Hayesville High School
Hayesville High School is a school located in Hayesville, North Carolina and is part of the Clay County School District. It is the only public high school in Clay County. According to its website, the school has a current enrollment of 380 students and 37 teaching staff members. That is an average of 10.27 students per teacher. The high school moved into its current two-story brick facility in 1991. A new gymnasium was added in the late 1990s. The cafeteria was built in 1966. Athletics Hayesville's teams are known as the Yellow Jackets. The school's main rival is Murphy High School. Hayesville competes in the Smoky Mountain Conference (SMC) and its varsity sports are: Baseball Basketball Boys state champs - 2022 Cross Country Boys state champs - 2005, 2006, 2008 Girls state champs - 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Individual state champs - 1995, 2006, 2012 Football Golf Softball Soccer Track and Field Individual state champs - 1994, 1996, 1997, 2015, 2016, 2021 Volleyball History After local school teacher John Hicks was elected as the first representative from Clay County to the North Carolina General Assembly, he purchased land near Hayesville on Aug. 12, 1870, to establish a school, Hicksville Academy. Hicksville Academy boarded students and charged tuition in a framed, two-story building. In the 1880s, its name was changed to Hayesville Academy. In 1891, Hayesville Academy was renamed to Hayesville Male and Female College and courses were offered from the first grade through college. By the late 1890s, the school enrolled more than 200 students. The school continued to board students through the 1909-10 school year and sometime prior to 1909 the name of the school was changed to Hayesville High School. Hayesville High School received accreditation in 1924, the same year its two-story wooden frame building was demolished. On August 6, 1928, the school stopped charging tuition and became free for all county students. The school fielded a football team in 1929. After Ogden and Elf schools shifted focus to elementary students, Hayesville was the only high school in the county from 1937 on. A new school was constructed in 1950. A gymnasium was built in the late 1950s. Hayesville High School served students in grades 7-12 until the creation of Hayesville Middle School in 1989. At that point HHS began serving grades 9-12. Principals John O. Hicks (1870-) Dr. Neal T. Kitchens (c. 1886) H.P. Bailey (c. 1889-1890) N.A. Fessenden D.M. Stallings (c. 1909-1910) E.L. Adams (1913-) A.H. Shuler (c. 1926-1928) T.C. Lingerfeldt (1928-c. 1929) Carl Dan Killian (1934-1935) Charles F. Carroll, who later became N.C. state superintendent of education Hugh Scott Beal (-1956) Gene Yeater (c. 1961) David Danes (c. 1988) Dr. Gail Criss (c. 1997-2005) Matt Rogers (c. 2008) Mickey Noe (2014-2018) Dr. Catherine Andrews (c. 2019) Jim Saltz (c. 2020-2021) Stacey Overlin (2021-present) Notable alumni George Washington Truett (1885), well-known Southern Baptist preacher References Educational institutions in the United States with year of establishment missing Public high schools in North Carolina Schools in Clay