The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1906-01-04
PROGRESSIVE HENDERSON.
Growth of the Town from 1855 toIoo5
Gov. Vance's Notable Visit and the
Distinguished HOnors Paid Him.

when he spoke under the auspices oil
the Contemporary Club, and took
occasion to say some pleasant things
about our town, comparing the sit
uation and outlook now to what it
was in 1885 when he visited the town
for the first time, on the occasion OF
Gov. Eance's notable visit. We copy
the following:
Twenty years ago it was my pleas
ure to visit this progressive town
for the first time. 1t was an occasion
of rare interest to visit the new conn
ty, which had been organized only a
few years previous, and named for
the bestowed and most hOnOred
sta csman North Carolina has known
since Nathaniel Macon laid down the
Senatorial tOga to spend few quiet
years in retirement after more than
thirty years ofcOntinuous public SER
vice. | do not recall that any new
county in North Carolina was before
named for Il great man while he was
still i'm the flesh. Governor
Vance was proud of the distinguished
honor done him in naming this cOun-
ty for him and in December, 1885,
he came here, i'll response to q cordial
invitation, to address the people and
had done him. 1t was a proud day
in the history OF Henderson and [
gladly accepted an invitation to
come with the Senator and Join with
t"Ose good people in hOnoring hin.
He made notable speech on immi-
grafton and opposed the Jealous talk
then heard that the State should
send agents abroad to secure foreign
immigration. He did not believe in
the plans proposed and spoke strong
~ against them, declaring that we
ought to preserve our heritage for
our children and children's children.
He said that he thanked God the
huge trees that Raleigh's colony saw
on Roanoke Island were still stand
ing and gave it as his opinion that
the folks of North Carolina birth and
the other Americans who came here
to make homes would find that they
needed all the land and would devel
op every interest of the State. with
out running the risk OF the isms that
would follow in The wake OF an influx
OF foreign immigration:
Twenty years ago, when this town
was all aglow to receive the great
man for whom the county was named
Henderson had about 700 people
and was dependent almost wholly
upon tobacco. 1t WAS full OF hope
and confidence that us IL tobacco
manufacturing town it would one
day rival Durham, and but for the
organization of the tobacco trust and
the destruction of competition that
followed, Henderson would have
grown to be big tobacco manufac-
turing town. At one time it had
several promising tobacco factories
but its capitalists saw the hand
writing on the wall. The few facto-
ries that started failed or their own
ers gradually withdrew their money
and turned it into other channels.
For Il time then it looked like Hen
derson had attained it's full growth
and, with the passing OF the hope of
becoming great manufacturing to-
baccO town, many came to believe
that Henderson must be cOutent to
be the ordinary county town, with
no great enterprise except its big to-
baccO warehouses. But its leading
spirits were not content with that
slow pace, and, seeing no hope for
success in manufacturing tobacco in
competition with the destructive
trust, they turned to other industries
not controlled by monopoly AS re-
suit of their wisdom they have built
cotton mills that give employment
to 1000 people, carriage and buggy
factories that employ 200 skilled men,
a knitting mill that employs 100, a
cotton seed oil mill and other smaller
industries that have been instrument
tai in adding to Henderson's pOpuIa
ton so that since the visit of Vance
in December, 1885, to the visit of
Glenn in 1905 the population has in
creased from 700 to 1000. These
industries have been managed with
the best business Judgment and in
good times and bad alike they have
made money. The same is true of
the big buggy factories, the knitting
mill and other industries. The mar
ufacturing, banking and business in
terests of Henderson are upon Il
sound and solid basis, and they are
steadily growing.
As a tobacco market. though Hen
derson long ago quit depending sole
ly on tobacco, it has no superior in
the State. Some towns sell more
tobacco than Henderson, but there is
not a better market in the State. 1t
has the largest, oldest, most success
full tobacco warehouse in the State,
has four large stemmeries, and this
is the main town where the japanese
government buys its tobacco. There
are large tobacco and cotton storage
warehouses. for Henderson is D great
tobacco maket. 1t is fortunately sit
uated To tn. West is the fine to-
baccO lands in the original old Gran
vile belt (for most of Vance county
was taken from Granville) and on
the East there is fine cotton land, SO
that neither the farmers nor the town
/ Is dependent either upon cotton or
tobacco, and il one fails, the other
keeps the pot boiling
Record of Year.
This article is already olong, but
l must briefly give the following
statement. furnished at my request
by prominent citizen, of the record
of the closing year-a record that
tells the story OF great progress that
has been made us follows:
National Bark, $4,000 capital 'te
start with.
Corbitt Surry and Carriage Fac
tory, 100000.
| New Electric Light Plant costing
$4,000.
Guano Factory.
Each of the cotton mills increased
their capacity 5000 spindles.