News

HHS celebrates centennial of ‘Grand Old Lady’

The Hendersonville High School Alumni Association will commemorate the centennial of the historic high school building on April 19 at the HHS auditorium. [HENDERSON COUNTY CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT]

By CAREY O'CAIN, Published: March 8, 2026

EDITOR’S NOTE: Carey O’Cain, a 1968 graduate of Hendersonville High School, earned a degree in architectural construction from Clemson University and went on to work in construction management across the U.S. An influential voice in the years-long battle to save the Stillwell building as part of the HHS expansion, O’Cain said at the time: “Our question about this grand lady should not be, can she survive another 50 years. Our promise should be — allow her to survive another 200-300 years.” O’Cain’s account of the birth of the city schools and Hendersonville High School is from his audio history series “Broadly Speaking: Stories of the French Broad River Valley,” which airs at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 8:15 a.m. Thursday on WTZQ radio.

Hendersonville City Schools were established in 1901, 125 years ago. The first classes were in the old Judson College building at the Southeast corner of Third Avenue West and Fleming Street. This year, 2026, marks the 100th anniversary of the new school dedicated in 1926. Many alumni refer to this school as the 8th Avenue school or more currently, the Stillwell Building, designed by Erle Stillwell. Thanks to the Henderson County School Board for saving this beautiful building from disuse and incorporating it into the new high school complex.

Carey O’Cain advocates for saving the Stillwell building during a meeting of the Henderson County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 17, 2016. [LIGHTNING FILE PHOTO]As we celebrate this centennial event, I would like to provide a little background of how we got to this point. In 1901, Hendersonville was expanding as families recognized the importance of healthy, clean air and water. Trains had arrived in 1879 and with the introduction of automobiles, Hendersonville became a tourist destination. By 1911, the city school system had only 10 teachers and about 230 students. Until 1909 there were only 10 grades. After 1909 grades expanded to 11. The school year only lasted 8 months until 1911, when the school year expanded to 9 months.

To accommodate expanding enrollment, the school board purchased 7 acres of property in 1919. This property is roughly the current athletic field at HHS. The property had belonged to the Noterman family whose home was at Boyd Park where the fire station is now. At first the school used the Noterman house as the school. Three-hundred students were stuffed into a house built for a family of 6. The property consisted of a lush meadow with wildflowers, strawberries and a stream flowing thru the meadow. The stream was of sufficient flow to propel a small grist mill located near five points. This mill was still operational during the civil war. The Noterman property extended on the east to Main Street. Church Street did not culminate at 5 points as it does now. It stopped just north of 7th Avenue.

When the Chautauqua Auditorium collapsed in 1915, the need arose for a new community center. A new wooden gymnasium was constructed on the north end of the athletic field and used as an entertainment venue but more importantly as a school. During classes, temporary partitions were hung, dividing the space into smaller classrooms.

In 1923, the city school board proposed building a new school facility to accommodate continued growth. Erle Stillwell was hired as the architect. In 1924, the school board secured an option to acquire property west of the Noterman land. The acquisition consist of 14 acres bounded by Oakland Street, 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue. The property consisted of plum thickets, apple trees and pear trees. The south end where the current auditorium stands was very wet ground, receiving water runoff from every direction. At a cost of $350,000, construction commenced in 1925 and was complete in 1926, 100 years ago. Although this is currently the city high school, at that time the school started with the 1st grade and all 12 grades attended here. At about 8 a.m., before school would commence at 8:30, students from all 12 grades would sometimes play tag on the hill between the granite gymnasium and the first grade steps.

I commenced my education in the first grade at this institution, as did my parents and siblings. Bruce Drysdale Elementary School opened in 1960 when I was in the 4th grade. Halfway thru my 4th grade our classes moved from 8th avenue to the new Bruce Drysdale School. My father was the architect. On the first day of school, the principal, George Wilkins, came to my classroom, spoke with my teacher, whereupon I was asked to join Mr. Wilkins. My first thought, “Oh my God, I’ve only been here for 30 minutes and I’m already headed to the principal’s office!” Mr. Wilkins summoned one more student, Buffy Feagin. We were handed a new American flag and instructed to raise the first flag over Bruce Drysdale and lead the Pledge of Allegiance. We were only at Bruce Drysdale for half a year before we graduated to middle school at Rosa Edwards on 4th Avenue. I would ride my bicycle to the school from my house on North Main Street.

Our stay at Rosa Edwards turned out to be brief also. My father, being an architect, did annual inspections of all the city schools. Halfway thru my 7th grade, Dad inspected Rosa Edwards and determined that the structural roof joists were compromised. Over dinner, one Friday evening, dad informed me that I would move back to HHS on Monday. He had condemned Rosa Edwards. Since most of the classrooms were already in use at HHS, my classes were held in the wide hallways. Although I started first grade at 8th Avenue School and finished there, I only spent about 9 years there. My brother and sister both went to 8th Avenue School all 12 years. The last class to attend grades 1-12 was the graduating class of 1965.

Centennials are momentous occasions. We are fortunate to have the memories and the heritage. What will be in store for our children and grandchildren over the next 100 years?

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The Hendersonville High School Alumni Association will commemorate the school building’s centennial with a program from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at the HHS auditorium. Speakers will share their memories and notable events of the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Another event of interest to Bearcat Nation takes place at 7 p.m. Friday, April 10 — the premiere of “The Chapel Hill Two-Step,” filmmaker Keith Dunnavant’s documentary chronicling state championships by the boys team in 1992 and both the boys and girls Bearcat squads in 1987. Tickets are $19.26 in honor of the school building centennial. Buy them in advance here or at the door.

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