[1] In 1893, businessman W. H. Cole moved to Haywood County, North Carolina to establish a sawmill on unoccupied land.

It was incorporated as a town by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1905.

The study concluded that annexation would be economically feasible if the town developed its own municipal water supply.

[3] In 1982, a fire broke out at Benfield Industries, a bulk chemical mixing and packaging plant in Hazelwood and was referred to as "the day Hazelwood almost exploded".

[4] In July 1995, Hazelwood merged with the town of Waynesville due to the former's financial issues.