Henderson

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
Carl Sandburg, nationally renowned poet, biographer, folksinger, and lecturer, provided broad and enduring 20th century insight into the circumstances, worth and spirit of the American people. He passionately championed for those who did not have words and power to speak for themselves. A midwesterner most of his life, Sandburg and his family moved to North Carolina which offered the peace and solitude required for his writing. Having already achieved literary fame before moving in 1945, Sandburg continued to write and lecture, publishing more than one-third of his works during his 22 years at Connemara. Today the site, managed by the National Park Service, preserves the Sandburg legacy for future generations. The historic site consists of a 22 room house, barns, sheds, rolling pastures, mountainside woods, walking/hiking trails, two small lakes, ponds, flower and vegetable gardens, and an orchard.

Historic Johnson Farm
The Johnson Farm was a late 19th century tobacco farm that became a popular summer tourist retreat in the early 20th century. Today, the farm is owned by the Henderson County Public Schools and operated as a heritage education center and farm museum. The farm features an 1870's brick house, a 1920's boarding house, a barn-loft museum, 10 historic buildings, two nature trails, and 15 acres of fields, forests, and streams.

Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson County
The Mineral and Lapidary Museum of Henderson County, Inc., displays minerals, fossils, and lapidary materials for the benefit and education of the public, especially children. A special feature of this museum is its geode cracking enterprise, one of the largest such operations in the country.

Western North Carolina Air Museum
The Western North Carolina Air Museum seeks to preserve the aviation heritage of Henderson County and North Carolina through exhibits and educational programming.

Henderson County Public Library
Special Collections
Special Collections at the Henderson County Public Library is actually two separate collections - a genealogical and local history reference collection and the Baker-Barber Photographic Negative Collection which contains over 300,000 images of Henderson County individuals, groups, and scenes c.1890's-1990's. The library also exhibits a small display of Pisgah Forest pottery.

Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society
Henderson County History Center
This non-profit, educational, and cultural organization promotes research into the heritage of Henderson County by collecting, preserving, and publishing the history of Henderson County, North Carolina, and of her people. The Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society collects non-current, permanently valuable records of Henderson County, genealogical publications (books, periodicals, CD-ROMS, microforms), other research materials, and photographs related to the natural history, urban development, and family heritage of Henderson County. These are available for use at the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society History Center.

Mountain Farm and Home Museum, Inc.
The Mountain Farm and Home Museum collects, restores, and displays antique farm machinery and implements associated with the history of farming. The museum conducts educational programs on farming practices and on the evolution of farming and farm life.

Historic Hendersonville Railroad Depot
Apple Valley Model Railroad Club
Historic Hendersonville Depot, built in 1902 and restored in 2004, is home to the Apple Valley Model Railroad. Here visitors can see model trains run over 500 feet of track through representative areas of Hendersonville, Asheville, Brevard, Saluda, and Fletcher, climb a replica of the Saluda grade, the steepest mainline grade in the US, and travel around mountains, waterfalls, tunnels, and lakes.

Blue Ridge Community College
Louise Bailey Archives
The Library at Blue Ridge Community College houses the Louise Bailey Archives. Louise Bailey is a local historian who writes a column in the Times-News and has written extensively on the history of Henderson County. The Archives ontains copies of her columns, her books, her video 'The Founders' Vision' and several recordings.

Fifth Avenue Mask Museum
The Fifth Avenue Mask Museum is the private collection of Ellen Hobbs who in her travels to third world countires has collected over 500 native masks, dolls dressed in native garb and locally produced textiles. The collection covers several cultures including North, South and Central American, African and Asian people groups.