Informative strolls about Hendersonville history will be offered in November. The guided walks will be in three historic areas of town: along Main Street (Saturday, November 6, 10 a.m.), in Oakdale Cemetery (Saturday, November 13, 10 a.m.), and in the 7th Avenue Historic Depot District (Saturday, November 20, 10 a.m.). Cost for each tour is $10 per person 10 years and older. Children under 10 are free with a paid adult. Space is limited and reservations are required. Phone history walk leader Mary Jo Padgett at 828-545-3179 or email maryjo@maryjopadgett.com to make a reservation. Private tours for groups can be arranged anytime. Visit the website at www.maryjopadgett.com and click on Guided Walks for more details.
History on Main Street
On Saturday, November 6, Historic Main Street will be described by tour guide Mary Jo Padgett by stepping back in time to answer such questions as — who donated the land where the new town would be built, what is the age of the oldest block of buildings, what was on the third floor (and in the basement) of the old City Hall, who was the town named for, where was the Opera House, and learn about bordellos, shoot-outs, trolley lines, and stories of life in the old days on Chinquapin Hill. The walk will start at 10 a.m. at the front steps of City Hall, corner of Fifth Avenue E. and King St.
Oakdale Cemetery Stories and Historic Monuments
On Saturday, November 13, a guided tour through Historic Oakdale Cemetery, Hendersonville’s municipal cemetery, will tell stories of the town’s early days through its quirky, colorful citizens. The famous Italian marble monument which inspired the title of Thomas Wolfe’s novel Look Homeward, Angel is in Oakdale, along with both marked and unmarked graves of historic figures. The heritage of the local African-American community is told in the Black section of the cemetery, while the designated Jewish cemetery reveals how the town grew to embrace ethnic and religious groups through the years. How and why the cemetery was created, names of those who helped build the town and where they were laid to rest, where the Sunshine Lady is buried, and more questions will be answered. The walk will begin at 10 a.m. in the cemetery.
7th Avenue/Historic Depot District – The Rise of Tourism
On Saturday, November 20, the guided walk will meander through the historic part of town encircling the Train Depot on Seventh Avenue East. When the first steam locomotive arrived in Hendersonville on July 4, 1879, crammed with tourists and visitors from the low country of South Carolina, it was the beginning of an exciting era of big-band music, dancing, numerous inns and hotels, much real estate trading, and huge agricultural growth. Money was made and lost, famous musicians and sports figures came calling, delicious food was enjoyed at every inn and boarding house … Hendersonville was in its hey-day from that moment until the financial crash of 1929. This neighborhood boasted many businesses run by Black and white owners. The walk will start at 10 a.m. at the front steps of City Hall, corner of Fifth Avenue E. and King St.
“Locals and visitors alike can celebrate and share the interesting history and architecture of Hendersonville,” Padgett said, “For example, learn how the rich natural resources here – the local clay for brick, the hand-hewn foundation rocks from local quarries, and, in fact, the heritage carried from the earlier Cherokee lifestyle – have contributed to our lives today.”
Padgett served on Hendersonville City Council for eight years, is a journalist and public relations consultant, is co-founder and former executive director of ECO, was associate editor at The Mother Earth News magazine, and conducts programs and guided tours in Paris, France, on the American Revolution. Her parents spent their honeymoon in the Skyland Hotel on Main Street. She grew up on a farm in Rutherford County, and has lived in a 100-year-old house in downtown Hendersonville for 40 years.
To make reservations or get more information, phone Padgett at 828-545-3179 or email maryjo@maryjopadgett.com. Visit www.maryjopadgett.com and click on Guided Walks for more information.
