Haywood Community College history

Originally, the College was housed in Patton School in Canton, NC. In 1966, the College moved to Clyde Elementary School, Clyde, NC. The seed money to build the new campus was donated by A.L. Freedlander, an industrialist, inventor, and founder of Dayco Corporation in Ohio and Waynesville.

The College experienced its first name change in 1967 when it became Haywood Technical Institute.

The college moved to its present location in Clyde in July 1972.

In 1975, the Haywood Community College Foundation was founded to aid, strengthen and further the work and service of Haywood Community College.

The HCC trustees approved the start of the campus arboretum in October 1977, and John Palmer was appointed as the founding director in November.

After his death in 1979, the owners of the estate donated the mill wheel to Haywood Technical College in memory of Freedlander’s dedication and benevolence to the college.

In 1986, HCC opened its Regional High Technology Center on Industrial Park Drive in Waynesville.

Over a 10-year period, HCC students built the millhouse, which was dedicated in 1987 and is still used today for a number of student and community activities.

The property serves as a teaching environmental laboratory for HCC’s Natural Resources programs. It first offered distance learning courses in 1992.

Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program received the 2005 Mountain Heritage Award during festivities at Western’s 31st annual Mountain Heritage Day on Saturday, Sept.

Today, the RHTC is home to the Golden LEAF Advanced Machining Center which opened in July 2007.

HCC’s new Creative Arts Building was completed in 2013 at the Clyde campus.