The cultural history of the area with regard to the Cherokee is well represented downtown by the Cherokee Homestead Exhibit, Cherokee Cultural Center and the displays in the Old Jail Museum.
Historic Hayesville Inc.’s Centennial Exhibit downtown next to the Post Office, houses other cultural historical artifacts and displays, documenting the growth and changes of the area and its inhabitants over the past years.
Many old photos and newspapers show a bygone era when Hayesville was a very different town and life was full of challenges. Hayesville used to have a train line, the Peavine, that was instrumental in transporting chestnut wood through to Tusquittee station, headed to the Champion Fibre Company in Canton, a major paper mill.
The Exhibit has a wealth of information about the construction, in the early 40's, of the Chatuge Dam and all the displaced families that today provides recreation for visitors and locals to enjoy. The dam was the tallest earthen dam in the world until the Aswan Dam was built in Egypt in 1964. In 2017, the dam was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Many items from old time farm kitchen utensils, flour sack dresses, musical instruments etc are on loan from local families. Ladies MUST see the old style hair curling apparatus! Visit the Centennial Exhibit menu tab for more details.
- Clay County Historical and Arts Council
- Hayesville Heritage Park
- Cherokee Homestead Exhibit
- Cherokee Cultural Center
Clay County Historical and Arts Council
Old Jail Museum
21 Davis Loop Rd. Hayesville
(Just off the square)
(828)389-6814
Memorial Day - Labor Day Tues - Sat 10AM - 4PM
Sept-Oct Fri - Sat 10AM - 4PM
Nov – May CLOSED
OFF-SEASON TOURS AVAILABLE BY APPOINTMENT
You can arrange a private tour with Museum Docent, Molly Seaver, whose family has lived in the Hayesville area since before the Civil War.
The Clay County Historical and Arts Council (CCHAC) mission is to “sponsor and encourage educational activities in Clay County Schools and community with particular emphasis on the historical and cultural heritage, and visual, performing and literary arts.” .
The CCHAC maintains The Old Jail Museum, The Clay County Botanic Garden and some buildings in Hayesville Heritage Park.
The Old Jail Museum – The CCHAC is often referred to as the Old Jail Museum, due to the fact that the building operated as the Clay County Jail until 1972. It was built in 1912 and originally, the Sheriff and his family occupied the west end of the building. In early 1974 the Clay County Board of Commissioners turned the building over to the Clay County Historical and Arts Council for use as a museum.
It has two restored cells along with artifacts and information about the jail itself. Two other cells, used to confine insane people, were located where the present museum office and storeroom are. But the building offers much more than an old jail!
The museum has a Cherokee exhibit, an old time kitchen, 1940's era Doctor's office, feed sack exhibit, an African American exhibit and even some beautiful gems from right here in Clay County. The museum has seasonal exhibits too and this year, 2026, it was carvings of Helen Gibson, recipient of the 2025 Heritage Award from the North Carolina Arts Council, and a vibrant collection of artworks by Hayesville High School art students.
CCHAC hosts special events and also offers free programs to the community like adult art class, Gel-plate printing for kids, an after-school drama class for students, storytelling and more.
CCHAC hosts the annual Festival on the Square in July starting with the popular Friday evening Street Dance. Vendor booths, where area artists and craftmen showcase their handmade items, are set up on downtown Hayesville square for visitors to purchase art and crafts while enjoying music and food on Saturday and Sunday. Many of those vendors donate items for the annual CCHAC September Silent Auction.
The CCHAC also maintains The Clay County Botanic Garden. It is on over an acre of land located below the Old Jail Museum. The garden has diverse habitats for native plants/shrubs and now a variety of over 50 shrubs have been planted, and maintained by volunteers, including the American Hazelnut, American Beautyberry, Swamp Azaleas, Great Spangled Fritillary Butterflies, Arrowwood Fringe Tree and more. Explore, walk on easy paths and learn how they were used by the Cherokee.
In between the Old Jail Museum and The Botanic Garden lies the Hayesville Heritage Park. The CCHAC maintains the farm implements shed and the root cellar/can house building.
Hayesville Heritage Park is home to the Old Town Hall, an Old Farm Equipment Shed and a pioneer period root cellar/can house. A true example of a small town partnership between CCHAC, HHI and the Town of Hayesville working together for the community.
The Old Town Hall from the 1930's was originally close to the square but over the years it was moved and rested off the square and May Street as wooden buildings around the square were replaced with brick structures during the 40's. In 2019 it was about to be demolished. Historic Hayesville Inc. accepted the building as a donation and moved it to Hayesville Heritage Park to restore it. The building, 15 ft. by 24 ft., was the last old time Hayesville wooden building to remain. During its life the building had been modified and used at different times from the 1930s to 1950s as the City Hall, Tax Office and housing for the town's early fire hose before being retired to private ownership to a local resident. It was then used to house various collector's items before finally declining into a storage shed that needed help!
