There are a couple species that are native to the southeast. Y. filamentosa is pretty common in a lot of places. As you said, it was often also planted in people's yards.I don't think its native to this region, when you find it around here in the woods...its usually an old homeplace. If you break it right, the point will make a needle with fibers/thread already attached.
Likely not the same species, but they are all pretty similar.I wonder if that is the same species of Yucca, that we had in California when I was a boy. They grew all over the hillsides, and were real pretty when they bloomed, which wasn't every year. For some reason, they seemed to be a good place to find a rattler.
I doubt a self-respecting Yucca or Rattler would live in Southern Cal these days. (No room to grow the yucca, and the illegals would eat all the rattlers.)
Our species can have a stalk an inch in diameter and several feet high. They are great material for hand drills and bow drills.I'm thinking the ones out west have a bigger stalk ? Seen them used for hand drills several times.
There are a couple species that are native to the southeast. Y. filamentosa is pretty common in a lot of places. As you said, it was often also planted in people's yards.
Yucca is the only plant fiber that I have found to be strong enough to make a usable bowstring from. Dogbane is strong enough, but you can't get it clean enough to get the pure fibers like you can yucca.