Fletcher, North Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fletcher, North Carolina
Town
Town Hall
Motto(s):  Pride in our past, and faith in our future
Location of Fletcher, North Carolina
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Henderson
Founded	1883
Incorporated	1989
Named for	Dr. George Fletcher
Government
• Type	Council-manager
Area
• Total	6.47 sq mi (16.75 km2)
• Land	6.39 sq mi (16.56 km2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.18 km2)
Elevation	2,116 ft (645 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,987
• Density	1,248.94/sq mi (482.21/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	28732
Area code(s)	828
FIPS code	37-23760
GNIS feature ID	2406499

Fletcher is a town in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,187 at the 2010 census, and was estimated to be 8,333 in 2018.

Fletcher is adjacent to Asheville Regional Airport, which serves western North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Fletcher was first settled in 1795 when Samuel Murray decided to move his family to the mountains of western North Carolina. His family made the difficult journey from South Carolina up the old Howard Gap Road which, in areas, was little more than an old Indian trail. Samuel decided he wanted to live just east of the location where Howard Gap Road ended which is very close to where Fletcher Community Park is located today. Murray began buying property in what was then the Limestone District of Buncombe County.  Eventually he purchased more than 10,000 acres bounded roughly by Cane Creek to the south, the French Broad River to the west, Long Shoals Road to the north and Hooper’s Creek and Burney Mountain to the East.  In 1827, Samuel’s son opened the first post office in the Limestone District and the area became known as Murrayville. The Town was used by Stateville, North Carolina to access the Asheville Metropolitan Area and is still being used to give Statesville access to the Asheville Metropolitan Area.

Murrayville became a strategic location because it was one of the main way-stations on the Buncombe Turnpike which was built in the early 1800s. This road quickly became the main passageway for families, farmers, and traders traveling from South Carolina up into Asheville and points north. In 1837, Murrayville was renamed Shufordsville after the newly appointed Postmaster Jacob Rhyne Shuford. Shortly thereafter in 1838, the state of North Carolina formed the last hundred of its counties and Shufordsville was no longer part of Buncombe County but rather part of the newly created Henderson County. Shufordsville continued to slowly grow and changed its name one last time when the town’s namesake, Dr. George Fletcher, became the local postmaster in 1886.

The Meadows and Rugby Grange are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Fletcher is located on the northern edge of Henderson County. It is bordered to the north by the city of Asheville in Buncombe County. It is bordered to the west by the town of Mills River and to the east by unincorporated Hoopers Creek, both in Henderson County.

Interstate 26 passes through the western side of Fletcher, with access from Exits 40 and 44. U.S. Route 25 (Hendersonville Road) passes through the center of Fletcher, leading north 12 miles (19 km) to the center of Asheville and south 9 miles (14 km) to Hendersonville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Fletcher has a total area of 6.5 square miles (16.8 km²), of which 6.4 square miles (16.6 km²) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), or 1.18%, are water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,987 people, 3,468 households, and 2,127 families residing in the town.

See also

In Spanish: Fletcher (Carolina del Norte) para niños