Gerton, North Carolina

"Gerton" redirects here. Not to be confused with Girton.

Gerton, North Carolina
Census-designated place
Gerton Show map of North Carolina Gerton Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 35°28′45″N82°20′53″W / 35.47917°N 82.34806°W / 35.47917; -82.34806 Coordinates: 35°28′45″N82°20′53″W / 35.47917°N 82.34806°W / 35.47917; -82.34806
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Henderson County
Named for	Gertrude Freeman [1]
Area [2]
• Total	3.72 sq mi (9.63 km2)
• Land	3.72 sq mi (9.63 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	2,671 ft (814 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	290
• Density	77.96/sq mi (30.10/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	28735 [3]
Area code	828
GNIS feature ID	985642 [4]
FIPS code	37-25900

Gerton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 254. ^[5] It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The area was first connected by a Drovers' road, a natural access into the interior of the Blue Ridge Mountains for drovers who were moving livestock, mostly flocks of turkeys and some geese, herds of hogs and some cattle in and out of the mountains to the markets. Established in 1798, it connected the area with Asheville, following on what is today U.S. Route 74A (US 74A). ^[6] In 1883 the "Pump" Post Office was opened, named after a pump that supplied water off Bearwallow Mountain to the community in the valley. In 1902, the United States Post Office issued a new cancelling stamp for the post office, but had misspelled Pump as Rump. The residents, being both upset and embarrassed, decided to rename the community after a long-time and beloved school teacher in the community, Gertrude Freeman. However, having been known to be very shy and modest, it was decided to use a contraction of her name instead, Gerton. ^[1]

Geography

The community is located along Gerton Highway (US 74A), 19.7 miles (31.7 km) northeast of Hendersonville, along the banks of Hickory Creek, ^{[7] [8]} part of the Broad River watershed. It is 17 miles (27 km) southeast of Asheville via US 74A.

Just northeast of the town is the Florence Nature preserve, containing several miles of hiking trails, and connecting to other trails surrounding the town.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Gerton CDP has an area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), all land. ^[5]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
2020	290		—
U.S. Decennial Census [9]

Services

Fire protection is provided by Gerton Fire and Rescue, which has a class 4 DOI rating.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. "Gerton". Henderson Heritage. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
2. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
3. "Zip Code Lookup". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
4. "Gerton, North Carolina". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2012-04-30.
5. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Gerton CDP, North Carolina". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
6. "Drover's Road By-Way Scenic Drive in Rutherford County, North Carolina". The Blue Ridge Highlander. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
7. "Hickory Creek". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2012-05-05.
8. Google (2012-05-05). "Hendersonville to Gerton" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 2012-05-05.
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.

External links

• Henderson County Visitors Information Center