The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1885-12-03
HAPPY HENDERSON.
REA>O>S WHY THIS LIVE TOWN
IL Az RIGHT TO PUT ON AIRS.
The Town Named Tor "a Learned Judge,
the County for II Great >enator-.Cr redit
IL Reflected on Those Names.

+ Years, and were 10 lind Yourself In II somt
bright morning, and were To Judge of it>
age from the appearance OF the bulding-
! -youd say Was this town built las,
week p The answer would be that a good
portion OF II was that the biggest and
best portion has been built within the las,
few years.
Just after the war it is related that a
gentleman, who had been raised few
miles from Henderson Station'-as il was
called-boarded the cars, believing that
Westward the course of empire takes its
way
and following the advice Of Horace Greedy
Go West young man. sought his for
tune in the land OF the sunset year
or SO ago he determined 10 visit his old
| home and renew the associations Of his
youth. Buying ticket for Henderson, he
passed the time on the cars reading the
| STATE CHRONICLE, and was so much inter
ested that when the conductor called
Henderson change cars for oxford. he
jumped up IN "a daZed way, ran to the
door, looked out TO see the ancient land
marks and a mere station Instead of
| these he found handsome brick buildings
fine church edlfices, and heard the sound
of the hammer and saw. Concluding that
! the conductor was mistaken-that this
busting city could not be Henderson,
re-entered the car, resumed his reading
ana waited Tor the train to reach Hen
derson Station" 1t never reached it. There
was no such place-n the days of his ab
sence metamorphosis had taken place and
station was no longer the proper aplen-
, dix TO the name of so lively business
mart. He came on to Raleigh and the next
day retraced the journey, remarking that
he had not seen such growth-no, not in
the famous Vest
The town received its name from Hon
Leonard Henderson, at one time Chief
Justice Of the Supreme Court-a sketch of
whose life will be found in this issue Of the
CHRONICLE. 1t was named for good man
who had wide reputation 1t is good
town and It's reputation Is spreading.
Henderson, in a larger sense than any
other town of my knowledge, is a young
mans town. Its Mayor is a young man,
Its preachers (most of them) are Young
| men, with one exception its lawyers are
under thirty five years old, its leading
merchants are young, and some of its to-
| bacco buyers are SO young the shell is
hardly off their head. If this figure of
speech represents their age it doesn't their
sagacity. If Northern buyer comes down
| to shell them he often goes back shorn
| They know how to take care of themselves.
| The WarehOuSemen are generally young.
| True 1t Is that IN almost every enterprise
| you find old men, but the last one of them
| have bathed IN the Fount of Ponce de
| Leon, and thereby secured perpetual youth.
! Young blood-some of it in old bodies
accounts for Henderson's wonderful pro-
ress. Whatever may be truthfully said
about keeping young men in the rear in
| other towns (Weve never seen it anywhere
but the contrary is true, and people usu
/ aI1V like n holm
asserted of Henderson Here cit is rot a
crime to be a young man. but whether
we refer to business push, industrial ac
tlvlty, legal ability, banking capacity, re-
| HglOuS matters, politics, or whatever else
interests these people-it is the young
men who lead In fact there is an appar-
ant lack of old men. They are few in mum
| Der and they are so energetic and active
and supple that you forget their gray
| locks, and number them among ''the boys. >
''IOuth for enthusiasm" is well worn
axiom, but like all old things, according
| to Carlyle, is true. In 1871 there was only
one brick store in Henderson-now there
are so many that it would require toe
much time to count them. To build uL
the town to its present proportions and tC
attract the large trade the place now en-
| joys, has been no easy task. 1t has re
quired enthusiastic and untiring work
| perseverance and adherence to business
methods. These qualities the young
men to whom is due the credit of making
the town what it is, possessed in large
measure, and the use of these will yet
make the town expand and grow into nc
mean city. May the dawning of that day
| be near at hand
In short visit to the place last week il
was our pleasure to attend tobacco sale.
in some of the warehouses. There ar,
four and all are large and comtnodious
The largest is owned and operated by The
progressive Mr.. d. Y. Cooper and it IS on,
of the best lighted as well as one of tn,
largest in the State. The ''Carolina" il
a handsome brick structure and is owned
by Burwell Bros. & Co.-H. II. Burwell
JOS s. Burwell and W. S. Stark-all ac
tive wide awake young men. The ''Slde
Light is run by Davis Bros. .-Thos A
& Owen Davis. This is young firm, bu
already they have built up large patron
age. The watkins" is managed by Maj
J. p Harriss, an old wealthy busines
man, S. r. and Geo. B. Harriss, youn,
men of push and capital and S. r. Gooch
a young man of good business capacity
All these warehousemen may be classed a
having done much TO develop the tobacc,
interests of the community.
There are fifty five regular buyers ol
the market besides the warehousemen VIII
are large buyers.
There are two tobacco factories. On
of them is now idle-has been since Mr.
J. E. Pogue moved to Raleigh. Messrs
T. W. Ford Il Co. operate the other.
This is their first season and they ar
now working IS hands, and are KEEP
busy day and night to keep up with orders
Five brands of plug tobacco are manufac
tured and ready sale is found for all the
make.
We were not little surprised at the al
sence of factories. 1t was our first visi
to the town, and we had the impresso
that much tobacco was manufactured
Only one factory Henderson ought
aye must increase the number if it hope
to make its tobacco interests of huge pre-
t portions. There ought to be dozen fac
tories manufacturing the plug, fully a
many making cigars, cigarettes, snuff an
f smoking tobacco. A town will take man
years to get rich which manufactures moth
} ing for other markets. The great need {
, Henderson to-day is to increase in ever
[ department, its manufacture of the Golde
= weed It's future depends more largely 0
the quantity of manufactured tobacco
ships than on the quantity shipped to othe
sections to be manufactured elsewhere
The growth Of the place as a tobacc
= market can be best illustrated by stain
e that in 1872 less that 300, 900 pounds WEI
e sold, and that last year nearly 1000, ,06
Of I'll .