Director

In the late 1940s it had become apparent that African Americans in Shelby lived a life that was more or less isolated from that of the white community. Segregation had an effect on every aspect of African American life at the time. This was somewhat most apparent when it came to recreation. In 1949 Holly Oak Park was built as a recreation space for the African American community of Shelby. Around this same time the Washington Theater was constructed which marked the first and only theater dedicated to the African American community. The other theaters in Shelby were segregated to where African Americans were confined to balcony seating which wasn't the case in the Washington Theater. The theater would go on to serve the community until the late 1960s when integration had begun in Shelby.

More Info

     Originally Constructed in the late 1940s by two white men from Shelby, the Washington Theater quickly cemented itself as a staple of the community in east Shelby.  Ownership transitioned to the Dillingham family, the Washington Theater was the only theater in Cleveland County to allow all seating to African Americans during segregation. This entertainment center regularly put on shows featuring musicians and singers, often regionally or nationally known. 

The Washington Theater

A tour of important sites of African American Heritage in Cleveland County, NC

Cleveland High School began as the Cleveland Training School which was a two-room schoolhouse that was constructed on this site to replace a one-room structure that was located behind Sunset Cemetery. The 1895 school was replaced in 1920, and that school burned in 1926. This led to the construction of a new school supported by the Rosenwald Fund in 1927. In 1935, additional classrooms were built to accommodate the growing community in East Shelby. As the community continued to grow, a new addition was completed in 1951 which added more classrooms, offices, and a cafeteria. An auditorium was also built at this time. In 1960, a gymnasium was constructed which was the final improvement made to the building. As the county began to integrate schools, the building was converted to a middle schools and then was closed in 1977.

This structure was at one time the Cleveland High School which served the African American community of Shelby from 1895 until the mid-1960s when Cleveland County began to integrate its public schools. The school was open for sixth graders until 1977. Throughout this time the building underwent many changes as the African American population of East Shelby began to grow in the 1920s as jobs in local mills became more readily available.

Cleveland Training School and Cleveland High School (1895-1960s)

Dockery Funeral Home serves as a testament to the opportunities afforded African Americans during the era of segregation in the South. Carl Dockery and Sherman Enloe both became some of the earliest business owners in the fledgling Freedmon community of East Shelby in the 1920s and 1930s. Being a mortician was one of the few opportunities afforded African American men during segregation as funeral homes tended to be segregated spaces. Segregation meant that some of the only jobs African Americans could get with a college degree were Clergy, Morticians, and educators. Both Dockery and Enloe were college educated in order to learn the mortician trade.

     The Dockery family owned one of the oldest funeral homes in the county and were the first to sell burial insurance to African Americans.  The original structure on Buffalo St. in the Freedmon Community of East Shelby is still standing as a testament to the early history of the African American community there.

Dockery Funeral Home

Organized in March 1926 in the home of Fess and Flora Young, the first meeting of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church was presided over by G.E. Hogue, moderator of the Gold Hill Association. Rev. Hogue read the covenant and articles of faith, and declared the church properly organized. Mr. Fess Young motioned to name the church Mount Calvary, and the name was adopted. 	Initially, the church held services in other church buildings. The new church building was completed in February 1928 and the first service was held on the third Sunday of that month. The cost of the church building, including land and furnishings, was approximately $4,000.

Organized in March 1926 in the home of Fess and Flora Young, a small group of members adopted the name Mount Calvary and initially held services in other church buildings. The new Mount Calvary Baptist Church was completed in February 1928 and cost approximately $4,000. The structure exists on Carolina Avenue in the Freedmon community of East Shelby.  Carolina Avenue was at one time one of the epicenters of the African American community.

Mt. Calvary Baptist Church

Shiloh Baptist Church began its life as a Vacation Bible School shortly after the Civil War. Oral tradition states that this group splintered from other African American Churches in order to form their own church. This would be an ongoing theme for subsequent churches opened within the African American community of Shelby. Shiloh moved into its first formal building in the late 1880s which was at 413 Weathers St. in the Freedmon community of East Shelby. After a significant amount of growth the church would then be moved to where it currently stands on Frederick St. in 1960. The old building was then sold and became a part of Genesis Funeral Home.

     The Shiloh Baptist Church began its life as a Sunday School formed by African Americans just after the Civil War ended in 1865.  The small following quickly began to grow a community in West Shelby and the decision was made to begin a church.  The first location for the church was at the corner of Logan and Weathers Sts. By 1960, what began as a congregation of fourteen, had quickly outgrown its original home and built its current day structure off of Frederick St.  The church at 413 Weathers St. was then purchased for use as a part of Genesis Funeral Home.

