Three popular guided history walks will be offered in June. Now in its seventh year, Hendersonville Guided History Walks offers 90-plus minute walks in three historic areas of town: along Main Street (Friday, June 11, 10 a.m.), in Oakdale Cemetery (Friday, June 18, 10 a.m.), and in the 7th Avenue Historic Depot District (Friday, June 25, 10 a.m.). Cost for each tour is $10 per person 10 years and older. Children under 10 are free with a paid adult. Appropriate guidelines for safety and health will be practiced, space is limited and reservations are required. Contact 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 to see the entire schedule for 2021.
Main Street
On Friday, June 11, the walk will start at 10 a.m. at the front steps of City Hall, corner of Fifth Avenue E. and King St. Stroll along Historic Main Street with tour guide Mary Jo Padgett 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.
Oakdale Cemetery
On Friday, June 18, the walk will begin at 10 a.m. in the cemetery on U.S. 64 W. This guided tour of Historic Oakdale Cemetery, Hendersonville’s 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.
7th Avenue/Historic Depot District
On Friday, June 25, this walk will start at 10 a.m. at the front steps of City Hall, corner of Fifth Avenue E. and King St., then we’ll meander through this historic part of town encircling the Train Depot. 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. We’ll hear the details.
“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, 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 40 years.
Hear stories about famous people, destructive fires, and more about this historic small-town gem in the mountains during Hendersonville Guided History Walks, June 11, 18, and 25 at 10 a.m.
Hear stories about Hendersonville’s Gilded Age with the coming of the railroad and well-to-do tourists. The Wheeler Hotel was one of the fancy inns located in the 7th Avenue/Historic Depot District. Hendersonville Guided History Walks are in June.
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 2021 schedule.