HHI moved the building to the Hayesville Heritage Park location below the Old Jail Museum and Cherokee Homestead Exhibit, restored it in place, as a classroom for historical, cultural and art classes or outdoor festival presentation. Period authenticity was maintained throughout the renovation using re-purposed items from other historical or period buildings. Everything that could be saved in the building was saved. Items from the 1930s Hayesville Post Office, Historic Courthouse, former elementary school were used. A front porch, a handicap ramp and power was added together with a donated old school bell, to finish the project which was completed in the Spring of 2023.
Restored, it functions as a small venue or classroom as an integral part of school history trips exploring the park and nearby Cherokee exhibits and is used during the annual Cherokee Festival. It rests next to the old farm equipment display.
The Old Farm Equipment Shed has had its roof recently replaced by the CCHAC so the display items avoid further deterioration. The shed houses various old farm pieces of equipment.
The pioneer period Root Cellar/Can House is a small old rock building in the park. It too has been restored by the CCHAC and reflects its original period appearance. Inside the building there are displays showing canning jars, baskets and other items from early pioneer days – a look back at a piece of local history.
(Photo by Mark Parker)
Clay County lies within the past territory of the Cherokee Nation that lived here for more than 10,000 years. It is fitting that Clay County hosts several exhibits honoring their heritage. The Cherokee Homestead Exhibit, is one of them.
Clay County Communities Revitalization Association (CCCRA) partnered with Western Carolina University to create the Cherokee Homestead Exhibit in 2010 with many consults, approval and support from the Eastern Band of the Cherokee (EBCI). In particular Davy Arch, a notable member and Beloved Man of the EBCI was involved for the duration and has maintained a close relationship with the Hayesville site.
The exhibit offers visitors informational self-guided tours at any time. It is an outdoor, year round exhibit and features authentic examples of reconstructed 17th – 18th century summer and winter Cherokee houses, a food storage crib, summer shelter, mound gardens, dugout canoe, and public art depicting elements of Cherokee legends, their language, and spirituality.
The CCCRA hosts the annual Cherokee Heritage Festival which is a free family event in September providing an opportunity for attendees to learn about the Cherokee culture. Cherokee artisans demonstrate basket weaving, carving, pottery, dart making, finger weaving, bead weaving, play flutes, and tell stories. Attendees can watch Cherokee dancers and watch stickball and blowgun demonstrations. There are opportunities to try authentic frybread and purchase an original piece of Cherokee art.
Moss Memorial Library
26 Anderson St, Hayesville
(828)389-8401
Tues 8:30 - 8
Wed, Thurs, Fri 8:30 - 6
Sat 9 - 12
Sun, Mon CLOSED
The Cherokee Cultural Center, is a small collection of exhibits inside the Moss Memorial Library. With the wide array of books and historic maps describing Cherokee history and culture a visitor can learn a great deal.
The large display case houses historic and contemporary crafts including Pisgah pottery from 1000 AD which shows the Cherokee traditional practice of paddle stamping where potters used carved wood paddles to impart decoration and added to the pot’s durability.
The Cherokee are well known for their baskets. There are several samples of Rivercane baskets, some featuring the work of Snowbird artist Emma Garret, as well as musical instruments, wood carvings, stone tools, an axe and more.
Davy Arch, an engaging storyteller, is a well-known artist whose carved masks are also on display. His carved masks have been on display at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and his stories have been published in the award-winning book Living Stories of the Cherokee.
Cherokee enjoyed games and sports and the display includes stone and clay discs used in a game called chunkey.” and a set of ballsticks for the popular game of stickball, a rough-and-tumble team sport.
The center highlights two other notable Cherokee people, namely Sequoyah and Diamond Brown. Sequoyah, created the Cherokee syllabary, an alphabet that makes up their spoken and written language which enabled reading and writing in the early 1800s. Diamond Brown was a performer and keeper of Cherokee culture for many years.
The Library has a recent additional exhibit entitled “The Young Cherokee Hunter”, a full-sized mannequin, dressed in 1800s style Cherokee clothing complete with a blowgun and darts, made by local Darry Wood that was showcased as part of an event celebrating Davy Arch becoming a Beloved Man of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. A great honor.
The center is considered a fitting place to learn about the Cherokee before walking the Quanassee Path, a two-mile paved walking trail connecting important landmarks from the Cherokee Homestead Exhibit to Spikebuck Mound. The Quanassee Path immerses visitors in the history of the Cherokee who lived in Clay County as the trail is marked with dedicated informational signs that include a description, a brief history, and details explaining the site's importance to Cherokee culture and the ancient valley town of Quanassee. The path makes it possible for schools, locals of all ages, and visitors to get exercise while learning about the Cherokee culture. CCCRA partnered with Western Carolina University to create the Quanassee Path in 2014.