North Carolina Forest Service – Haywood County

About forestry service, 28738, Hazelwood, NC, US, North Carolina

Clyde is a town in Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 census recorded the population at 1,223 people. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. == 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. 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 on March 4, a mob of 40-50 "masked men" attempted to break into the jail cell where Ratcliffe was held.