Clay County is a county located in the far western part of U.S. state North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 11,089. The county seat is Hayesville. 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 th…Clay County is a county located in the far western part of U.S. state North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 11,089. The county seat is Hayesville. 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 later constructed a town known as Quanassee at the site. 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 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 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 expedition forces camped there in 1776.
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