Nestled in the mountains of southern Henderson County are communities that date back to the county’s first settlers. They built their log cabins and cleared the fields in the valleys between the tall mountains of the region and along Green River and its tributaries, such as Bob’s Creek, Rock Creek, Gap Creek and Cabin Creek.
The early settlers were self-sustaining mountain farmers and the communities were mountain farm communities. The Green River community is still famous for vegetables grown by descendants of these early settlers.
“The Bob’s Creek area is famous for the finest flavored pole beans that are raised,” writes Frank L. Fitzsimons in his book “From the Banks of the Oklawaha.” “Bob’s Creek and Green River pole beans are in demand all through the Southern states during the growing season.”
Driving through the communities today, one can still view the thriving gardens and fields of descendants of these same farmers, along with remnants of old barns and homes. The community is a land of mountain peaks, fertile valleys, isolated coves, and mountain streams, with wild turkeys and small mountain waterfalls.
The community of Green River once extended from the South Carolina state line to Flat Rock, to the top of Pinnacle Mountain and to the Mountain Page community. In fact, the township of Green River included the Mountain Page and Macedonia communities. Today, Green River Township includes more acreage than any other census township in Henderson County.
With South Carolina separating the communities, Mountain Page was a distinct community early in its history, as the Macedonia area was later. It was in 1890 that the Green River Post Office was renamed Zirconia. With the advent of a rural route out of the Zirconia post office, some of the community of today’s Green River became known as Zirconia. When the textile mill was built in 1907, the section of the community around the mill and in the mill village came to be known as Tuxedo.