A BRIEF HISTORY IN TIME The North Carolina Apple Festival has been held annually for over 70 years, with the King Apple Parade being a key event. Photo Credit: Baker-Barber Collection; Community Foundation of Henderson County; Henderson County Public Library
1 8 9 2 H e n d e r s o n v i l l e ’s F i r e Department is formed. 1894 A spur of the railroad is completed to Brevard. 1898 The Asheville Telephone Co. begins line communication for telephone service to Hendersonville.
1900s
1907 The first textile mills in the county are established in East Flat Rock and Tuxedo. 1909 Lenox Park, Hendersonville’s first park, is established, beginning as Columbia Park. 1910 George Vanderbilt’s land in Mills River becomes part of Pisgah National Forest.
1903 The Saluda Fire Department is formed and serves Saluda, Mountain Page and Macedonia.
1910 The first hospital is opened by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Naples community.
1903 Dummy Line streetcar runs from Main Street out 5th Avenue to Crystal Spring in Laurel Park.
1910 The first summer camp opens in Laurel Park.
1903 Saluda and upper sections of Green River Cove and Howard Gap Road, from Melrose to Saluda, are placed in Polk County by the N.C. General Assembly against objections from Henderson County. 1902 The U.S. Postal Service begins rural routes. 1903 The first WNC Fair is organized and held in Laurel Park. Today, the N.C. Mountain State Fair is held annually in Fletcher. 1904 The Hendersonville Power and Light Co., later known as Blue Ridge Power and Light, builds the first dam on Big Hungry River and electricity arrives in the county. 1905 A new courthouse, known today as the Historic Courthouse, is built. 30
1911 A second hospital, Patton Hospital, is established in Hendersonville. 1914 A public library is built in Hendersonville. 1914 The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service opens a Henderson County Extension Center. 1916 The worst natural disaster on record, the Flood of 1916, occurs. 1926 The Town of East Flat Rock incorporates. 1926 World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Dempsey trains in Laurel Park.
1933 The Town of Laurel Park incorporates. 1936 The Hendersonville-Asheville Airport opens in Fletcher area. 1947 The first N.C. Apple Blossom Festival is held. It later changes to today’s N.C. Apple Festival. 1948 The Lake Summit Playhouse is opened by Vagabond Players; and moves to Flat Rock in 1952. It later becomes the Flat Rock Playhouse in 1961, the State Theater of North Carolina. 1950 The Town of East Flat Rock votes to dissolve incorporation. 1951 Union school is established for all Black students and the last two “colored” school districts close. 1953 Pardee Hospital is built and Patton Hospital closes. 1954 General Electric builds plant in East Flat Rock and becomes the county’s largest single employer until late 1990s. 1954 Volunteer fire departments begin forming throughout the county. 1957 The Henderson County Rescue Squad organizes.
1927 Lake Summit is built in Tuxedo when a dam is built on the Green River.
1959 Asheville annexes land in Henderson County to build the Asheville Airport.
1928 The current Hendersonville City Hall building is built.
1964 School segregation ends.
Hendersonville Magazine 2022–2023
