Editing Clay County, North Carolina (section)

===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>