Hendersonville, North Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hendersonville, North Carolina
City
Historic downtown Hendersonville
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  City of Four Seasons, Hendo
Location of Hendersonville, North Carolina
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Henderson
Incorporated	1847
Named for	Leonard Henderson
Area
• Total	7.44 sq mi (19.28 km2)
• Land	7.41 sq mi (19.19 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.09 km2)
Elevation	2,100 ft (600 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	15,137
• Density	2,043.61/sq mi (788.99/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	28739, 28791–28792
Area code(s)	828
FIPS code	37-30720
GNIS feature ID	2404685

Hendersonville is a city in and the county seat of Henderson County, North Carolina, United States, located 22 miles (35 km) south of Asheville. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leonard Henderson.

The population was 13,137 at the 2010 census and was estimated in 2019 to be 14,157.

Introduction

Prior to the Treaty of Hopewell, the land that now is occupied by Hendersonville was settled by Cherokee tribes. Following this treaty, white settlers entered the region, eventually taking the land of what is now Henderson County in full from the original inhabitants. Poor trade links still restricted economic and demographic growth in the region, until the development of the Buncombe Turnpike, completed in 1827. Wealthy low-country planters started to migrate to the area, building summer homes and bringing lots of money with them. In response to this population growth, Henderson County was split off from Buncombe County and founded in 1838.

Judge Mitchell King owned 1,000 acres (4.0 km²), of which he donated 50 acres for the establishment of the town of Hendersonville. He used some of the enslaved African Americans he owned as workers to lay out its 100-foot-wide (30 m) Main Street.

Formed in 1838 and chartered in 1847 as the county seat of Henderson County, 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 businesses until the mid-1980s. At that point some businesses moved to suburban or highway locations, or were put out of business by big box competition. The town's architecture reflects the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Much downtown revitalization has occurred since the early 1990s.

Larger stores have been developed almost entirely along the commercial strips extending outward from the downtown along U.S. Highway 64 east and U.S. Highways 176 and 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 newly restored City Hall (erected 1924) and the modern Henderson County Courthouse (1995) are also located downtown.

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 and surrounding area include Hendersonville High School, West Henderson High School, North Henderson High School, and East Henderson High School.

Geography

Hendersonville is located at the center of Henderson County, in the southern mountains of western North Carolina near the Eastern Escarpment.

Interstate 26 runs through the eastern side of the city, with access from Exit 49. U.S. Routes 25 and 74 run concurrently with I-26. The freeway leads north 22 miles (35 km) to Asheville and southeast 46 miles (74 km) to Spartanburg, South Carolina. Interstate 26 also provides direct access to the Asheville Regional Airport (AVL),which features scheduled passenger airline service operated by several major air carriers. U.S. Route 25 Business passes through the center of Hendersonville on King Street northbound and Church Street southbound. U.S. Route 64 (6th Avenue) also passes through the center of Hendersonville, leading northeast 14 miles (23 km) to Bat Cave and west 20 miles (32 km) to Brevard. U.S. Route 176 (Spartanburg Highway) leads southeast 10 miles (16 km) to Saluda.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Hendersonville has a total area of 6.9 square miles (18.0 km²), of which 0.03 square miles (0.07 km²), or 0.40%, is water. Mud Creek, a north-flowing tributary of the French Broad River and part of the Tennessee River watershed, is the watercourse through the city, passing east of downtown.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,137 people, 7,274 households, and 3,339 families residing in the city. The median age was 52.

Museums and historical sites

The Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson County, located at 400 North Main Street in downtown Hendersonville, has giant geodes, a Tyrannosaurus skull, 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 $8 per child or adult.

The Henderson County Heritage Museum, in the 1905 county courthouse at One Historic Courthouse Square, features a gallery of regional Carolina history. 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. The Southern Railway opened the line in 1879. Passenger rail service on the line ended in 1968.

To the west of Main Street along U.S. Route 64 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 (FAA LID: 8NC9), featuring airplanes of a bygone era, is near the small Hendersonville Airport (FAA LID: 0A7) at the corner of Gilbert Street and Brooklyn Avenue between Hendersonville and East Flat Rock. Admission is free.

5 miles (8 km) west of downtown Hendersonville in the town of Laurel Park is Jump Off Rock atop Jump Off Mountain. This overlook provides a panorama of the Pisgah and Blue Ridge mountains. Laurel Park town park; free admission during daylight hours.

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 was established in 1966. It moved from its original location to a unique red barn on State Street. After many successful years at that site, in 2012 it moved to an old stone church at 220 S. Washington Street downtown.

Companies

Clothing retailer Bon Worth was founded in Hendersonville in 1976. Sierra Nevada opened a brewery in 2014.

Healthcare

Hospitals in Hendersonville include AdventHealth Hendersonville and UNC Health Pardee.

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 WYFF, WSPA, WHNS, and WUNF. WMYI 102.5, is the only radio station that broadcasts in Hendersonville. Additionally, most Asheville and some Greenville/Spartanburg stations come in with a local sound quality.

Hendersonville's only daily newspaper is the Times-News. The Hendersonville Lightning, founded in April 2012 by Bill Moss, is a weekly newspaper.

Notable people

• Madison Cawthorn (born 1995) – one-term Congressman for North Carolina's 11th congressional district
• Shirley Danz (1926–2018) – All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
• Jennifer Pharr Davis (born 1983) – long-distance hiker and conservationist
• Martin Gardner (1914–2010) – mathematics and science writer
• Sam Gash (born 1969) – professional football player and cousin of Thane Gash
• Thane Gash (born 1965) – professional football player
• Tiger Greene (born 1962) – professional football player
• Ash Gutierrez (born 2005) – musical artist
• Jim Lampley (born 1949) – sportscaster, news anchor, producer, restaurant owner
• Doug Llewelyn (born 1938) – original host of The People's Court
• Mickey Marvin (1955–2017) – professional football player
• Kelly McGillis (born 1957) – actress, Top Gun, Witness
• The McGuire Twins (Billy Leon McCrary, 1946–1979; Benny Loyd McCrary, 1946–2001) – "world's heaviest twins," born in Hendersonville
• Robert Morgan (born 1944) – poet, essayist, author
• Steve Penn (born 1968) – handball player who represented Team USA at the 1996 Summer Olympics
• Tommy Refenes (born 1981) – indie games designer, known for Super Meat Boy and other Flash-style games
• Christoph Sanders (born 1988) – actor, the lead ("Kyle Anderson") in ABC's and then Fox Television's Last Man Standing from 2011 to 2021; worked at nearby Flat Rock Playhouse and studied at Blue Ridge Community College, both in Henderson County, N.C.
• Charles Stanley (1932-2023) – pastor at Fruitland Baptist Church in Hendersonville from 1957-59; later became pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention

Sister cities

Hendersonville has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Almuñécar, Granada, Spain
• Verbania, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Italy

See also

In Spanish: Hendersonville (Carolina del Norte) para niños