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Yancey County, North Carolina
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==History== The area of Yancey County was inhabited by the [[Cherokee]] prior to European settlement, as was much of the southern [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian]] region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cherokee Nation |url=https://www.doi.gov/tribes/cherokee |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=www.landscapepartnership.org |language=en}}</ref> Independent and sturdy [[Scotland|Scottish]], [[England|English]], and [[Northern Ireland|Scotch-Irish]] and [[Irish people|Irish]] settlers of the Carolina frontier had crossed the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] and settled the [[North Toe River|Toe River]] Valley by the mid-18th century. In the year 1796, one of the early land speculators, John Gray Blount, paid for {{convert|326,640|acre|km2}} of land, a portion of which later became Yancey County. In December 1833, the [[North Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]] established a new western county, named Yancey, from sections of [[Burke County, NC|Burke]] and [[Buncombe County, NC|Buncombe]] counties. Yancey County was named in honor of [[Bartlett Yancey]], of Caswell County. As a U.S. congressman (1813β1817) and as Speaker of the N.C. Senate (1817β1827), he was instrumental in many accomplishments that benefited the state, including the creation of an education fund that was the beginning of the N.C. Public School System. He was an advocate of correcting the inequality in representation in the General Assembly by the creation of new western counties; but he died on August 30, 1828, over five years before the General Assembly created a new county named in his honor. In Yancey's boundaries looms [[Mount Mitchell (North Carolina)|Mount Mitchell]], the highest peak in the Eastern U.S., at {{convert|6,684|ft|m}} above sea level. On March 6, 1834, "Yellow Jacket" John Bailey conveyed {{convert|100|acre|km2}} of land for the county seat. John was given the nickname for his famous temper as told in the books ''The Bailey Family of Yancey County, North Carolina'' and ''Heritage of the Tow River Valley'' by Lloyd Richard Bailey Sr. The town was named Burnsville in honor of Captain [[Otway Burns]], who voted for the creation of the new western county when he was serving in the General Assembly. He was also a naval hero in the [[War of 1812]]. A statue of Captain Burns stands on a 40-ton, Mount Airy granite pedestal in the center of the town's public square, which was given the official name of "Bailey Square" by the Yancey County Board of Commissioners on September 1, 1930. The statue of Captain Burns was given to the county on July 5, 1909, by Walter Francis Burns, a grandson of the naval captain. The inscription reads: <blockquote>Otway Burns - Born in Onslow County, North Carolina, 1777 - Died at Portsmouth, North Carolina, 1850. Sailor - Soldier - Statesman. North Carolina's Foremost Son in the War of 1812-1815 - For Him, This Town Is Named - He Guarded Well Our Seas, Let Our Mountains Honor Him. </blockquote>
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