Editing Clay County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
[[File:The historic Clay County Courthouse in downtown Hayesville, North Carolina on June 26, 2022.jpg|thumb|Former [[Clay County Courthouse (North Carolina)|Clay County Courthouse]] in Hayesville]]

===Early inhabitants===
The area that became Clay County has long been occupied by indigenous people. An earthwork [[platform mound]] was built around 1000 CE in modern-day Hayesville, likely by people of the [[South Appalachian Mississippian culture]] as the center of their village. The [[Cherokee]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] later constructed a town known as ''Quanassee'' at the site.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Duncan |first1=Barbara R. |title=Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook |last2=Riggs |first2=Brett H. |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2003 |isbn=0-8078-5457-3 |location=Chapel Hill}}</ref> Quanassee had several hundred residents by 1550. In 1716, [[South Carolina]] officials met with Cherokee leaders at Quanassee to gain the Cherokee's alliance in the [[Yamasee War|Yamassee War]]. The next year South Carolina built a trading site in Quanassee to provide English goods in exchange for Cherokee commodities like deerskins. A Coosa (Creek) war party "cut off" Quanassee in 1725, wrecking the village and enslaving or killing most of its residents. The village was briefly reestablished before the American Revolution; [[Rutherford Light Horse expedition|Rutherford expedition]] forces camped there in 1776.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Quanassee Town and the Spikebuck Mound Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=41949 |access-date=April 13, 2024 |website=www.hmdb.org |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Unicoi Turnpike]], a 1,000-year-old Native American trading route, ran through the site of Quanassee and modern-day [[Brasstown, North Carolina|Brasstown]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Hayesville |url=https://www.townofhayesville.com/about |access-date=April 13, 2024 |website=Town of Hayesville |language=en}}</ref> In 1813, the trail was developed into a toll road from Tennessee to Georgia, creating the first highway through the area.<ref name=":04">{{Cite web |date=June 1, 2022 |title=Uncovering A 200-Year-Old Road with Modern Technology |url=https://www.smliv.com/api/content/8c3244aa-f3f2-11ec-9969-12274efc5439/ |access-date=April 13, 2024 |website=Smoky Mountain Living |language=en-us}}</ref> Today Brasstown is the oldest continuous settlement in the county, having hosted residents since the establishment of the toll road.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hyatt, Jr. |first1=Bass |title=Brasstown Valley Myths & History |publisher=Straub Publishing |year=2018 |isbn=9780991372669 |editor-last=Avett |editor-first=Wally |location=Blairsville, Georgia |page=13 |chapter=Unicoi Turnpike}}</ref>

The land which would become Clay County was claimed by [[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe County]] in 1791, [[Haywood County, North Carolina|Haywood County]] by 1810, and [[Macon County, North Carolina|Macon County]] in 1828. In the 1820s, [[Baptists in the United States|Baptist]] missionaries visited Quanassee to preach to families living there.<ref name=":1" /> The first white settlers moved into what would become Clay County in the early 1830s.<ref name="Padgett">{{Cite book |last=Padgett |first=Guy |title=A History of Clay County, North Carolina |publisher=Clay County Bicentennial Committee |date=1976 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xp63GAAACAAJ}}</ref> Migrants into the area were primarily of [[Scotch-Irish American|Scots-Irish]] descent, who had moved into the backcountry of the Appalachians from eastern areas. They moved south from Pennsylvania and Virginia after the American Revolution. Most became yeomen farmers and few owned slaves in the antebellum years. The first school in the area began operation in 1834. It was a tuition-based academy started by Leonard Butterfield on a farm near Hyatt's Creek.<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Carl S. |title=Clay County, NC Then and Now: A Written and Pictorial History |date=January 1, 2007 |publisher=Genealogy Publishing Service |isbn=9781881851240 |chapter=}}</ref> From 1836–1838, the state of North Carolina surveyed and subdivided land in the area to be sold.<ref name="Moorebook" /> The parcels were put on public sale in [[Franklin, North Carolina|Franklin]] in fall 1838.<ref name=":3">{{Citation |last=Williams |first=Ms. Michael Ann |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form – Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery |date=July 14, 1983 |url=https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/CE0003.pdf}} Retrieved April 15, 2024.</ref>

