The Ultimate Guide To Asheville and the Western North Carolina Mountains
The Ultimate Guide to Asheville & the Western North Carolina Mountains
The Online Version of the Best-selling Regional Guidebook
 

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To purchase a print of this drawing by author/artist Lee Pantas, visit Cherry Orchard Studio

Hendersonville has a large number of religious institutions with the Baptist Church being the  largest denomination. The Hendersonville phone book yellow pages are your best and most complete resource but there are also online directories as well. Here are some fairly comprehensive, but by all means not complete, online church  directories.
Church Angel   Super Yellow Pages

Hendersonville's Historic Churches
Of special interest to visitors and residents alike are the beautiful historic churches in the Hendersonville area.

First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church was founded on October 8, 1844, by fourteen charter members when Hendersonville was a small village of fewer than 500 people. The original house of worship was erected about 1850 at Caswell and Main Streets. In 1889, a new structure at Fourth Avenue West and Washington Street was occupied. This building was rebuilt in 1911 and again in 1932, and was used until 1954. By 1914, church membership was 608. The Education Building was completed in 1950. The present Sanctuary was completed in 1958.

First Presbyterian Church
Established in 1852, the First Presbyterian Church has seen a number of structure changes, 1852, 1905 and the current building which was erected in 1968.

First United Methodist Church
The first building of the First United Methodist Church was erected circa 1852, on one of the highest hills in town. An imposing structure was built with a steeple holding a mellow-toned bell that could be heard for miles calling worshippers to church. The same bell that summoned worshippers so long ago stands outside the sanctuary today as a symbol of the church’s enduring ministry. Plans were made for our present sanctuary in 1921. Ground was broken in 1924 and the graveyard on the lower side had to be moved. Some graves were not moved and are still located beneath the church. The Sanctuary Building was completed in 1925 at a cost of $142,000, including all furnishing and equipment.

St. James Episcopal Church 766 North Main St.
St. James Episcopal Church, located on Main Street in downtown Hendersonville, is one of the area’s most picturesque churches. Consecrated in 1861, the first rector was Rev. N. Collin Hughes. From 1970 to 1980, Henderson County experienced an unprecedented population growth. New economic developments, discovery of Hendersonville as an outstanding retirement area, and growth in tourism marked this period. Consequently, St. James Church flourished and became the largest parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina during that time.

St. John in the Wilderness Church (NRHP)
A unique spot of southern history in a setting of idyllic beauty, St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in Flat Rock is a gable roof brick church that has at its southeast corner a three-story square tower with pyramidal roof. In 1833, Charles and Susan Baring built the church as a private chapel, and at the formation of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina in 1836, the Baring family gave up their rights to the church as a private chapel, turning the deed to the bishop of the newly-formed diocese. Among the family plots in the graveyard are the graves of Christopher Memminger, first secretary of the Confederate treasury; Rev. John Grimke Drayton, developer of the world famous Magnolia Gardens; members of families of three signers of the Declaration of Independence; and Edward P. King, the World War II general who led the infamous Bataan death march.