Historic Shelby Foundation

05/28/2025

Thank you so much for those of you that took time out of your busy May schedule to visit our current project- The Norville House.

We can’t wait to continue to work on this home and wrap up this wonderful chapter of Historic Shelby Foundation history.

PS- our favorite part- being able to see the original mechanisms of the windows as they have been lovely restored.

05/14/2025

Are you ready to celebrate Historic Preservation Month with us?

We hope so, because you are invited to take a peek into all of the groundbreaking progress HSF has facilitated on The Norville House.

Take a self guided tour and chat with landscape architect Fred Blackley and head contractor David Stone.

Keep an eye on our stories for some throwback photos of this mill home in the heart of Shelby.

We can’t wait to see you!

08/08/2024

Historic preservation matters!

08/06/2024

An across the street view of the old Roger’s Theater on East Marion Street in Uptown Shelby in the mid-1970s.

The Roger’s is in the process of being restored and we can’t wait to see the transformation.

08/05/2024

Check out the The Earl Scruggs Center, right in the middle of Uptown Shelby in the historic courthouse building!

Housed in the beautifully restored 1907 historic Cleveland County Courthouse, the Earl Scruggs Center offers a variety of services and spaces for all types of special events. The Great Hall at the Earl Scruggs Center can be rented for a variety of uses including meetings, workshops, retreats, holiday parties, class reunions, weddings, showers, rehearsal dinners, anniversary celebrations or whatever else you want to celebrate! The Earl Scruggs Center team brings experience and the desire to make your event one of a kind and memorable for you and your guests.

If you’re interested in hosting your special event at the Earl Scruggs Center, please contact us at 704.487.6233 or email to arrange a consultation at [email protected].

08/01/2024

Historic property for sale in Shelby!

This property at 309 N. Washington Street was built in 1918 and has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It is within walking distance to Uptown Shelby. You can even see Uptown from the front porch!

Historic homes are vital as they preserve architectural heritage, offer a tangible connection to the past, and enrich communities by providing cultural and educational value.

07/30/2024

Today, we feature the Double Shoals Cotton Mill in Upper Cleveland County.

The Double Shoals Cotton Mill was built in 1874 and is the oldest cotton mill in Cleveland County. It is a 2 1/2-story brick building featuring a shallow-pitched side-gable roof and Italianate design elements. Additionally, the property includes a contributing mill race and dam, constructed around 1880. Other names for the mill were the Double Shoals Manufacturing Company and Lucky Strike Yarn Mill. The land and building were sold to the Morgan family in 1874 and this family continued to run the mill until 1919.

It operated as a cotton and yarn mill until the 1970s. In the 1980s, it operated as the furniture manufacturing plant for the chain restaurant, Chi Chis.

In 2016, the Faucher family purchased the mill and are continually renovating and refurbishing the building. They operate a custom car shop in the lower level and use the other spaces and outdoor spaces for music events, arts and crafts fairs, and other community and private gatherings.

So much history!

07/29/2024

Check out this amazing historic property for sale in Waynesville, NC!

07/24/2024

The Maple Street millhouse project is coming right along and it looks great with a fresh coat of paint.

Structural work, floor leveling, framing for baths and laundry, floor repairs, window restoration, and more are complete or underway.

Next up is getting quotes for plumbing, electrical, and HVAC.

07/22/2024

The Don Gibson Theatre sits on S. Washington Street and is an intimate concert venue with 400 seats that was fully restored in 2009. It is named after legendary singer/songwriter, Don Gibson, who helped influence country music as we know it. He is buried in Sunset Cemetery in Shelby.

Originally, this theatre was the State Theater, opened in 1939. The State Theater was designed in the Art Deco style and featured air conditioning, lush red carpeting, and plush seating for movie goers.

In the 1980s, the State converted with the times and became the Flick, a modern twin theater. As the downtown changed and more businesses moved to the highway and malls, the Flick closed and eventually became an antiques market until it sat empty for years.

The Don Gibson is one of Shelby’s favorite spots to be to hear Grammy award winning musicians, up and coming artists, and more, right in the center of the city.

07/22/2024

Love the details in the historic Royster House!

07/19/2024

Sitting at the center of Uptown Shelby is our historic courthouse. Built in 1907, this building is a three-story, rectangular Classical Revival-style building with a smooth ashlar veneer above a rusticated first floor. It features tetrastyle Corinthian order porticoes at each of the four entrances and a three-stage cupola atop the flat roof.

Courthouse offices moved to a new building in 1974, and the old courthouse now houses the Earl Scruggs Center. It was also home to the Cleveland County Historical Museum, which closed in 2004 and became the Earl Scruggs Center in 2014 after extensive interior renovations.

The Earl Scruggs Center weaves together the story of legendary five-string banjo master and Cleveland County native, Earl Scruggs, with the story of the history and cultural traditions of the region in which Mr. Scruggs was born and raised. It was in the nearby Flint Hill community where Mr. Scruggs learned to play banjo and began the three-finger playing style that has come to be known around the world as “Scruggs Style.”

The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is located in the Central Shelby Historic District.

Take a stroll through the square this week and admire the architecture of this historic building.