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Brief History
 Indications are that the first humans arrived in this mountain region between 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Native American villages were established; often living is states of seclusion. These villages eventually became trade centers offering a variety of trade goods unique to the high country.
The Native Americans were not nomadic tribes; the Cherokee and their predecessors lived in established towns, dwelling in solid structures. The Cherokee museum presents a fascinating look into the lives and culture of the Cherokee Tribe.
In the year 1785 early white settlers made their way into these deep reaches of the Blue Ridge Mountains and began settling along the Pigeon River after the Cherokee People were forced further west in 1783 due to a conflict involving 2,400 troops under the command of General Griffith Rutherford.
Jacob Shook was a Revolutionary War veteran who built the historical Shook House, which dates back to 1795 and is currently open to the public as a museum and visitor's center in the Haywood County town of Clyde
The county was formed in 1808 from the western part of Buncombe County. It was named for John Haywood, Treasurer of North Carolina from 1787 to 1827.
In 1828 the western part of Haywood County became Macon County. In 1851 parts of Haywood County and Macon County were combined to form Jackson County.
The majority of the Cherokee people were eventually forced out along what became known as the Trail of Tears during the mid 1830’s.
With the removal of the Cherokee more white settlers moved into the mountains and took over the Cherokee’s homes. Mining and lumber company operation were set up, roads for transportation of these goods were developed prior to the future arrival of the railroads.
Even before the railroad made it easy to get here, visitors flocked to Haywood County for the cool, clean air, clean water, outstanding scenery and an opportunity to escape sweltering cities.
Today, as Haywood County looks forward to its bicentennial in 2009, vacationers continue to gravitate to this delightful mountain town for its cool summers, dramatic autumns, mild winters, lush springtime, as well as Southern hospitality and small town charm.
- Haywood County is a Civil War site: Kirk's Raid occurred here in 1865.
- Waynesville was voted as a "low-cost Eden," best undiscovered town, best Main Street town, best small town and best mountain town in "Where to Retire" magazine's America's 100 Best Places to Retire (third edition).
- Canton was originally Cherokee Indian Territory. A post office first opened here in 1837 and the community at the time was named Pigeon River.
- Haywood's oldest church, now First Baptist Church in Canton, was established in 1801 as Locust Old Fields Church.
- The railroad came to Canton in 1881 and Waynesville in 1882.
- Novelist, poet and educator Fred Chappell grew up in Canton and graduated from high school here in 1954.
- Clyde's 1795 Shook House was home of Bishop Francis Asbury, the first Methodist Bishop consecrated in America.
- Raymond Fairchild, five-time World Banjo Champion, performs regularly at the Maggie Valley Opry House
- Pisgah National Forest in Haywood County is part of the National Forest Scenic Byway, a 79-mile loop.
- Two of the world's largest sapphires have been found in Canton's Old Pressley Sapphire Mine, now open to visitors.
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