News

Ask Matt ... about road names

By Bill Moss, Published: November 9, 2014

Q. For whom are all of the "Allen" roads were named? It doesn't seem fair that there are so many but Mayor Edwards who served so long was only recognized with an alley.

Allen Street in downtown Hendersonville, two blocks south of the Historic Courthouse, was named for Dr. Thomas Allen, who was the city's first elected mayor, in 1882. Dr. Allen, who served as a physician in the Confederate Army, also owned a drug and dry goods store. Lu Ann Welter, City Hall's "resident" historian, told me that old street maps show three previous street names — Spruce, South 2nd Avenue and Alamance. It's been Allen Street since 1934.
Researching the origins of the four "Allen" roads outside the city limits led me nowhere. Three of the roads (South Allen, Mid Allen, and North Allen) are all loosely strung between Upward Road and Howard Gap Road. In the early 1990s when the enhanced 911 system was adopted many duplicate street names were changed to aid emergency responders and each Allen road picked up a prefix. One area resident I spoke to remembers that Mid Allen Road was once called Kitchentown Road. The fourth, and perhaps the oldest, remains simply Allen Road. It borders Lawndale Park subdivision across from the Blue Ridge Fire Department and was mapped in 1945.
Now to your point about Mayor Albert V. Edwards, the City's longest serving mayor (1932-1969). Some of my sources tell me that Edwards Street – or alley if you please – was named for the mayor and there is mention of this street in the 1935 council minutes. But surely they would not have named a street for the mayor just three years into his first term. It may instead have been named for his father, W.F. Edwards, who built our Courthouse in 1904. Marcia Mills Kelso, granddaughter of Albert Edwards, was unsure of which Edwards, the mayor or the builder, was recognized with the street name.
Not to be shortchanged, Mayor Edwards once had a park bearing his name. It was opened in the 1930s on property on North Main Street next to the VFW building. Author James T. Fain wrote that Edwards Park was named for the mayor in the 1990s. The only evidence of a park today is the grassy area where the scout cabins still sit. That land is now owned by our School System.
For whatever reason, should the City want to change the name of 7th Avenue, I would think that "Edwards Avenue" would be on the short list.