The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. That all the territory embraced within the limits of the Hayesville Graded School District herein mentioned, shall be and the same is hereby constituted the Hayesville Graded School District, for white children only; bounded as follows: Beginning on a stake near the Sweet Water gap, in the line of pre-emption No. 108 and pre-emption No. 609, and runs north with the line of No. 609 to a northeast corner of the same; thence west 125 poles to a stake, on the line of No. 180; thence north 70 poles to a hickory; thence east 80 poles to a black oak, corner of James Carroll's land; thence north with the line of Nos. 180 and 183, crossing entry No. 1446, to a stake in north boundary line of No. 1446, thence east to top of the mountain, east of High Top; thence east with meanders of the mountain, to a stake in J. B. Mean's line; thence north with the line of his mountain place to a stake on Hiwassee River; thence up the meanders of the river, passing the Adin Martin ford to a stake on the bank of Hiwassee River opposite a white oak, lower corner of No. 7, owned by J. C. Herbert; thence north crossing the river and passing the white oak to a hickory, northwest corner of No. 7; thence east 125 poles to a sourwood, near the corner, Bill Martin house; thence south 100 poles to a black oak, corner T, J. Herbert's land; thence east 125 poles to three white oaks, corner of M. A. Martin's land; thence south, crossing Tusquittee Creek to a stake, near the T. J. Herbert ford; thence up the creek, with its meanders, to a stake in Winchester's line; thence south, with Winchester's line to southwest corner of the same; thence east with lines of G. W. Bristol's land, to northeast corner; thence south to southeast corner; thence west with Bristol's lands, to northeast corner of F. L. Padgett's land; thence south with the lines of Padgett's and Erwin's land, to a stake in J. A. Pendland's line; thence east with Pendland's line, to northeast corner; thence south to top of ridge, to a stake in Bernard's line; thence east, with ridge to northeast corner of A. J. McClure's and Greorge Moore's land; thence a south course, with McClure's and Moore's line, to a stake in R. E. Long's line; thence with R. E. Long's line, to a stake in the Hayesviile and Shooting Creek Road, west of Long's house, in the Orson Barnard's line; thence west with the road to a stake, a corner of the W. A. McGlamey's land; thence with McGlamey's line, to a stake on the bank of Shooting Creek, upper corner of same; thence down the creek, with its meanders, to its mouth; thence up the meanders of Hiwassee River to the upper corner of L. H. McClure's land; thence with the east and south boundary lines to southwest corner; thence north, to line of R. S. Cowan's; thence with his line to southeast corner of J. B. Brown's; thence west with south boundary line of J. B. Brown, J. D. Curtis, Charley Green, Thomas Cody and James Green's to D. E. Coalman's line; thence northwest course with linep of D. E. Coalman and W. A. Haigler's place, to southwest corner of Haigler's land; thence north to top of the mountain, between Cherry's mill creek and Hyatt's mill creek; thence west with meanders of the mountain to a stake, G. M. Fleming's line; thence west with south boundary line of same, to the west corner of the same; thence north with west boundary of Fleming and Setser lands, to a stake in John Ledford's land; thence west to southwest corner of the same; thence north to the biginning.

Sec. 2. Those in favor of levying the tax shall vote a written or printed ticket with the words "for school" on it, and those opposed to vote a written or printed ticket with the words "against school."

Sec. 3. The board of county commissioners of the county of Clay are hereby required to submit to the qualified registered voters of said district, whenever petitioned to do so by one-fourth of the qualified voters of said district, the question whether an annual tax shall be levied therein for the support of graded school for said district, said tax not to exceed fifty cents on the one hundred dollars worth of property, observing the constitutional equation between the property and poll, and not less than twenty cents, and said election shall be conducted under the same rules and regulations as prescribed by law for the election of members of the General Assembly of North Carolina.

Sec. 4. That if a majority of the voters in said district be in favor of such tax the same shall be levied and collected in the same manner as provided by law for the levying and collecting of other taxes for said county and state; the county tax collector shall collect and pay over the same to the county treasurer under the same liabilities as now provided by law for the collection and paying over of other county taxes.

Sec. 5. The special tax thus, collected shall be expended in keeping up said graded school for children of both sexes between the ages of six (6) years and twenty-one (21) years.

Sec. 6. That S. H. Allison, G. M. Fleming, W. H. McClure, J. B. Mease, G. W. Sanderson, M. R. Kinsey, and R. L. Herbert, be and the same are hereby constituted a board of trustees for said graded school.

Sec. 7. That said trustees shall have power to fill all vacancies in said board, to dismiss teachers, sue and be sued, purchase and hold real estate, and do all such acts as may be necessary to carry on said graded school, and said board of trustees shall have the right, upon satisfactory arrangement, to admit students outside of said district into said graded school.

Sec. 8. That the public school money which from time to time may be collected and proportioned under the general school law for free school purposes for the white children of said district shall be applied to keeeping up said graded school under the order and discretion of said board of trustees.

Sec. 9. That the property, both real and personal, of the public school in said district shall become the property of said graded school, and shall be vested in said board of trustees and their successors in trust for said graded school, and that in the event of the discontinuance of said graded school all of the property thereunto belonging shall revert to and become the property of said public and private schools of said district.

Sec. 10. That said election shall be governed by a majority vote, and in the event a majority of the qualified voters of said graded school district, according to vote cast in said election, shall be in favor of an annual tax, the said board of county commissioners shall have the power to levy not less than twenty (20) cents on the one hundred ($100.00) worth of property nor more than fifty (50) cents, and a corresponding amount on the poll.

Sec. 11. That said tax shall be collected as other taxes.

Sec. 12. Provided, that no tax shall be collected from the colored race for the purpose of keeping up the Hayesville Graded School for white children.

Sec. 13. Provided, further, that the colored race shall not be allowed to vote as to levying tax, &c., for the Hayesville Graded School for white children.

Ratified the 6th day of March, A.D. 1897.

Daniel L. Russell, Jr., Governor
Charles A. Reynolds, Lt. Governor and President of the Senate
A.F. Hileman, Speaker of the House of Representatives

State of North Carolina,
Office of Secretary of State,
Raleigh, April 28th, 1897.

I, Cyrus Thompson, Secretary of State, hereby certify that
the foregoing (manuscript) are true copies of the original acts
and resolutions on file in this office.

Cyrus Thompson,
Secretary of State.