Four popular guided history walks
– each one on Saturday morning — will be offered in June. Hendersonville History Walks
start at 10 a.m., are 90-plus minute walks, and are in various historic areas of town. The
Main Street walk is Saturday, June 7; the walk in Oakdale Cemetery is Saturday, June 14;
the 7 th Avenue/ Historic Depot District walk is Saturday, June 21; and the Murals,
Mosaic, and Ghost Signs tour throughout downtown is Saturday, June 28. 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 requested. Contact history walk leader Mary Jo
Padgett at 828-545-3179 or email maryjo@maryjopadgett.com to make a reservation or
to set up private tours for groups of 5 or more at any time. Visit the website at
www.maryjopadgett.com and click on Guided Walks to see the entire 2025 schedule.
Main Street
On Saturday, June 7, the walk starts at 10 a.m. at the front steps of City Hall,
corner of Fifth Avenue E. and King St. The stroll along Historic Main Street with tour
guide Mary Jo Padgett will 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, “underground” shops, trolley
lines, and stories of life in the old days on Chinquapin Hill.
Oakdale Cemetery
On Saturday, June 14, the walk begins at 10 a.m. in the cemetery on U.S. 64 W.
This tour of Historic Oakdale Cemetery, Hendersonville’s only municipal cemetery,
whispers stories of the town’s early days and 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 our 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
established in 1883, 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.
7 th Avenue/Historic Depot District
On Saturday, June 21, the walk starts at 10 a.m. at the front steps of City Hall,
corner of Fifth Avenue E. and King St. From there the group meanders through the
historic part of town around the Train Depot. When the first steam locomotive arrived at
the Hendersonville Depot 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. We’ll hear the details.
Murals, Mosaic, and Ghost Signs
On Saturday, June 28, at 10 a.m., the walk begins in front of the Historic
Courthouse on Main St. Along the side and back streets of downtown, strolling over to 7 th
Avenue and back along Main St., attendees learn the stories behind more than 6 murals, a
mosaic made with 250,000 small pieces of glass, and various ghost signs left from days
gone by, hidden in plain sight.
“Locals and visitors alike can celebrate and share the interesting history, art, 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, was 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 44 years.
To make reservations or for more information, contact Padgett at 828-545-3179 or
email maryjo@maryjopadgett.com . Visit www.maryjopadgett.com and click on Guided
Walks for a complete 2025 schedule. Private tours can be arranged anytime. # # #