Shiloh Baptist Church

In 1922 at age 22, Enloe became licensed as a funeral director and established the funeral home. Later, in 1926, he became a founding member of the N.C. Funeral Directors and Morticians Association. In 1923, Mr. Enloe married Jennie Lee Friday of Dallas, NC, and she became the first Black licensed beautician in Cleveland County. Mrs. Enloe worked side by side with her husband at the funeral home, serving Black families in Cleveland County and beyond. The Enloes had three children, Sherwood Jr, Elsie, and Shirley Gwendolyn. Sherwood T. Enloe,Jr., known as Bubba, worked in the family business as a licensed funeral director and embalmer until his death in 1982. His son, Kevin, completed his studies at Gupton Jones in Atlanta, Ga in 1983, and currently operates the family business.

     Enloe Mortuary on N. Lafayette St., the oldest African American-owned funeral home in Cleveland County, was established by Sherwood T. Enloe, Sr, one of the first Black businesspersons in the county. Still in operation, Enloe Mortuary is the longest-running Black owned business in Cleveland County.  Sherman and his wife were also civic leaders in the African American community.


Enloe Mortuary

In 1942 James Camp Sr. an African American farmer sought to organize Camp School for African American students in the southern part of Cleveland County. Camp donated the land in order to construct the school as he was one of the larger landowners in the area. The school began its life as a two story wooden structure where students were taught normal classes as well as courses in Home Economics and Agriculture to better prepare them for life after graduation. The small school celebrated its first graduates in 1943, however, Camp would not support a 12th grade until 1947. By 1960 the school had been fully renovated to what it looks like today. In 1968 the last class graduated from Camp which was then consolidated into nearby Crest Highschool.

Camp School served African American students in the small farming community of Shoal Creek, which is located in the southern part of Cleveland County, during segregation.  It was one of the schools which closed with consolidation of schools during integration in 1967.  Today the building which formerly housed the school serves as a food distribution center for Crossroads Rescue Mission located in Shelby.

Camp School

Hoppers Chapel Baptist Church began in the early 1940s with prayer meetings held in various homes in the neighborhood, with the first being in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Odell Hutley on Hickory Street. The prayer meetings spread throughout the neighborhood in homes on Minden, Jose, Martin, and Blanton Streets and the gathering grew into a much larger group. To accommodate the growth of the congregation, the church was able to obtain a building on Minden Street, owned by Mr. Ed McCurry. Rev. J.H. Holmes was called to be the church’s first pastor and Mrs. Sarah Martin was elected as church secretary. Deacons included Mr. John Eaves, Mr. John Broadus Hopper, Mr. Henry Foster, Mr. Lonnie Whitworth, Mr. John Myers, and Mr. Samuel Grier. Elected trustees were Mr. Odell Hutley and Mr. John Bryant. Mrs. Viola Smith was elected the church’s first treasurer. The building required many repairs, most done by congregation member John B. Hopper. As a result, the church was named Hoppers Chapel Baptist Church in his honor.

     Hoppers Chapel Baptist Church began in the early 1940s with prayer meetings held in various homes in the neighborhood around Minden, Jose, Martin, and Blanton Streets, with the first being in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Odell Hutley.  As the congregation grew, they obtained a building and called Rev. J.H. Homes as the first pastor.  The church was named Hoppers Chapel Baptist Church in honor of Mr. John B. Hopper, a member of the congregation. 


Hopper's Chapel Baptist Church

The Douglas Academy was built in 1902 through a collaboration between Black farmer James Wells, and Emily Prudden who was one of the most prolific builders of African American schools in North Carolina prior to the Rosenwald Fund. The original school building functioned as a boarding school and was a three story structure. The Douglas Academy was originally an all girls school until a boys dormitory called the Clarkson Home for Boys was constructed by Jim Wells, a brother of James, just down the road from the main campus later moving to the same property.  	Over the years the original buildings would be torn down due to age which led to the construction of the building that would become Douglas Highschool which is still in existence today as a part of the Lawndale First Baptist Campus.

Today Douglas Highschool serves as a part of the First Baptist Church of Lawndale.  However, 120 years ago it was a premiere boarding school provided with the help from Emily Prudden of the American Missionary Association at a time when public education for African American children in North Carolina was virtually unheard of.

