Editing Hyde County, North Carolina (section)

==History==
===Early history and creation===
Sources conflict over when the area that eventually grew to encompass Hyde County was settled by Europeans. The earliest known colonial land deeds in the present day county date from 1704 or 1705. European settlement remained sparse over the subsequent decades, though the English established a small fort on the northern shore of Lake Mattamuskeet. In 1711, [[Algonquin language|Algonquin]]-speaking Native Americans in the area joined with the proximate [[Tuscarora people]] in launching [[Tuscarora War|a war]] against the settlers. The conflict was won by the settlers in 1715, with many captured Native Americans enslaved and the remaining Tuscaroras largely expelled from North Carolina. The local Algonquin natives were gathered on the newly created Mattamuskeet Reservation, which comprised most of the eastern mainland section of what eventually became Hyde County. Due to pressure from the settlers, the Native Americans began selling their land in 1731.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|p=51}} By 1792, all of the reservation had been sold, and its inhabitants either left the region or intermarried with local European Americans and African Americans.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|pp=51–52}}

The county was formed December 3, 1705, as '''Wickham Precinct''', one of three precincts within [[Bath County, North Carolina|Bath County]]. The name Wickham was derived from the manor of [[West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire|Temple Wycombe]] in [[Buckinghamshire]], England, the family home of [[John Archdale]], [[List of Governors of North Carolina|governor of North and South Carolina]] from 1695 to 1696. In 1712, it was renamed '''Hyde Precinct''' for [[Edward Hyde (c. 1650-1712)|Edward Hyde]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n163 164]}}</ref> Governor of North Carolina from 1711 to 1712. In 1739, Bath County was abolished, and Hyde Precinct became Hyde County. In 1745, [[Lake Mattamuskeet]] and its adjoining territory were transferred from [[Currituck County, North Carolina|Currituck County]] to Hyde County. 

===Antebellum===
Communities coalesced and churches were formed in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|pp=54–55}}

In 1819, the portion of Hyde County west of the [[Pungo River]] was annexed by [[Beaufort County, North Carolina|Beaufort County]].{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|p=49}} Four years later, the area of Currituck County south of [[New Inlet]] was transferred to Hyde County. This area included [[Hatteras Island]].<ref name="HCNCpedia">{{Cite web |last=Vocci |first=Robert Blair |year=2006 |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=William S. |title=Hyde County |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/geography/hyde |access-date=September 6, 2023 |website=NCpedia |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Srikanth |first=Sai |date=June 17, 2011 |title=Hyde County (1705) |url=https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/hyde-county-1705/ |access-date=September 6, 2023 |website=North Carolina History Project |language=en-US}}</ref> 

In 1834, an "apprenticeship" program was begun whereby local Native American children were placed under the tutelage of white families to learn trades. Lasting until 1865, the policy resulted in the loss of much independent Native American cultural identity in the area.<ref name="saunders">{{cite web| url = https://coastalreview.org/2023/01/native-american-roots-run-deep-in-hyde-much-is-unknown/| title = Native American roots run deep in Hyde; much is unknown| last = Saunders| first = Corrine| date = January 11, 2023| website = Coastal Review| publisher = North Carolina Coastal Federation.| access-date = September 10, 2023}}</ref> In 1845, [[Ocracoke Island]] was transferred from [[Carteret County, North Carolina|Carteret County]] to Hyde County.{{sfn|Hyde County Land Use Plan|2008|p=6}} Ocracoke benefitted from a modest shipping industry which persisted into the mid-1800s, while the mainland portion of county was largely agrarian, though farmers struggled in the swampy terrain.<ref name="medlin"/> Locals also fished and harvested oysters.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|p=57}} In 1860, 37.4% of Hyde's population were slaves—a proportion lower than many other counties in eastern North Carolina.<ref name="medlin"/>

===Later history===
Local residents were divided by the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]], though a number enlisted into the [[Confederate States Army]]. Several skirmishes took place in the county between federal and Confederate forces during 1863 and 1864, and a substantial number of slaves fled to federally-held territory to seek their emancipation.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|p=58}}

During the [[Reconstruction era]] after the war, some residents, white and newly freed blacks, migrated out of Hyde.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|p=59}} In 1870, Hyde County was reduced to its present dimensions, when its northeastern part was combined with parts of Currituck County and [[Tyrrell County, North Carolina|Tyrrell County]] to form [[Dare County, North Carolina|Dare County]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Criner |first=Allyson C. |year=2006 |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=William S. |title=Dare County |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/geography/dare |access-date=September 9, 2023 |website=NCpedia |publisher=University of North Carolina Press}}</ref> Northern investors also took an interest in the county during Reconstruction, particularly in the harvest of timber.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|p=59}} Between 1870 and 1920, the county experienced some economic prosperity due to the logging of cypress, juniper, and oak trees.{{sfn|Cecelski|1994|p=17}} Several sawmills and railroads were established. The industry declined as the county's forests thinned, before being overcome by the [[Great Depression]].{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|p=60}} Hyde County received its first paved road in the 1920s and gained electric service in 1935.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|pp=61–62}}

By the mid-20th century, the agriculturally-reliant county was in economic and demographic decline, benefiting none from the public infrastructure investments and industrial growth of the [[postwar economic boom]] occurring elsewhere in the state. Several towns that had prospered in the early 1900s were left totally abandoned,{{sfn|Cecelski|1994|pp=17–18}} and the vast majority of county residents were impoverished.{{sfn|Cecelski|1994|p=21}} The timber industry continued to provide some employment, while after [[World War II]] the seafood [[Meat-packing industry|packing]] industry grew.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|pp=63–64}} [[Jim Crow]] racial segregation took hold after the close of the 19th century and persisted, depriving blacks of political and economic opportunities available to whites.{{sfn|Cecelski|1994|pp=21–23}} In 1950, about one third of white residents had access to hot running water and flushing toilets, while no blacks had such amenities, and tended to live near small creeks and drainage canals.<ref name="saunders"/> Racial separation was less pronounced on Ocracoke Island, where blacks and whites lived in closer physical proximity to one another.{{sfn|Wolfram|Thomas|2008|pp=163–164}}