Abstract:
Encompassing some 466 square miles and ranging in altitude from 800 to 3000 feet, Cleveland County has a long history as an agricultural region specializing in cotton. Shifting to a more industrial and modernized region after the arrival of the railroad, Cleveland remains inhabited by a fairly conservative population. Known for having a strongly secessionist population during the 19th-century, Cleveland contributed some 2,035 troops to the Confederate cause.