The Lawndale Railroad operated from 1899-1943. (Photos provided)

The Lawndale Historical Society will honor the former employees of Cleveland Mills at its seasonal opening on June 14 at 2:00 p.m. This event will be in the new meeting room at the museum located at 119 Piedmont Drive. Everyone is invited to attend as several of the employees share their memories of the mill and their co-workers. There will also be a pictorial display and a short video of the history of the mill.
It was 1873 when the first Cleveland Cotton Mill building was constructed, located on Knob Creek near where it emptied into the First Broad River. The two-room building, with secondhand machinery, was built and operated by Major H. F. Schenck. After Major Schenck met James E. Reynolds, a successful northern yarn merchant, the two men went into business together and built a new, larger plant in 1888 on the river at a new location, Lawndale. The name was changed to Cleveland Mill and Power Company. What started as a small yarn mill making thread and cloth, grew to include dyeing, bleaching, and finishing. (source: article by Jno. F. Schenck, Sr for Shelby Star, 1940)
Not only was Cleveland Cotton Mill the second mill operating in Cleveland County but as Cleveland Mill and Power Company they operated the first telephone switchboard in North Carolina. This switchboard could connect to a telephone at a bank in Shelby, a telephone at the Post Office and connect to the first cotton mill, which was located in Double Shoals. Additionally, the Cleveland Mill and Power Company built the Lawndale Railway and Industrial Company, which was a nine-mile, three-foot narrow-gauge railroad that operated between Shelby and Lawndale from 1899 to 1943. Initially, it was built by the mill to transport cotton and goods; later the train also hauled agricultural products and supplies, coal and general merchandise. There were even passengers traveling from Shelby to Lawndale on what was soon nicknamed the "Lawndale Dummy Line". The train, which was a steam engine, stopped at the Metcalf Station to service the Double Shoals Mill and to refuel with water. (source: Wikipedia)
Over the years Cleveland Mills, as it came to be called, was the major employer in Lawndale. Many men and women in Upper Cleveland worked in the mill until the mill's closure in 2003. This celebration on June 14 gives former employees and friends the opportunity to gather and recall their work and their co-workers. We hope you will join us.
The Lawndale Historical Society began in 1993 and the museum, which is located at 119 Piedmont Drive, the former Piedmont School location, was dedicated in 1995. A second museum, Metcalf Station, is located at 2940 Polkville Rd, Shelby. Artifacts and documents from former businesses, schools and churches are displayed at each location. Additionally, the Lawndale location has some original records from Cleveland Cotton Mill and the Metcalf location, which is the original train depot, has boxcar #313, a historic water tank and signal lights used by the train known as the Lawndale Dummy. Each of the museums have open summer hours and can be visited by appointment at other times of the year. Lawndale Museum: each Sunday from 2:00 - 4:00 pm from June until October. Metcalf Station: 1st and 3rd Sunday from 2:00 - 4:00 pm from June- October. Appointments can be made by contacting Theresa Lowe at 704-538-9304 or 704-466-0123 or Joe Southards at 704-435-2427 or John Sain 704-472-1212.