Cleveland, NC

Cleveland dates to 1831, when its first post office opened under the name Cowansville. By 1850, the place was being called Rowan Mills, a nod to the large flour mill owned by A.G. Cowan, before Cleveland became the lasting name. The town was incorporated in 1833 and remains the only incorporated town in western Rowan County. That sequence gives Cleveland a layered history for its size: post office, mill, then town. If you’re orienting yourself, think western Rowan County, old mill-country roots, and a small North Carolina town whose name arrived after two earlier versions.