Henderson County also saw cultural and political change, along with tragedies, during the 1960s.
Integration of the school systems and public facilities occurred in the 1960s, as it did in the rest of the nation.
The railroad ended passenger service to Henderson County and an interstate highway was built.
Hendersonville began annexation as folks continued moving to the suburbs.
People experienced the worst tragedy and the most infamous murder in the county’s history.
Young men and women left the county to fight and die in Vietnam, and in other world conflicts. For more information, visit Henderson County and the Vietnam War.
The population in the county was 42,804 in 1970, an 18.4 percent increase from 1960. Henderson County was still predominately rural with 30,805 people living in a rural area by 1970. Only 11,999 people lived in an urban area, and no urban area had enough people to be considered a metropolitan area. There were 6,443 people living in the town of Hendersonville, and this number only saw a 9 percent increase due to annexation (838 people). As more people moved to the suburbs, Hendersonville began annexation.
The black population did not decrease as much as in the past decades. The black population was 1,967 in 1970, 4.7 percent of the population. Of that number, 21.2 percent lived in the town of Hendersonville. The other areas of the county with a significant black population were the Fletcher/Naples/ Hooper’s Creek communities, East Flat Rock and Clear Creek.
Of the communities and townships in the county, the area of Mills River and Rugby had the largest population at 4,063 people in 1970. The communities of Fletcher, Hooper’s Creek and Naples had a population of 3,815 people. There were 3,398 people living in the communities of Dana, Upward and Tracy Grove. At this time in our county’s history the Barker Heights community included areas that today are located within the city limits of Hendersonville. This included areas along U.S. 176 and subdivisions that bordered areas between U.S. 176 and U.S. 25 (225). There were 2,933 people living in what was then the Barker Heights community in 1970, which included parts of today’s Hendersonville and Flat Rock.
The community of East Flat Rock had a population of 2,627 people, some of whom would be considered in today’s Flat Rock. The Balfour, Hillgirt and Mountain Home communities had a population of 2,014.
The Green River/ Zirconia/ Mountain Page/ Macedonia communities had a population of 1,877 people. This also included parts of today’s Flat Rock. The Edneyville/ Bat Cave/ Gerton communities had a population of 1,811. This also included parts of the Fruitland community. The community of Clear Creek, which also included part of Fruitland, had a population of 1,726.
The West Hendersonville area (as defined in the 1970 census) included the communities of Horse Shoe, Etowah and sections of the traditional Big Willow area had a population of 1,558. The Crab Creek community, which included not only Crab Creek but the community of Valley Hill, sections of the traditional Big Willow area and part of today’s Flat Rock, had a population of 1,096. The population of the town of Laurel Park was 581.
The majority of Henderson County’s residents, 72.6 percent, were native to the state of North Carolina, and likely native to Western North Carolina and the county, in 1970. More than one-half of the remaining 27.4 percent of the population were native to the South.
The number of women in the work force increased. By 1970, 40 percent of the women over the age of 16 were in the work force.
The majority of Henderson County’s population was between the ages of 18 and 64, 55 percent. Young people under the age of 18 were 31.6 percent of the population in 1970. Only 13.5 percent of the population was over the age of 65. There were 199 elderly persons living in “homes for the aged.”
The median income for Henderson County in 1970 was $6,828. This was $942 less than the median state income which was $7,770 in 1970. According to the 1970 census report, 19.8 percent of the population was below the national poverty level. Only 8.5 percent of Henderson County’s population had a median income of $15,000 or more in 1970.
Housing and Lifestyle
The vast majority of residents lived in owner-occupied homes. Of the 17,502 houses in Henderson County in 1970, 1,238 were seasonal houses (summer residents, migrants, etc.). There were 1,229 house trailers (mobile homes) in the county by 1970.
The median price of a home was $16,300 in 1970 in Henderson County. Only 3,502 people rented. The average rent was $80 a month.
There was a large increase in homes built in the 1960s, with 5,544 houses built. There were 6,161 houses built from 1940 to 1960. Henderson County residents were living in 4,564 homes built prior to 1940.
A total of 8,137 homes received water from either the Hendersonville City Water Department or a private company. There 6,902 homes with a well and 1,219 used other water sources, including springs.
The vast majority of homes had a septic tank, 12,134 homes. Only 3,240 homes had public sewer.
In the 1960s the vast majority of homes in Henderson County used fuel oil or kerosene for heating (10,263). By 1970, 1,587 homes used electric heating and 1,376 used gas for heating. There were 334 homes using coal as a heat source, 298 using bottled or LP gas, and 293 homes still used wood for heating.
The vast majority of homes had a telephone (11,945). Most households had at least one car (6,991) and 4,472 households had two cars. There were 1,974 households without any car.
By 1970 in Henderson County, most residents used electricity for cooking and to heat water heaters. Gas was used for cooking in 1,197 homes and 345 homes still used wood for cooking. The majority of residents had automatic washing machines, but 1,500 households were still using wringer machines in 1970. There were 3,957 households with no washing machine, many of whom used the growing number of laundromats. The majority of households did not have clothes dryers by 1970. Only 2,099 homes had a dishwasher. But, 5,827 homes had a freezer. There were only 979 homes in the county without a television by 1970.
Law Enforcement and Fire Departments