In October 1837, Tennessee militia established [[Fort Hembree]] at present-day Hayesville to prepare for deporting the Cherokee people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nctrailoftears.org/fort-hembree/#:~:text=Tennessee%20militia%20established%20Fort%20Hembree,the%20upper%20Hiwassee%20River%20Valley. |title=Fort Hembree |work=North Carolina Trail of Tears Association }}</ref> Approximately 1,000 Cherokee were held prisoner there and removed from the area. The U.S. Military abandoned Fort Hembree in June 1838.<ref name=Moorebook>{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Carl S. |title=Clay County, N.C.: Then and Now |location=Franklin, N.C. |publisher=Genealogy Publishing Service |year=2008 |isbn=978-1881851240 }}</ref> In 1839, most of the area became part of [[Cherokee County, North Carolina|Cherokee County]], which was formed from western Macon County.<ref>{{cite book| last = Corbitt| first = David Leroy| title = The formation of the North Carolina counties, 1663–1943| publisher = North Carolina Division of Archives and History| date = 1987| location = Raleigh| url = https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/the-formation-of-the-north-carolina-counties-1663-1943/3692099?item=4798800|page=62}}</ref>

===County formation===
In the fall of 1860, [[George W. Hayes (North Carolina)|George Hayes]], who was running for state representative from Cherokee County, promised his constituents to introduce legislation to organize a new county in the region. That would bring business associated with a new county seat, and make government accessible to more people. In February 1861 the legislation was introduced and passed by the North Carolina General Assembly.<ref name="ncmtn">{{cite web|url=http://www.ncmtnchamber.com/history-of-clay-county |title=Welcome to the Clay County Chamber of Commerce |publisher=Ncmtnchamber.com |access-date=October 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803234020/http://www.ncmtnchamber.com/history-of-clay-county |archive-date=August 3, 2012 }}</ref> Clay County was formed primarily from [[Cherokee County, North Carolina|Cherokee County]], however a small area was taken from Macon County; it was named for statesman [[Henry Clay]], former Secretary of State and member of the [[United States Senate]] from [[Kentucky]]. In honor of Mr. Hayes, the legislature designated the new county seat as Hayesville.<ref name="ncmtn"/> The town was incorporated on March 12, 1913.<ref name="Padgett"/>

In 1860 Fort Hembree was reactivated to train soldiers for the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Early county trials and the first county commissioners’ meetings were held at the fort. It also contained a general store. Given the interruption of the war, Clay County lacked an organized, formal government until 1868.<ref name="Moorebook" /> Hicksville Academy, which became [[Hayesville High School]] (today the county's only public high school), was founded in 1870.<ref name="book1">{{cite conference |last=Leek |first=Mark |year=2003 |title=History of Clay County Schools From 1850 until Present |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.clayschools.org%2Fccshistory%2Fccshistory.doc&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |conference=Doctoral project in the Issues of Rural Education class at Western Carolina University}}</ref> In the 1890s it was bought by Duke University and offered college courses.<ref name="Padgett2">{{Cite book |last=Padgett |first=Guy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xp63GAAACAAJ |title=A History of Clay County, North Carolina |date=1976 |publisher=Clay County Bicentennial Committee}}</ref>

After the initial wood-frame county courthouse was destroyed by arson in 1870, the brick [[Clay County Courthouse (North Carolina)|courthouse]] was constructed in 1888.<ref name=Moorebook/> It has been listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hayesville.org/default.htm |title=Hayesville, North Carolina - Home Page |publisher=Hayesville.org |access-date=October 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824020307/http://www.hayesville.org/default.htm |archive-date=August 24, 2012 }}</ref> In mid-2007, courthouse operations moved to a new complex built {{convert|1|mi|km}} west of the town square.<ref name=Moorebook/>

The first post office to open in what became Clay County began service January 8, 1844, at Fort Hembree. At its peak, Clay County boasted 17 post offices. By 1976 there were only three remaining, in Hayesville, [[Warne, North Carolina|Warne]], and Brasstown.<ref name="Padgett"/>

Clay County’s borders have expanded twice since its formation. In 1872, the county annexed Buck Creek and Black Mountain from Macon County. In 1874, the county added a part of the [[Brasstown Creek]] area extending to the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] state line.<ref name=Moorebook/>

In the late 1870s and early 1880s the Tusquittee Turnpike toll road operated from Clay County to the [[Nantahala River]] in Macon County.<ref name=Moorebook/> Tiger’s Store is thought to be the oldest continuously operating business in Clay County. It was established around 1899 in [[Shooting Creek Township, Clay County, North Carolina|Shooting Creek]] and moved to Hayesville around 1908.<ref name=Moorebook/> A ruby from Clay County is part of the [[Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1969-06-29 |title=Clay County has 'Accessible Isolation' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/195658219/?match=1&terms=%22crown%20jewels%22%20%22chatuge%22 |access-date=2024-10-16 |work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |page=H4}}</ref>

