Hendersonville, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Hendersonville is a city in Henderson County
, North Carolina
, USA
, 22 miles (35.4 km) southeast of Asheville
. In 1900, 1,917 persons lived in Hendersonville; in 1910, 2,818; and in 1940, 5,381 people lived here. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,223, up fivefold in one century. It is the county seat
of Henderson County
. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court
Chief Justice Leonard Henderson
.
Hendersonville and Henderson County are part of the four-county Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area
, the fifth-largest MSA in North Carolina
( the 2000 U.S. Census) and the hub of Western North Carolina
.
Dating to shortly after the founding of Henderson County in 1838, Hendersonville is traditionally known as "The City of Four Seasons". Recently, the mayor of Hendersonville has proclaimed it "Friendliest City in America". The town has a well-preserved Main Street and adjoining downtown areas with many restaurants, antique shops and boutiques located in buildings that housed key local business until the mid-1980s. Its architecture reflects the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Much downtown revitalization has occurred since the early 1990s. Larger stores are located 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. A number of historic neighborhoods exist 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 located 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 Hendersonville is also home to a number of other festivals and special activities throughout the year.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 6 square miles (15.5 km²), of which, 6 square miles (15.5 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.
of 2000, there were 10,421 people, 4,579 households, and 2,555 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,749.7 people per square mile (675.0/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
.
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.
is the Mineral and Lapidary Museum
of Henderson County, located at 400 North Main Street in downtown Hendersonville. The museum has giant geode
s, a Tyrannosaurus
skull, beautiful mineral
s, and dinosaur
eggs on display. The same building includes the local historical-genealogical association. 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 situated 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, located 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 RR service along the line was ended in 1968.
To the west of Main Street along U.S. Route 64 West is the Oakdale Cemetery. It includes an Italian marble angel statue which served as the namesake of 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 located 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 Cherokee
site provides a panorama of the Pisgah
and Blue Ridge
mountains. Admission here is also free.
For additional sites, see the National Register of Historic Places listings in Henderson County, North Carolina.
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.
William Dathan Holbert
, a.k.a. "Wild Bill Cortez", a serial killer who murdered several persons in Bocas del Toro, Panama between 2007 and 2010. Holbert reportedly would befriend land owners and then murder them so he could take over and use or sell their property. Several bodies were found in a makeshift graveyard near a hotel run by Holbert. The story has been widely reported in U.S. and foreign news outlets.
Henderson County, North Carolina
Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2008, the population was 102,367. Its county seat is Hendersonville.- History :...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 22 miles (35.4 km) southeast of Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
. In 1900, 1,917 persons lived in Hendersonville; in 1910, 2,818; and in 1940, 5,381 people lived here. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,223, up fivefold in one century. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Henderson County
Henderson County, North Carolina
Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of the Asheville, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2008, the population was 102,367. Its county seat is Hendersonville.- History :...
. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court
North Carolina Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices...
Chief Justice Leonard Henderson
Leonard Henderson
Leonard Henderson was an American jurist who served as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1829 to 1833, and an associate judge of that court beforehand....
.
Hendersonville and Henderson County are part of the four-county Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area
Asheville metropolitan area
The Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in western North Carolina...
, the fifth-largest MSA in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
( the 2000 U.S. Census) and the hub of Western North Carolina
Western North Carolina
Western North Carolina is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains, thus it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It is sometimes included with upstate South Carolina as the "Western Carolinas", which is also counted as a single media market...
.
Dating to shortly after the founding of Henderson County in 1838, Hendersonville is traditionally known as "The City of Four Seasons". Recently, the mayor of Hendersonville has proclaimed it "Friendliest City in America". The town has a well-preserved Main Street and adjoining downtown areas with many restaurants, antique shops and boutiques located in buildings that housed key local business until the mid-1980s. Its architecture reflects the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Much downtown revitalization has occurred since the early 1990s. Larger stores are located almost entirely along the commercial strips extending outward from the downtown along U.S. Hwy. 64
U.S. Route 64
U.S. Route 64 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles from eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 160 in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. The highway's eastern terminus is at NC 12 and U.S. Route...
East and U.S. Hwy. 176
U.S. Route 176
U.S. Route 176 is a spur of U.S. Route 76. It currently runs for 229 miles from Goose Creek, South Carolina at U.S. Route 52 to Hendersonville, North Carolina at U.S. Route 25. It passes through the states of South Carolina and North Carolina. It goes through the cities of Spartanburg, South...
and U.S. Hwy. 25. A number of historic neighborhoods exist 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 located 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
Henderson County Courthouse (North Carolina)
The Henderson County Courthouse, also known as the Historic Henderson County Courthouse and the Old Henderson County Courthouse, is an historic 3-story brick gold-domed Classical Revival style courthouse building located at One Historic Courthouse Square, corner of 1st and Main streets in...
