With the interstate opening and the new Asheville Airport, more tourists were coming to Henderson County. In 1967, the Quality Inn was the first motel to build near the Hendersonville exit off Interstate 26.
In 1968, Sadie Smathers Patton donated land in memory of her husband, P.E. Patton, to the city of Hendersonville.
This became Patton Park. By the late 1970s, a swimming pool complex, basketball, tennis and racquetball courts, lighted ball fields, and a parking lot were within the park.
Boyd Park had a miniature golf course, tennis courts, shuffleboard courts and a dance pavilion built by Cliff Shipman in the mid-1950s. In 1965 the Teen-Age Canteen was located in the park. See https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19650310&id=sSwaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZCMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4758,4723917&hl=en
Throughout the 1960s, this was where many of the local 1960s teen bands played. There was a dance area, booths, snacks, a jukebox and other activities.
Laurel Park Beach was the place for swimming. At the beach was a dance pavilion where teen dances were held frequently throughout the 1960s.
The Vagabond School of Drama, Flat Rock Playhouse, was designated the State Theater of North Carolina in 1961. For more information, visit http://hendersonheritage.com/robroy-and-leona-farquhar/
Terrace Hill Roller Rink on Locust Street and Garren’s Roller Rink on Stanwood Lane had opened in the 1950s. The Terrace Hill Roller Rink closed in the early 1970s.
Paradise Lanes Bowling Alley was on the Spartanburg Highway.
And there were two places with billiards in downtown Hendersonville.
There was still the Carolina Theatre on Main Street and two drive-in theaters, Joy Drive-in and Hendersonville Drive-In.
Camp Pinewood was established by Marty and Tina Levine in 1967 off Orr’s Camp Road near Hendersonville.