===20th century to present===
Clay County’s two-story brick jail was built in 1912 to replace a log building. In 1972, shop class students from [[Hayesville High School]] constructed a replacement prison in downtown Hayesville.<ref name="Padgett"/> That was in use until 2008 when a new $4.3 million detention center opened at the judicial complex site.<ref>{{cite news |last=Keely |first=Harrison |url=https://issuu.com/sentinelnews/docs/06.04.08-smoky-mountain-sentinel |title=New jailhouse rocks |work=Smoky Mountain Sentinel |location=Hayesville, NC |publisher=Sentinel Newspapers |date=June 4, 2008 |page=A1 |access-date=February 5, 2024}}</ref> Today the brick jail is home to the Clay County Historical & Arts Museum.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitnc.com/listing/Rrk3/clay-county-historical-arts-museum#:~:text=The%20Clay%20County%20Historical%20%26%20Arts,the%20area%20through%20changing%20exhibits. |title=Clay County Historical & Arts Museum |work=VisitNC |publisher=Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina |quote=The Clay County Historical & Arts Museum is housed in the Old County Jail Museum which was constructed in 1912 and used as a jail until 1972. |access-date=February 5, 2024}}</ref>

Clay County's first official bank opened on May 18, 1910. A creamery opened in Brasstown in 1924. [[Mission Dam]] was constructed on the western end of the county in 1924.<ref name="Padgett"/> Gold mines operated in Tusquittee, Warne and Brasstown around the 1930s. In the 1940s and 50s, Clay County’s largest employers were band saw lumber mills. One of the county’s only manufacturing companies, Lidseen of North Carolina, Inc., has operated a metal fabrication plant in Warne since 1957. Another manufacturing plant, American Components Incorporated, made a metal film resistor for the [[Saturn V]] rocket that carried [[Neil Armstrong]] to the moon. Clay County has also manufactured ladies’ dresses, items for combat soldiers, and kitchen and bathroom fixtures.<ref name=Moorebook/>

The county’s first electric power came from a small dam across Shooting Creek near the Elf community in January 1920. The Blue Ridge Electric Association of [[Young Harris, Georgia]], took over providing electricity for all of Clay County in 1939. By 1950, every community in the county had electricity.<ref name="Padgett"/>

The first automobile came to Clay County in 1914. From the early 1900s until the 1930s, every male citizen of Clay County between the ages of 18 and 45 was required to work five days per year without pay to help maintain public roads.<ref name="Padgett"/><ref name=Moorebook/> Construction on [[US 64]] between Hayesville, Warne, and Brasstown started in 1921. In 1959 a new highway was built from Hayesville through Sweetwater to [[Peachtree, North Carolina|Peachtree]] to provide Clay County residents with faster access to [[Andrews, North Carolina|Andrews]]' new [[District Memorial Hospital]].<ref name="Padgett" /><ref name=":03">{{Cite news |last=McKeever |first=Mrs. Hobart |date=January 29, 1961 |title=Cherokee County Shows Greatest Progress During 1950-60 Decade |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/201809295/?terms=cherokee%20county&match=1 |access-date=March 21, 2024 |work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |page=77}}</ref> The US 64 moniker moved to this new route and the former route became Old Hwy. 64. US 64 connected Hayesville to Franklin in the early 1930s. [[NC 69]] was built between Hayesville and Georgia in 1922. The entire road had to be relocated when [[Chatuge Lake]] was created twenty years later.<ref name="Padgett"/>

In October 1920, Clay County’s first and only railroad line, the Peavine, was completed between Hayesville and Andrews, where it connected with the [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Laney |first=Gideon Thomas |title=Train from Hayesville arriving at the Tusquittee station pulled by Climax locomotive #10 |url=https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/browse/search/train-from-hayesville-arriving-at-the-tusquittee-station-pulled-by-climax-locomotive-10 |access-date=February 27, 2024 |website=Southern Appalachian Digital Collections |publisher=[[Western Carolina University]] and University of North Carolina Asheville}}</ref> Cherokee and Clay counties each contributed $75,000 toward its construction. The Peavine hauled mainly lumber, but also [[kaolin]] mined in Clay County. The line was dismantled in 1951.<ref name="Padgett"/><ref name="Moorebook"/>

