The Museum of Haywood County History

The Museum of Haywood County History Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Museum of Haywood County History, History Museum, 178 Morgan Street, Clyde, NC.

All is explained in our previous post.
08/31/2026

All is explained in our previous post.

Morning Star Church. Part of the North Carolina Highway Historical Markers program, in 1949 this sign was erected on the...
08/31/2026

Morning Star Church. Part of the North Carolina Highway Historical Markers program, in 1949 this sign was erected on the corner of Academy and Park Streets in Canton.

The markers are designed to be introductions to important historical happenings, places, and people. Some states include more details in their markers, but North Carolina's are designed so they can be easily read from a passing car. The trade off is that the facts presented are pretty bare bones. Thank goodness we all carry around in our pockets a little connection to the information highway. More details are available at our fingertips.

The Morning Star Church sign says quite a lot about our county's past. In the years following the Revolutionary War many Americans of German descent moved into Haywood County. The community where Morning Star is located is even named Dutch, or Deutsch Cove, Deutsch being the German word for "German".

The founder of the Morning Star Church was Nehemiah Bonham. He served his community until his health failed. A suitable Lutheran minister could not be found so Bonham advised the congregation to join the Methodists.

Methodism had spread through Haywood County and the country thanks mainly to the efforts of Bishop Francis Asbury. Asbury visited Jacob Shook in 1810, and he and other Methodist circuit-riding ministers preached at the Shook Methodist Campground in 1814.

The first Morning Star Church was a cabin. There are no images of it from the time it was in existence, but written descriptions allowed an artist to interpret it. The second building is the Church as it is now. Both came from the book, "A History of Morning Star Church".

Nehemiah Bonham did leave a journal, which is, unfortunately, damaged in spots. In 1951 the NC State Archives filmed the book. We have a copy at the Museum of Haywood County History. In 1951 the original belonged to Harmon Moore. Does anyone know where it is today?

At the Museum of Haywood County History we get the best visitors! Lilly was the perfect guest - well-behaved and interes...
08/30/2026

At the Museum of Haywood County History we get the best visitors! Lilly was the perfect guest - well-behaved and interested in all the exhibits. The humans she brought with her were pretty special as well.

Yes, the museum is dog friendly. We only ask that your dog be friendly, well-behaved, and, of course, house broken.

Docents' day out! Some of the volunteers at the Museum of Haywood County History made the trek to Asheville to visit the...
08/26/2026

Docents' day out! Some of the volunteers at the Museum of Haywood County History made the trek to Asheville to visit the Asheville History Museum, located in the historic Smith-McDowell House. We love our museum and we love visiting other sites to see the creative ways they present history.

Left to right: Sharon, Vicki, Sharon, Sharon, John, and Carol.

These interestingly photos came to us recently from a Waynesville estate. Unfortunately, none were labeled, but we are ...
08/24/2026

These interestingly photos came to us recently from a Waynesville estate. Unfortunately, none were labeled, but we are betting that some of them can be identified.

Logging was one of Haywood's earliest industries. So much of Haywood County's development was dependent upon the trees growing here: lumber, leather (tanning), furniture, and of course pulp and paper. Today our beautiful forests attract thousands to our area.

Let us know what you know about these photos!

Last winter we posted this book, Cataloochee; Lost Settlement of the Smokies and several people expressed an interest in...
08/21/2026

Last winter we posted this book, Cataloochee; Lost Settlement of the Smokies and several people expressed an interest in acquiring a copy. We are happy to say that we have a limited quantity for sale at the Museum of Haywood County History in Clyde. Come by the visitors center at the museum for a copy or visit our booth at Pigeon Riverfest tomorrow in Canton.

The museum is open Fridays and Saturdays, 11am to 3pm, or we can arrange to meet you almost any time.

Erma Patterson of Waynesville graduated from Western Carolina Teacher's College in 1929 and she spent the next 42 years ...
08/20/2026

Erma Patterson of Waynesville graduated from Western Carolina Teacher's College in 1929 and she spent the next 42 years educating the children of Haywood County. To keep her teaching certificate up to date she took at least one course at the Junaluska Summer School which was conducted through Duke University.

Incredible that Haywood County teachers and others could take Duke classes without traveling to Durham! Classes for Methodist ministers were also offered. The program lasted from 1924 until 1940 according to Mason Crum's book, The Story of Lake Junaluska. One photo of summer school students was published in Images of America: Lake Junaluska by William King.

This little-known chapter of Lake Junaluska history is important because it points out just how important quality education was to people here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Our thanks to the generous donors who bring to us these marvelous pieces of the past. It's our honor to be able to intrepret them for the present and preserve them for the future.

The one sentence our collection team lives to hear is, "I have a box of stuff to donate to the museum." We don't even ha...
08/17/2026

The one sentence our collection team lives to hear is, "I have a box of stuff to donate to the museum." We don't even have to ask about the contents because experience has taught us there's bound to be some great history in that box.

Case in point: two lovely members of a Waynesville family brought in some boxes of things their father, a prominent Haywood County public official, accumulated over the years. There was a box of books, and stuck in with the modern volumes was a real treasure. This old ledger contains the records of the Haywood County Civil Superior Court from 1834 to 1839.

We have only just begun to examine the ledger, but already one of our volunteers found her ancestor involved in trespass disputes. We were surprised by the number of divorces and appeals for alimony. And some of the charges, such as "Scifa" are a real puzzle.

Ideally, this ledger would be transcribed and digitized so people could access it online. Unfortunately we don't have the resources for that, but museum patrons are welcome to make an appointment to study the ledger and the other resources of the Haywood County Historical and Genealogical Society

It may be hot outside, but the Museum of Haywood County is cool and ready to show off our heritage. Start with the W...
08/14/2026

It may be hot outside, but the Museum of Haywood County is cool and ready to show off our heritage. Start with the Willie Morgan exhibition in our visitors center. Willie was a true homegrown Haywood County talent. She learned her craft at Haywood Community College and proceeded to document the beauty of Haywood County.

Willie Morgan: Art Through Time and Place opened In July, but the community continues to add to the exhibition. Come see the additional paintings that have been added since July, and then tour the historic Shook-Smathers House for a great lesson in Haywood County History. Our knowledgeable docents are ready to share the stories that make Haywood County special.

We are open Fridays and Saturdays but we are happy to do tours by appointment at any time. E

Okay, Waynesville Old Timers and historians, enlighten us on the story behind this pinback button from the Centennial ce...
08/11/2026

Okay, Waynesville Old Timers and historians, enlighten us on the story behind this pinback button from the Centennial celebration of Waynesville. Did clean-shaven guys have to buy permission to shave?

Many of the volunteers here at the Museum of Haywood County History were around in 1971, but few of us were humans who shaved our faces. Even the donor, Frances Adamson had no clue. So 55 years ago, were any of our friends sporting whiskers?

*There's an episode of Perry Mason where Paul Drake goes to a small town looking for a witness when he is arrested and fined $5 for not having facial hair. The town was celebrating some sort of Founders Day. So was this a thing towns did in the 60s and 70s?

Address

178 Morgan Street
Clyde, NC
28721

Telephone

+18285641044

Website

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