Editing Clyde, North Carolina (section)

==History==
Prior to [[European colonization]], the area that is now Clyde was inhabited by the [[Cherokee people]] and other Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The Cherokee in Western North Carolina are known as the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]], a federally recognized tribe.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The city of Clyde was founded in 1890.
On March 3, 1900, an African-American man named George Ratliffe was lynched in Clyde after being accused of raping an 8 year old white girl named Hester Wagstaff. The girl was the granddaughter of Ratliffe's employers, Matthias and Nithis Holland. Ratliffe was accused of committing the crime at 4:00 PM of March 3, 1900, three miles outside of Clyde. Arrested on the evening of the same day, and subjected to an initial trial in Clyde before being taken to the jail in [[Waynesville, North Carolina|Waynesville]] on March 4, a mob of 40-50 "masked men" attempted to break into the jail cell where Ratcliffe was held. Failing to break into the jail, the mob of white men fired 40 shots, killing Ratcliffe in his jail cell before he could go to trial or even speak with a lawyer. The Haywood County branch of the [[NAACP]] has supported the creation of a monument recognizing the murder of George Ratliffe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lynching.web.unc.edu/the-people/george-ratliffe/ |title=George Ratliffe |publisher=[[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] |accessdate=November 17, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://smokymountainnews.com/news/item/26638-haywood-s-hidden-history-monument-to-waynesville-lynching-victim-could-prove-controversial |title=Haywood's 'hidden history': Monument to Waynesville lynching victim could prove controversial |publisher=[[Smoky Mountain News]] |accessdate=November 17, 2021}}</ref>

The area is prone to flooding. The town was damaged by [[Hurricane Ivan]] (2004), [[Tropical Storm Fred]] (2021) and [[Hurricane Helene]] in 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Oehrli |first1=Ryan |title='We've lost everything.' Western NC town of Clyde is rebuilding — again — after Helene  |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article293182919.html |access-date=September 29, 2024 |publisher=The News & Observer |date=October 19, 2024}}</ref>

The [[Shook-Welch-Smathers House]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2008.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>