Haywood

Formed January 1, 1808 (62^nd county)

Haywood County (62,097), Waynesville (10,149)

A 2006 masonry Modern Justice Center is on Main Street at Depot Street.  United States Highway 276 is Main Street.  HLM Design provided the designs.  There have been 1884 and 1932 courthouses in the county in Waynesville, the only county seat.  This Neo Classical 1932 stone courthouse is still used next door.  William G. Rogers and George N. Rhodes are the architects.  The county was created on January 1, 1808 from Buncombe County as the 62^nd county.  It is named for North Carolina Treasurer John Haywood.  Waynesville is named for Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne.  He is also the namesake of Wayne County. 

Haywood County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-seven Superior Court Judges serve Haywood, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancy counties, Nine District Court Judges serve Haywood, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties and a court clerk serves Haywood County (judicial.)  Haywood County is in southwest North Carolina on the border with Tennessee.  Asheville, North Carolina is directly east and Knoxville, Tennessee is northwest of the county.  The county center is 13.3 miles North of Waynesville nearer Cove Creek.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Tennessee and Madison, Buncombe, Transylvania, Jackson, and Swain counties. 

The area of the county is 555 square miles.  It is 35 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 44 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 111.9 persons per square mile making it 49 out of 100 in the state.  Haywood County has 28.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 40 enters the county from the north, Tennessee, and exits to the east, Buncombe County.  United States Highway 19 comes from Buncombe County, east, and goes into Swain Count, west.  United States Highway 23 is joined with United States Highway 19 from Buncombe County, splits and heads southwest into Jackson County.  United States Highway 74 is joined with Interstate Highway 40 from Buncombe County, splits and joins U.S. Highway 23 into Jackson County.  United States Highway 276 is joined with Interstate Highway 40 from Tennessee, splits and goes south into Transylvania County.  The county looks like a bag of marbles facing northwest.  Waynesville is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Waynesville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 16.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Waynesville