Cleveland Township, Rowan County, North Carolina


Cleveland Township is one of fourteen townships in Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. The township had a population of 2,817 according to the 2010 census.
Geographically, Cleveland Township occupies in western Rowan County. The only incorporated municipality in Cleveland Township is the town of Cleveland. The township's western border is with Iredell County.
Residents are served by the Rowan–Salisbury School System and the township is home to Mt Ulla Elementary School.

History

Name Origin

In 1831 the first post office in the general vicinity of present-day Cleveland was established. It was named Cowansville.
In 1850 before Western North Carolina Railroad was built, the post office and thus the town in the vicinity of present-day Cleveland was called Rowan Mills, getting its name from a large five-story flour milled owned by A.G.Ford. After the construction of WNC Railroad, the railroad station was named Third Creek. The post office and town kept their name Rowan Mills until 1876 when the town was incorporated and renamed into Third Creek. In 1884 township people, who were all Democrat except for three people, decided to rename the town to Cleveland, in honor of Grover Cleveland, the first Democratic President elected since the Civil War.

Adjacent townships