Early history and creation Sources conflict over when the area that eventually grew to encompass Hyde County was settled by Europeans. The earliest known colonial land deeds in the present day county date from 1704 or 1705. European settlement remained sparse over the subsequent decades, though the English established a small fort on the northern shore of Lake Mattamuskeet. In 1711,
Algonquin-speaking Native Americans in the area joined with the proximate
Tuscarora people in launching
a war against the settlers. The conflict was won by the settlers in 1715, with many captured Native Americans enslaved and the remaining Tuscaroras largely expelled from North Carolina. The local Algonquin natives were gathered on the newly created Mattamuskeet Reservation, which comprised most of the eastern mainland section of what eventually became Hyde County. Due to pressure from the settlers, the Native Americans began selling their land in 1731. By 1792, all of the reservation had been sold, and its inhabitants either left the region or intermarried with local European Americans and African Americans. The county was formed December 3, 1705, as
Wickham Precinct, one of three precincts within
Bath County. The name Wickham was derived from the manor of
Temple Wycombe in
Buckinghamshire, England, the family home of
John Archdale,
governor of North and South Carolina from 1695 to 1696. In 1712, it was renamed
Hyde Precinct for
Edward Hyde, Governor of North Carolina from 1711 to 1712. In 1739, Bath County was abolished, and Hyde Precinct became Hyde County. In 1745,
Lake Mattamuskeet and its adjoining territory were transferred from
Currituck County to Hyde County.
Antebellum Communities coalesced and churches were formed in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. In 1819, the portion of Hyde County west of the
Pungo River was annexed by
Beaufort County. Four years later, the area of Currituck County south of
New Inlet was transferred to Hyde County. This area included
Hatteras Island. In 1834, an "apprenticeship" program was begun whereby local Native American children were placed under the tutelage of white families to learn trades. Lasting until 1865, the policy resulted in the loss of much independent Native American cultural identity in the area. In 1845,
Ocracoke Island was transferred from
Carteret County to Hyde County. Ocracoke benefitted from a modest shipping industry which persisted into the mid-1800s, while the mainland portion of county was largely agrarian, though farmers struggled in the swampy terrain. Northern investors also took an interest in the county during Reconstruction, particularly in the harvest of timber. Between 1870 and 1920, the county experienced some economic prosperity due to the logging of cypress, juniper, and oak trees. Several sawmills and railroads were established. The industry declined as the county's forests thinned, before being overcome by the
Great Depression. Hyde County received its first paved road in the 1920s and gained electric service in 1935. By the mid-20th century, the agriculturally-reliant county was in economic and demographic decline, benefiting none from the public infrastructure investments and industrial growth of the
postwar economic boom occurring elsewhere in the state. Several towns that had prospered in the early 1900s were left totally abandoned, and the vast majority of county residents were impoverished. The timber industry continued to provide some employment, while after
World War II the seafood
packing industry grew.
Jim Crow racial segregation took hold after the close of the 19th century and persisted, depriving blacks of political and economic opportunities available to whites. In 1950, about one third of white residents had access to hot running water and flushing toilets, while no blacks had such amenities, and tended to live near small creeks and drainage canals. Racial separation was less pronounced on Ocracoke Island, where blacks and whites lived in closer physical proximity to one another. ==Geography and physical features==