News

Guided walks highlight history, murals, graveyard and ghosts

By Lightning Reports, Published: June 7, 2024

Four guided history walks — each one on Friday morning — will be offered in June covering Main Street, Oakdale Cemetery, the Historic Seventh Avenue District and Murals, Mosaic and Ghost Signs.

The walks are led by Mary Jo Padgett, a former Hendersonville City Council member who was also co-founder and executive director of ECO and associate editor at The Mother Earth News.

 Main Street

On Friday, June 7, the walk starts at 10 a.m. at the front steps of City Hall, corner of Fifth Avenue East and King Street. The stroll along Historic Main Street with tour guide Mary Jo Padgett will cover who donated the land where the new town would be built, 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 — plus bordellos, shootouts, trolley lines and stories of life in the old days on Chinquapin Hill.

Oakdale Cemetery

On Friday, June 14, the walk begins at 10 a.m. in the cemetery on U.S. 64 West. The 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 Look Homeward Angel stands 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 are answered.

Historic Seventh Avenue District

On Friday, June 21, the walk starts at 10 a.m. at the front steps of City Hall on Fifth Avenue East. From there the group meanders through the historic part of town around the Historic Depot. When the first steam locomotive arrived at the Hendersonville Depot on July 4, 1879, and disgorged tourists and visitors from the low country of South Carolina, an exciting era began of big-band music, dances, inns and hotels, real estate trading and agricultural growth. Fortunes were 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. The vibrant commercial district boasted many businesses run by Black and white owners. We’ll hear the details.

Murals, Mosaic and Ghost Signs

On Friday, June 28, at 10 a.m., the murals walk begins at the Historic Courthouse Plaza. Along the avenues and back streets of downtown, strolling over to Seventh Avenue and back along Main Street, attendees learn the stories behind more than six 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.”

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Hendersonville History Walks are 90-plus minute walks. 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. To make a reservation contact Padgett at 828-545-3179 or maryjo@maryjopadgett.com. Visit www.maryjopadgett.com and click on Guided Walks for the complete 2024 schedule. Private tours can be arranged anytime.