings. Now this one particularly, cause in 1855 on this very property, the very first documented textile mill in Cleveland County was built and it was powered by this river. It's exciting to think about it. This was the very spot that an industry started that would revolutionize Cleveland County. From very humble beginnings, textiles would eventually grow to become the economic backbone of Cleveland County, but it wasn't the only thing that made them famous. We're at the Webbley House in Shelby This is where the Shelby dynasty got started. Back at the first part of the 20th century, this was the home of O. Max Gardner, the 57th governor of the state of North Carolina, and one of the founding members of what was called The Shelby Dynasty, or sometimes, The Cleveland County Dynasty. The name of this place itself speaks to this connection. The house was called Webbley, after members of his wife's family; his wife Fay Lamar Web, who was the daughter of Judge Web, and the niece of Congressman Web. They were among a long list of political leaders to come out of Cleveland Country. And through these very doors, would walk some of the most powerful and influential state and national leaders in America. Leaders like Clyde R. Hoey, elected to Congress in December of 1919, to fill the vacancy created when Edward Y. Web -- that's O. Max Gardner's wife's uncle, by the way -- vacated the seat, because he had been appointed a federal judge by President Woodrow Wilson, who he would go on to follow in Gardner's political footsteps, becoming North Carolina's 59th governor, before eventually becoming a United States Senator. As for O. Max Gardner himself, well, after being governor he would go on to be an adviser and speechwriter for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Later, President Harry S. Truman would appoint him Undersecretary of the Treasury and after that, Ambassador to Great Britain. There's no doubt that Cleveland County has produced an exceptional number of political leaders. It's a proud tradition and one that continues today. On January the 14th 2015, Tim Moore, of Kings Mountain, was appointed speaker of the North Carolina General Assembly. [Guitar playing] It was in 1872 that the train first came to Cleveland County. This is about seven years after the Civil War, and when she pulled into Shelby, it was a deal changer, because for the first time, people who were growing cotton and making textiles they no longer had to depend just on the horse and wagon. They had something really big to take their products to the world. [Strings music playing] Advances in transportation,along with the availability of skilled labor turned Cleveland County into an economic powerhouse. Between 1920 and 1930, the population grew by over 50 percent, and for good reason. Nothing like walking in the cotton fields. I think we all love cotton. This is the plant that turns into the things that, well, we enjoy. This is a cotton jacket I'm wearing. It's amazing how this small plant literally created an entire industry. Cotton is no longer picked by hand. It's picked by machines, which makes the whole process a lot easier. but it was this plan that was called the king, and it turned Cleveland County into a textile leader in America. And guess what? Textiles are still made in Cleveland County. [Music playing] Located in Kings Mountain, STI specializes in upholstery for the furniture industry, and is the largest promotional fabric producer in the country. Since 1989, they've called Cleveland County home. John K. is the present of STI and a man with a long, personal connection to the textile industry. He took me around the facility for a behind-the-scenes look at what they do. So now John, your family has been in this business for a long time? Yes, I'm the third generation in the textile industry in my family. I've been in since 1986. This is just a great area with great history and tradition, both militarily and then also in textiles. And now Cleveland County is following that up with great expansion [work]. The government of Kings Mountain is very supportive of local industry. They support us with services from gas, to electric, to water and the latest thing we're doing is dark fiber, which will be used to provide our internet. [Music playing] [Narrative] The county does a lot to support businesses here, but with over 200 employees, John will tell you the most important part of any company success, is the people. John: We've got some of the best employees in the industry. It's really about the people here in manufacturing. They're educated. They do skilled jobs and they work hard. They take pride in the jobs and pride in the quality of the products that they're producing. What's this lady doing? She is making a warp. A warp goes in the back of the loom and is used to weave the fabric. When you weave fabric, it's done at ninety degree angles, the warp in one direction and the weft in the other direction. Carl: Okay. And then I'll bring it down here and they'll put latex on the back of the fabric to lock it all in place. So this the back? Yup. This is the back of the cloth and the latex will be put on top of the cloth and then scraped off with a knife. so we get the correct amount of latex on there. Wow, that's incredible. Wow, so this is what we were seeing on the other end. And now its dried out and ready for inspection. John: Correct. I've heard people talk about all the manufacturing has gone overseas. Why is it coming back now? What's happening to make that take place? A lot of reshoring is going on right now. So business that had been lost to China is now coming back to the US. So, I see growth, especially in our industry. The product coming out of China is not as competitive as it was before. They have increases in the currency exchange rate, labor rates, environmental issues are making it harder and harder for them to compete. We expect the next five to seven years to be very good for business. [Music playing] John: Great people and manufacturing is what made this country strong and manufacturing is what will continue to make it strong. Fabric producers, like STI, remain an important part of Cleveland County's economy, but these days, there's a lot more going on here than just textiles. When we come back, you'll be surprised by just what all gets made here in Cleveland County.