, 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 Hendersonville is also home to a number of other festivals and special activities throughout the year.
Geography
Hendersonville is located at 35°19′14"N 82°27′42"W (35.320586, -82.461596).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 6 square miles (15.5 km²), of which, 6 square miles (15.5 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.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 10,421 people, 4,579 households, and 2,555 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,749.7 people per square mile (675.0/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
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 9.09% Hispanic or Latino American
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
, 0.73% Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0.28% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, 0.01% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
, 3.48% some other race
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.52% two or more races
Multiracial American
Multiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
.
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
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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 AAAAmerican Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
is the Mineral and Lapidary Museum
Mineral and Lapidary Museum
The Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson County is a volunteer-run museum in Hendersonville, North Carolina founded in 1997 at 400 North Main Street in the middle of the city's Historic District....
of Henderson County, located at 400 North Main Street in downtown Hendersonville. The museum has giant geode
Geode
Geodes are geological secondary sedimentary structures which occur in sedimentary and certain volcanic rocks. Geodes are essentially spherical masses of mineral matter that were deposited sygenetically within the rock formations they are found in. Geodes have a Chalcedony shell containing...
s, a Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
skull, beautiful mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s, and dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
eggs on display. The same building includes the local historical-genealogical association. 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
Henderson County Courthouse (North Carolina)
The Henderson County Courthouse, also known as the Historic Henderson County Courthouse and the Old Henderson County Courthouse, is an historic 3-story brick gold-domed Classical Revival style courthouse building located at One Historic Courthouse Square, corner of 1st and Main streets in...
featuring a gallery of regional Carolina history, is situated 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, located 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 RR service along the line was ended in 1968.
To the west of Main Street along U.S. Route 64 West is the Oakdale Cemetery. It includes an Italian marble angel statue which served as the namesake of Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
's first novel, Look Homeward, Angel
Look Homeward, Angel
Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American Bildungsroman. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be a depiction of Wolfe himself. The novel covers the span of time...
(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 located 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 Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
site provides a panorama of the Pisgah
Mount Pisgah (North Carolina)
Mount Pisgah is a mountain in the Appalachian Mountain Range and part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, United States. The mountain's height is 5,721 feet and it sits approximately 15 miles southwest of Asheville near the crossing of the boundaries of Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson...
and Blue Ridge
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
mountains. Admission here is also free.
For additional sites, see the National Register of Historic Places listings in Henderson County, North Carolina.
Media
The metro area has several TV broadcasting stations that serve the Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville Designated Market Area (DMA)Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
as defined by Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
.
The station nearest to Hendersonville is the Asheville-based WLOS
WLOS
WLOS is the ABC-affiliated television station for Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina licensed to Asheville, North Carolina. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Mount Pisgah in North Carolina. The station can also be seen on Charter...
(ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
), television channel 13. Other major TV broadcasters include channel 4 (WYFF
WYFF
WYFF is the NBC-affiliate television station based in Greenville, South Carolina. It serves a media market which includes Greenville/Spartanburg and Anderson in South Carolina and Asheville/Hendersonville, North Carolina. The market covers large portions of western North Carolina and upstate South...
- NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), channel 7 (WSPA
WSPA-TV
WSPA-TV channel 7 is the CBS-affiliated television station for western North Carolina and South Carolina. It is licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina with its transmitter is located on Hogback Mountain southwest of Tryon, North Carolina. Owned by Media General, the station is sister to CW...
- CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
), channel 21 (WHNS
WHNS
WHNS is the Fox affiliate television station for western North and South Carolina. Licensed to Greenville, South Carolina; it is owned by the Meredith Corporation. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 21...
- Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
), and channel 33 (WUNF - PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
).WNCW-FM 88.7 is a popular mountain music station.
Hendersonville's daily newspaper is the Times-News.
Notable residents
Arguably the most infamous person from Hendersonville isWilliam Dathan Holbert
William Dathan Holbert
William Dathan Holbert is a self-confessed multiple murderer from Hendersonville, North Carolina. Prosecutors allege Holbert confessed to killing five people in Panama and one person in Costa Rica to get their money and properties....
, a.k.a. "Wild Bill Cortez", a serial killer who murdered several persons in Bocas del Toro, Panama between 2007 and 2010. Holbert reportedly would befriend land owners and then murder them so he could take over and use or sell their property. Several bodies were found in a makeshift graveyard near a hotel run by Holbert. The story has been widely reported in U.S. and foreign news outlets.
External links
- Official website of Hendersonville, North Carolina
- Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development
- Official website of Hendersonville Police, North Carolina
- Henderson County GIS Online
- blueridgenow.com - The Times-News Online
- WHKP, Hendersonville radio station
- WTZQ, Hendersonville radio station
- "Friendliest City in America!"
- Hville Scoop, Hendersonville community news and events
- RelyLocal.com Locally owned independent business search engine, tips & coupons