Douglas Academy/ Douglas High School (1902-1967)

Beginning around 1888, African American youth residing in Kings Mountain attended classes in the Bynum A.M.E. Zion Church led by one teacher. This endeavor, organized by Reverend A.L. Martin and church elders, was the town’s primary African American educational instruction until the 1920s. At that time, the school system solicited public donations and subsidies from the Rosenwald Fund to construct a new graded school. In 1926, contractors completed Kings Mountain School, a one-story, gable-roofed, brick, H-plan, five-classroom building for $10,500. The local African American and white communities contributed $500 each, the Rosenwald Fund $1,300, and the school system paid the remaining $8,200.82. 	Reverend J.W. Roberts served as principal, assisted by his wife, Ida, who also taught in the school. R.J. Davidson next assumed leadership, and in 1934, on the recommendation of the Parent Teacher Association, the school system renamed the campus in his honor. During the 1934-1935 term, Davidson’s faculty consisted of two high school educators and seven elementary school instructors. High school enrollment comprised of eighty-one students, twelve of whom graduated. The faculty distribution remained the same in June 1941, when one male and six female teachers oversaw the elementary. Davidson and two male faculty members instructed seventy-one high school pupils, nine of whom successfully completed the course of study. High school students occupied four of eleven classrooms, participated in extracurricular activities including athletics and drama, glee, and literary clubs, and published a newspaper called The Guidepost. 	During the 1949-1950 academic term, Davidson School enrolled 164 first through eighth grade African American pupils taught by principal John Albert Gibson and five female teachers. Daily attendance averaged 146 students. Extracurricular activities included athletics, drama, and hobby clubs. High school attendance was around 70 students under the tutelage of two female teachers and one male teacher. Facility improvements included front sidewalk installation and associated landscaping. In 1954, contractors finished a one-story, flat-roofed, Modernist, six-classroom, elementary school building designed by architect James L. Beam. In 1959-1960, Gibson and three instructors taught 77 high school students, sixteen of whom graduated. 	In 1961, Kings Mountain School District’s consolidation of rural and urban schools resulted in Davidson High School students being bused to Compact School. First through eighth grades remained at Davidson School, which operated until 1968. That year, Kings Mountain School District demolished the 1926 Rosenwald School. The 1954 elementary school functioned briefly as a campus for students with special needs before being renovated to serve as the district’s administrative offices from 1969.

From the late 1880s until 1926, the primary educational opportunity for African American youth in Kings Mountain was offered at the Bynum A.M.E. Zion Church and led by one teacher. In 1926, Kings Mountain School, a five-classroom building, was completed and the campus was renamed Davidson School in 1934. The school continued to serve African American students until 1961, when Kings Mountain School District consolidated rural and urban schools and all students were transferred to Compact School. The main building of Davidson School served as the district’s administrative offices starting in 1969. 

Davidson Elementary School

In 1872, African American farmer Peter Forney donated acreage to allow for Compact School’s construction and chaired the twelve-man committee that oversaw its establishment and operation. Local families agreed to a tuition rate of $2.50 per month for four-month terms, payable in cash or its equivalent value of wheat, 2 ½ bushels. This tuition money subsidized the building’s completion and paid white educator Hill Culp a monthly salary of $25.00.  Volunteers crafted benches and long tables to serve as desks. Thirty-five students, including Peter and Clara Forney’s daughter, Lavinia, enrolled in the inaugural term in July 1872. Culp headed the school until 1877, when Lavinia assumed its oversight. She remained the only teacher through 1904, instructing fifty children in a 20x30” frame building. In 1905-1906, Reverend R.H. Simmons received a $20 per month salary to teach 94 Compact School students.  In the 1920s, the Cleveland County Board of Education solicited public donations and received subsidies from the Rosenwald Fund to erect new buildings on African American school campuses. As a result, Compact School students benefited from the construction of a frame school in 1922 and the hip-roofed, weatherboarded, three-classroom building in 1924-1925. The project cost $3,200 and of that, the local African American community contributed $500, the Rosenwald Fund $900, and the Board of Education the remaining $1,800.75.  In 1940, Compact School included two one-story buildings and enrolled 325 African American students. In 1954-1955, Adams (who?) and four teachers educated 109 high school students, 21 of whom completed their course of study. Campus improvements included installing an instructor’s science table, electric water fountains, and landscaping. During the 1955-1956 term, Adams and five faculty members taught 107 high school students. Facility updates underway at that time included painting existing buildings and erecting additions of two classrooms, administrative offices, a lunchroom, a library, and a “gymtarium,” a combination gymnasium an auditorium completed in April 1957. During the 1959-1960 school year, Principal Adams and five instructors taught 106 high school students, nineteen of whom graduated. The Cleveland County Board of Education built an additional freestanding classroom building in 1960.

     In 1872, African American farmer Peter Forney donated acreage for the building of Compact School and oversaw the construction and initial operation of the institution. The school opened in July 1872 with thirty-five students paying tuition of $2.50 per month. Additions were made to the campus in 1920 with help from the Rosenwald Fund (last two photographs), 1940, and late 1950s. By 1960, the high school enrolled over 100 students.      

Cleveland County African American Heritage Trail

The Washington Theater

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information