In 1950 Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company switched from switchboard to dial with party lines. But many residents of the county still did not have telephone service. In 1958, the number of installations was 9,469. The “Miller’s Directory” of 1960 did not list any telephone numbers outside of the immediate vicinity of Hendersonville.
Western Union still had an office in Hendersonville.
According to the 1960 census, 120 persons were employed in communications.
Radio Station WHKP was on the air 18 hours a day.
By 1958, most residents of the county had televisions and received reception from WBTV in Charlotte, WFBC in Greenville, S.C., WLOS in Asheville, WSPA in Spartanburg, S.C., and WSOC in Charlotte.
There were two newspapers. The Times-News was published in the afternoons Mondays through Saturdays and the Western Carolina Tribune was published weekly on Thursdays.
There was still passenger railroad service to Henderson County, with 33 people in the county employed by the railroad. Southern Railway’s main line from Cincinnati to Charleston, S. C., came through Henderson County.
Bus lines were still operating with a bus stop at the Union Bus Stop at 707 N. Main St. Passenger bus lines serving Hendersonville included Greyhound, Queen City Coach and Carolina Scenic Trailways.
Local transit was provided by the Hendersonville Bus Company with its main office at 331 N. King St.
There were 12 taxi companies in Henderson County by 1960: Blue Bird Taxi Co., Carolina Taxi Service, City Cab Co., Deaver’s Cabs, Deluxe Cab Co., Freeman Cab Co., Johnson’s Taxi, Rusher Brothers, Sexton Cabs, Skyland Taxi, Terminal Taxi and Yellow Cab Co.
Trucking was becoming increasingly important. The trucking and warehouse companies employed 225 people in the county by 1960.
Youngblood Truck Lines and Clay Hyder Truck Lines had their main terminals in Henderson County.
Other truck lines serving the county by 1958 included E.T. & WNC, McLean, Dance, Great Southern, Overnite, T.C. Griggs, Central Motor Lines, W.R. Candler, Blue Ridge, T.C.T., Pilot, Mason & Dixon, Associated Transport, Johnson Motor Lines, Silver Fleet and Fredrickson.
During the 1950s, the airport was still located in Fletcher at the Asheville and Hendersonville Airport. There were 18 flights daily by Capital, Delta and Piedmont airlines. There was also freight and airmail service.
In 1936, the city of Asheville, the city of Hendersonville, and Henderson County had purchased 122 acres for an airport near Fletcher.
The location of the site prevented future expansion. Asheville voters approved a $1.2 million bond referendum to build a new airport. Asheville then began purchasing land for a new airport and purchased 235.46 acres of land from individual owners in Henderson and Buncombe counties. Asheville paid about $250,000 for the land purchase and transfer in 1958.
In 1959 Asheville decided an additional tract in Henderson County was needed for the airport and moved to annex land in Henderson County through legislation in the N.C. General Assembly. A bill was introduced in the 1959 session of the N.C. General Assembly to re-draw the county line so that the new airport would be in Buncombe County. There was not a state law preventing a city in North Carolina from using satellite annexation to annex land in an adjoining county. Henderson County officials were not informed of the bill prior to its introduction in the General Assembly. A negotiated settlement was worked out and Henderson County ceded less than five acres to Asheville. Henderson County received title to the land where the old airport was located and the land where the new airport was located was annexed into Buncombe County.
The land where the WNC Agricultural Center now sits was originally acquired by Asheville as part of the airport. During the negotiated settlement, the airport did not get approval from Henderson County for this land to be annexed into Asheville. In 1985, an agreement was reached between Asheville and the state of North Carolina for Asheville to lease, with anticipation of transfer upon FAA approval, this land to the state. Contracts were drawn up and a check was issued to Asheville by the state of North Carolina and was cashed by Asheville. No approval from the FAA was ever sought.
Since Henderson County never agreed to this land being annexed by Asheville in the negotiated settlement in 1959, Henderson County asserted that Asheville owed Henderson County back property taxes.
In 1979, the Asheville Regional Airport Authority Board was established by agreement between Buncombe County and Asheville. The board was made up of three representatives from Asheville and three from Buncombe County, with a seventh member appointed at-large.
In 2012, N.C. Representative Chuck McGrady introduced a bill, approved by the General Assembly that settled this dispute. Under the new law, Henderson County gave up its claims for back taxes against Asheville. Asheville was required to surrender title to three parcels at the WNC Agricultural Center which it sold back to the state. Henderson County was to have a member on the Asheville Regional Airport Board. In addition, the airport authority cannot encroach on or obtain property in the Mills River Industrial Park.