Work on the $10,000,000 steam plant of the Duke Power Company near Cliffside started Monday morning, with a skeleton crew of workmen, laying out the plans for construction of the temporary houses for the workmen, a construction office, a commissary, a mess hall and other temporary buildings.
[Don't get excited. The Monday morning to which the story refers was nearly 70 years ago, in 1939.]
 Back when Cliffside was brand spanking new, Mr. Raleigh put on a big show, the first fiddlers' convention ever held in Rutherford County. The top prize was only $7 but contestants came from as far away as Kentucky. It was some event.
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A tale of two photos, taken 53 years apart, about a tree, a street and a little girl's dreams.
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Were you there when Walter Dalton addressed the
crowd gathered at the Clock Tower in May 1988? In his wonderful
speech, he extolled the virtues and values of Cliffside and its
people. Here's a transcript.
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 In a conversation with Don Bailey, Daisy Wilson mentioned a long-forgotten band that was organized in Cliffside in the 1920s. His research appetite whetted, Don travelled to three county courthouses, visited several libraries and found and interviewed the lone surviving band member. And, on the Internet he found and purchased actual recordings of two of their songs. It's all here, the story, photos and recordings. Thanks, Don.
 In a conversation with Don Bailey, Daisy Wilson mentioned a long-forgotten band that was organized in Cliffside in the 1920s. His research appetite whetted, Don travelled to three county courthouses, visited several libraries and found and interviewed the lone surviving band member. And, on the Internet he found and purchased actual recordings of two of their songs. It's all here, the story, photos and recordings. Thanks, Don.
What do you know about the Second Broad, "Cliffside's" river?
From the book Cliffside: Portrait of a Carolina Mill Town:
“It is not a grand stream like the Mississippi or the Ohio, not worthy of a diary entry ('Today we crossed the mighty Second Broad'), but in the heyday of cotton mill towns and productive farms along its banks it served its purpose, and was a source of power and livelihood for those inclined to partake of its benefits.
“It begins as a trickle about 40 miles to the northwest near Marion in the hills of McDowell County. Like a cornered snake, it darts its way down into Rutherford, past Union Mills, Logan, Bostic, Forest City, then through Caroleen and Henrietta and ultimately into Cliffside, where, in a final spasm, it jerks itself into a double horseshoe curve. It slithers a few more miles to the southeast before emptying into the 'main' Broad River, which, after being further engorged by the muddy waters of the First Broad, pushes southward to join with the Saluda near Columbia.
“Perhaps the old river’s past was but a prelude to greater things. It is said plans are afoot to 'repurpose' the river and part of the old Cliffside mill to generate 'green' (purely hydro) energy, and to turn the river in the vicinity of Cliffside into a place that will attract new generations.”
More on the book >>
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Like all mill towns, Cliffside had a handful of home-grown musicians, but few had a man who could play like Dewey McDaniel. 
Did they destroy the town in order to save it? Cone Mills wanted the bypass built so that Cliffside wouldn't be "tied in knots" at changing time. Were they aware the closing of Main Street might be the final blow, killing the town entirely? The bypass tied in nicely into Cone's "redevelopment" plan. It should have been named the "undevelopment" plan, for it involved little more than tearing down all the buildings and trying to sell off the land mostly for trailer parks. 
He
was our principal from 1935 until 1969, a guiding force in many
of our lives. Here are a few memories about him. We welcome your
thoughts and reminiscencesabout this remarkable man.
Long after other towns got modern phone systems, Cliffside still made do with early-20th century equipment. Becky Callahan Scruggs tells what it was like and how it worked.
Back in the day, we resorted to all sorts of things to amuse ourselves: blackface minstrel shows, woman-less weddings and fashion shows, and donkey basketball games. 