The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-03-28

town was RACED only a few years
] ago. 1t was located on South
Third avenue Washington street,
on the approximate site of the Adj
yentist church, tumble-down,
queer little place. | remember
when it was almost surrounded by
q marsh in which grew quantities
of blue flag and calmus root. The
marsh was entirely covered by wa
fer in winter and made good
skating pond. Mr.. Pink Johnson,
Judge Gullick, Mr.. Ben Hood, Mr.:
| Will Reese and others received
the first rudiments of an educa-
tion there. This building was also
our first printing office; the very
| first paper printed in Henderson
Vile came from under this humble
roof.
The first church ever built west
of the Blue Ridge was at old
French Broad, and belonged to
the Baptists. 1t was built by
Williamson Kimsey and Humphrey
Posev. Here are buried three Rev
olutionary generals - Gen. Mills,
for whom Mills River is named,
Gen. Edney and Gen. Britain.
The first Baptist church in the
town was built about 1910. and
the pastor was the Rev. James
Blythe. His son, Joseph Blythe,
was born the day of the church's
dedication. Judge O.. V. F. Blythe
was = grandson of the rrst pastor.
! Concerning the Methodist
church | was s6le to get but
little information. For a long
time they had no building but
shared the Baptist church. Meth
err congregation being at that date
able to have a pastor for all OF
his time. As near as we can learn,
the first church was built about
/ 1859 and used until 1898 when
a new church was necessary Tor
the large membership.
NV mother, at that time Mrs.
Ewart. came here during the War
Between the States, and the Epis-
copal church was then being built
largely through the efforts of
Mrs. Shipp, wife of Judge Shipp,
and mother of the late Miss Kate
Shipp. The church is monument
TO her determined and untiring
perseverance. My mother told me
| that at that time, Mrs. Shlpp was
the Episcopal church.
Fortunately l have been able to
secure the first records of the
Presbyterian, church, which are as
follows:
'Tn compliance with the desire
expressed by a number of resi-
dents in and about the village of
Hendersonville, n. c., and in pur-
suance of public notice to that
effect, a meeting was held at the
home of Mr.. Alfred Fuller in the
village aforesaid on Saturday, No
vember 20, 1852, for the purpose
of organizing Presbyterian
church. Rev. NJ. G. Allen acting
under commission from the board
of domestic missions of the Pres
: byterian church, in pursuance of
a recommendation of the Presby-
terry of Concord, presided and Of
ficiated on the occasion. The fol-
lowing individuals presented GER
tificates of good and regular
standing as members of their re-
Spective churches"
1t will not be necessary to give
the list of names, but several were
} received from the Free Church
of Scotland. and one man was ex-
amined on the evidences of ex-
perimental religion" Not knowing
Just what experimental religion"
could be, l asked one of our lead
ers and he said it was religion
from your own experiences"
Mr.. Alfred Fuller was elected
the first elder.
The first church was built in
1859.
As has been mentioned before,
: Hendersonville was on the main
! highway between Greenville, S.
; c., and Asheville, and conse-
. quently on a mail route. Ny faith
er, a Mr.. Poole and Mr.. Chunn
t owned and operated this line from
2 Greeneville, Tenn, to Greenville,
4 S. C. l still have in my posses
6 sion one of the old way books
containing receipts to various PEG,
: pie for corn, hay and other prov,
S ender for horses. At the same time
a my father and John R. Stockton
: of Virginia, operated the mai
: route from Washington, D. c., tt
S Pensacola, Fla. All mail was car
/, ried in stages drawn by four Of
e six horses. Immediately following
n the War Between the States thu
S route was changed from Morris
u town, Tenn, to Greenville. The
e stopping places for meals ant
o horses were at Lanes for break
l. fast, now Mountain Home; dime
5, at Davis; and supper at Gar
e many's.
n There were some famous driv
le ers in those days, particularly tw,
lie men by the name of Sumner an,
IS two Duncans. If ever a man coul,
= get music out of a tin horn tina
p man was John Duncan. AS a chill
= of four or five / remember hold
lie ing my fathers hand and goini
down to the tirst bridge on tn