Ann Greenleaf Wirtz

The Henderson County Curb Market: a Blue Ridge Heritage Since 1924 Ann Greenleaf Wirtz

In 1922, local historian Frank L. FitzSimons, Sr., wrote a letter to the editor of the Hendersonville (NC) News proposing a centralized marketing location for farmers. He envisioned an area of commerce set up along the curb of a downtown street, a convenient place for housewives to shop and farmers to sell the ''truck crops'' grown on their farms. This centralization would provide an alternative to peddling, the standard but wearisome practice of the day. A movement began that led to the establishment of the Henderson County Farmers Mutual Curb Market in 1924.

More than 85 years later, the Blue Ridge community of Hendersonville continues to be home to this enterprise. Descendants of the early farm families are still active and involved, loyal to the curb market's legacy and way of life. This book tells about the people who made, and still make, the curb market possible through hard work, commitment, and creativity. It also shows why the curb market has always been, and remains, the essence of Appalachian industry and family.