Enka, North Carolina facts for kids
Enka is a small, unincorporated community. It is located in Buncombe County, North Carolina, in the United States. This area sits near major roads like U.S. Routes 19, 23, and 74 Business. It is also close to where Interstates 26, 40, and 240 meet. Enka has its own post office with the ZIP code 28728.
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History of Enka
The American Enka Company
The American Enka Company was started in 1928. This company built a very large factory. It became the biggest factory in the nation to produce rayon. Rayon is a type of fabric that feels like silk.
The name "Enka" comes from a Dutch company. Its full name was Nederlandse Kunstzijdefabriek. The letters N and K from this Dutch name sound like "Enka" when spoken.
The Dutch company chose the Hominy Valley for its factory. They picked this spot because it had plenty of water and workers. In 1929, the company began to plan a community for its employees. This community was called Enka Village. Today, Enka Village is a historic area. It is now part of the city of Asheville.
Building the Factory
Fred Loring Seely was a businessman from Asheville. He helped bring the Enka factory to Buncombe County. In 1928, Dutch rayon businessmen were looking for a place to build a factory in America. Mr. Seely told them that his county had trees for fiber. It also had water for processing and reliable workers.
American Enka sent Mr. Seely over $1 million. He used this money to buy 2,000 acres of land. Then, ENKA built a $10 million factory. This factory created many jobs. In 1929, 1,900 people worked there. This was a lifesaver for many families during the Great Depression. After World War II, the number of workers grew to 4,300. At one point, as many as 7,000 people worked at the plant.
The factory offered many great things for its employees. These included a gym, a pool room, and a bowling alley. There were also two cafeterias and a library. The Enka Lake Club opened on a lake. This lake was built to supply water to the plant. Buses even brought employees from nearby areas to work.
Changes Over Time
Over the years, rules about protecting the environment became stricter. This led to a decrease in the use of rayon. In 1985, American Enka sold the plant to BASF. Then, BASF sold the plant to Colbond Inc. in 2000. By 2007, rayon was no longer made there.
The northern part of the plant was sold to developers. They tore down most of the buildings. Only the clock tower was saved. Enka Lake is now part of a private community called Biltmore Lake HOA. Three of the old buildings became the Enka campus of Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College.
The Future of Enka
Some parts of the original plant still stand today. This includes the campus for Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. The rest of the area now has offices, warehouses, and industrial spaces. There are also open green areas. A greenway path follows along Hominy Creek.
In 2015, about 200 people still worked for Bonar Inc. They made fabric for commercial carpet backing. Other companies also leased space in the area. However, most of the old plant is now gone.
A new school opened in 2016. It used 20,000 bricks from the old plant. The school also has a clock tower that looks like the one at the factory. Its sloped roofs remind people of the old factory's design.
Future plans for Enka Center include new buildings. A warehouse and distribution center will be built by Samet Corp. The Asheville city council looked at plans for this in January 2021. In January 2023, plans were approved for a large industrial development. It will have manufacturing facilities and warehouses. A condition for this approval was that the historic clock tower must be saved. Samet plans to finish the first building by the end of 2024. Two more buildings will be built on either side of the clock tower, which will also be repaired.
See also
In Spanish: Enka (Carolina del Norte) para niños
