Patterson Springs, NC

Patterson Springs is a small Cleveland County town at the southern end of the joined NC 180 and NC 226 routes. Before the present name took hold, the settlement was known as Swangs, a farming community with a train depot and post office. William George Patterson bought land containing three springs from the Epps family, and the springs helped give the community its later name. Railroad officials and postal workers adopted Patterson Springs in the 1880s after the older name caused confusion.

The town’s boundaries remain unusually compact: North Carolina’s incorporation law centered them on a half-mile circle around the highway intersection. That crossroads still gives Patterson Springs its practical shape, connecting local roads with Shelby and the southern Cleveland County countryside. A large Ticona polymer facility lies near the town, even though its mailing address is associated with Shelby, adding an industrial presence to a place otherwise marked by farms, houses, and the old spring-centered settlement story. That history remains visible in the name.