A silent film theater opened in the county in the 1920s. A movie theater later operated in Hayesville from the 1940s to the 1960s. The county has not had a movie theater since.<ref name="Moorebook" /> Clay County's public library was established by the 1930s. It began in a two-story building on Hayesville's town square and at some point moved to a small room in the courthouse.<ref name="Moorebook2">{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Carl S. |title=Clay County, N.C.: Then and Now |publisher=Genealogy Publishing Service |year=2008 |isbn=978-1881851240 |location=Franklin, N.C.}}</ref> In 1940 it became part of [[Nantahala Regional Library]] system. Its first librarian, Ellen Scroggs, was hired in 1943. A new $80,000 library building opened downtown on June 25, 1967.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 29, 1967 |title=Moss Library Dedicated Sunday |url=https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn95072291/1967-06-29/ed-1/seq-4/#words=Clay+County+Library |work=The Cherokee Scout and Clay County Progress |page=4}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1966 |title=Clay ready to start library construction; fund raising meeting set for Friday |url=https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn95072291/1966-06-23/ed-1/seq-9/#words=Moss+Memorial+Library |work=The Cherokee Scout and Clay County Progress |page=9}}</ref> It was named in honor of local-born Dr. Fred A. Moss, who gave $10,000 towards its construction and donated books.<ref name=":0" /> Today Moss Memorial Library is the only public library in Clay County.<ref name="Moorebook2" />
[[File:Lake_Chatuge_reservoir_in_Towns_County,_Georgia,_and_Clay_County,_North_Carolina_on_Aug._3,_2022.jpg|thumb|Lake Chatuge was created in 1942]]
[[Chatuge Dam]] was constructed near Hayesville in the early 1940s by the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]], creating [[Chatuge Lake]]. At the time, Chatuge Dam was the highest earthen dam in the world until the [[Aswan Dam]] was constructed in [[Egypt]] in 1964.<ref name="Moorebook2" /> The dam was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Register Database and Research - National Register of Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm |access-date=March 15, 2024 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>

In the 1950s, Clay County's official song was written. Willie Forrest Standridge wrote "Clay County Song" to the tune of [[Onward, Christian Soldiers|Onward Christian Soldiers]].<ref name="Padgett" /> The Hinton Rural Life Center began in Clay County in 1957. It is a mission retreat operated by the United Methodist Church, serving churches across nine southeastern states and named in honor of benefactor Harold H. Hinton.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Galloway |first=Wanda P. |title=Clay County Heritage North Carolina Vol. II |publisher=The Clay County Heritage Book Committee |year=2017 |location=Hayesville, NC |pages=}}</ref> The Clay County Rescue Squad was organized in 1964.<ref name="Padgett" /> The county's first golf course opened in 1970.<ref name="Padgett" /> The Clay County Historical & Arts Council was founded February 6, 1974.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beck |first=Reba |date=February 29, 2024 |title=Historical & Arts Council: We are 50 and struttin' our stuff |work=Clay County Progress |publisher=Community Newspapers, Inc. |location=Hayesville, NC |page=B6}}</ref> The [[Peacock Performing Arts Center]], the only community theatre in far-west North Carolina, opened in Hayesville in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 23, 2019 |title=About Us - Peacock Performing Arts Center - Hayesville, NC |url=https://www.thepeacocknc.org/about-us/ |access-date=March 22, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> The Clay County Chamber of Commerce began in 1986.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-12-26 |title=About the Chamber |work=[[Clay County Progress]] |publisher=[[Community Newspapers Inc.]] |location=Hayesville, NC |page=A8}}</ref> Clay County's building inspections department started in 1987.<ref name="Moorebook" /> The famed New Year's Eve "[[The Possum Drop|Possum Drop]]" was held annually in Brasstown between 1990 and 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elassar |first=Alaa |date=2019-12-31 |title=North Carolina town ends New Year's Eve Possum Drop tradition |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/us/north-carolina-opossum-drop-ends-trnd/index.html |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The Clay County Recreation Center was built in Hayesville in 2007 and expanded in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.recreation.claync.us/about |access-date=April 19, 2024 |website=Clay County Recreation Center & Parks |language=en}}</ref> In early 2025, [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] purchased land in the county to build a distribution center and warehouse.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Long |first=Becky |date=2025-02-13 |title=Amazon buys property here |work=[[Clay County Progress]] |publisher=[[Community Newspapers Inc.]] |location=Hayesville, NC |pages=A1,A3}}</ref>

Since the nineteenth century, Clay County has remained largely agricultural.<ref name="ncmtn" /> Given its relative isolation, in the 21st century, residents continue to be overwhelmingly of European-American ancestry.