Hendersonville, North Carolina

Introduction

Dating to shortly after the founding of Henderson County in 1838, Hendersonville is traditionally known as "The City of Four Seasons". The town has a well-preserved Main Street and adjoining downtown areas with many restaurants, antique shops and boutiques in buildings that housed key local business until the mid-1980s. Its architecture reflects the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many buildings have outhouses because there were no indoor toilets in the past. This is now a celebrated part of Hendersonville culture. Much downtown revitalization has occurred since the early 1990s. Larger stores are almost entirely along the commercial strips extending outward from the downtown along U.S. Hwy. 64 east and U.S. Hwy. 176 and U.S. Hwy. 25. There are historic neighborhoods outside the Main Street corridor including the 5th Avenue neighborhood on the city's west side and the Druid Hills neighborhood north of downtown. Depressed areas are found along the city's east side, but redevelopment efforts are underway in the historic commercial district along 7th Avenue East.

The architectural focus of the downtown area is the Historic Henderson County Courthouse, completed in 1905 and completely renovated in 2008. The city is also home to the newly restored City Hall (erected 1924) and the modern Henderson County Courthouse (1995).

The largest street festival of the Hendersonville calendar is the annual North Carolina Apple Festival, culminating in the Apple Parade that regularly draws up to 50,000 spectators. Main Street is home to other festivals and special activities throughout the year.

High schools in the city include West Henderson High School, Hendersonville High School, North Henderson High School, and East Henderson High School.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.0 square miles (16 km²), of which, 6.0 square miles (16 km²) of it is land and 0.17% is water. Henderson County is located in the southern mountains of Western North Carolina along the Eastern Escarpment. 35°19′14″N 82°27′42″W (35.320586, -82.461596).

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,137 people across 5,920 households in the city. The population density was 2,189.5 people per square mile (853.0/km²). There were 5,181 housing units at an average density of 870.0 per square mile (335.6/km²). The racial composition of the city was 81.44% White, 12.54% Black or African American, 9.09% Hispanic or Latino American, 0.73% Asian American, 0.28% Native American, 0.01% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 3.48% some other race, and 1.52% two or more races.

In 1900, 1,967 persons lived in Hendersonville; in 1910, 2818; and in 1940, 5381 people lived here. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,137, up five-fold in one century.

There were 4,579 households out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.2% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city, the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age of 18, 17.5% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,357, and the median income for a family was $39,111. Males had a median income of $30,458 versus $22,770 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,926. About 13.3% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.5% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Museums and historical sites

First in the sights to visit listed by the AAA is the Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson County, located at 400 North Main Street in downtown Hendersonville. The museum has giant geodes, a Tyrannosaurus skull, beautiful minerals, and dinosaur eggs on display. The same building is home to the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society. Entry to both parts of the ornate building is free.

Down the road at 318 North Main Street is Hands On!, a children's museum of "educational exhibits that stimulate the imagination and motivate learning in a fun, safe, 'hands-on' environment." Admission is $5 per child or adult.

The Henderson County Heritage Museum, a 1905 county courthouse featuring a gallery of regional Carolina history, is further down Main Street at One Historic Courthouse Square. It sits in the heart of the Main Street Historic District. Admission is free.

To the east of Main Street is the 1902-16 Hendersonville Rail Road Station, at 7th Avenue and Maple Street in the Seventh Avenue Depot District. Southern Railway opened the line in 1879, a full year before that of Asheville. However, passenger rail service on the line ended in 1968.

To the west of Main Street along U.S. Route 64 West is Oakdale Cemetery. It includes the Italian marble angel statue that served as the inspiration for Thomas Wolfe's first novel, Look Homeward, Angel (1929).

North of Main Street is the Historic Johnson Farm at 3346 Haywood Road. The 1878 tobacco farm served as a summer retreat for tourists as early as the 1920s. Admission is free, while guided tours are $2 and $3.

The Western North Carolina Air Museum, featuring airplanes of a bygone era, is near the small Hendersonville Airport at the corner of Gilbert Street and Brooklyn Avenue between Hendersonville and Flat Rock. Admission is free.

Five miles west of downtown Hendersonville is Jump Off Rock atop Jump Off Mountain. This popular scenic overlook provides a panorama of the Pisgah and Blue Ridge mountains. Laurel Park town park; free admission during daylight hours.

Camp Ton-A-Wandah is a well-established summer camp for girls outside Hendersonville, in the Flat Rock area.

For additional sites, see the National Register of Historic Places listings in Henderson County, North Carolina. In addition to the Henderson County Courthouse, Historic Johnson Farm, Main Street Historic District, Oakdale Cemetery, and Seventh Avenue Depot District, the Aloah Hotel, The Cedars, Chewning House, Clarke-Hobbs-Davidson House, Cold Spring Park Historic District, Mary Mills Coxe House, Druid Hills Historic District, Grey Hosiery Mill, Hyman Heights-Mount Royal Historic District, Kanuga Lake Historic District, King-Waldrop House, Lenox Park Historic District, Reese House, Clough H. Rice House, Smith-Williams-Durham Boarding House, Erle Stillwell House, Erle Stillwell House II, The Waverly, and West Side Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hendersonville Little Theatre (HLT) was established in 1966. It moved from its original location to a unique red barn on State Street. After many successful years at the theatre in the barn, HLT moved to an old stone church at 220 S. Washington Street in downtown Hendersonville in 2012. The critically praised theatre has staged many styles of plays from family-oriented to big musicals to edgy dramas.

Companies

Clothing retailer Bon Worth was founded in Hendersonville in 1976.

Sierra Nevada opened up a brewery in 2014.

Media

The metro area has several TV broadcasting stations that serve the Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville Designated Market Area (DMA) as defined by Nielsen Media Research.

The station nearest to Hendersonville is the Asheville-based WLOS (ABC), television channel 13. Other major TV broadcasters include channel 4 (WYFF - NBC), channel 7 (WSPA - CBS), channel 21 (WHNS - Fox), and channel 33 (WUNF - PBS). WNCW-FM 88.7 is a popular mountain music station.

Hendersonville's daily newspaper is the Times-News.

Notable people