Hickory, NC
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The city of Hickory is in Catawba County, North Carolina, although many parts of it touch the Burke and Caldwell counties. Many thousands of people love Hickory, NC, and around forty thousand of them have decided to make it their home, making it one of the biggest cities in the county. Of course, the more you learn about this fabulous city, the less surprised you will be that they have decided to live there.
The beginnings of the city of Hickory are a little murky, but that does not mean that the history is in any way boring! In fact, it is quite the opposite. During the 1850s – no one is entirely sure exactly when – a man called Henry Robinson was travelling along, and stopped underneath the pleasant shade of a hickory tree, almost exactly where the city of Hickory is now located. He decided to build a tavern there, and he did so with some wood in the local area.
He called his tavern "Hickory Tavern", and it became a hugely popular place for people to stop during long journeys. In fact, it became so incredibly popular that by 1863, since many more people had built buildings there and moved in, that a city was founded there. It was decided that it would be called Hickory Tavern, to honor its humble and slightly cheeky beginnings. Over time, it started to get a little bit confusing, so the city's name was changed from "Hickory Tavern" to just plain old "Hickory" ten years later in 1873.
Some of the greatest modern inventions were built right into the woodwork of the city of Hickory. For example, the year that the very first train that ever operated in the city was in 1859, when it was still just a tavern stop! By 1888, Hickory, NC was one of the very first cities in the United States to have electric lights installed throughout the streets, and by 1904 it had taken on another great city invention: a sewage system! This means that the city of Hickory has gained for itself a reputation of always being on the cutting edge of technology. But what makes Hickory, NC so fun and interesting is that it was one of the very first communities that was ever created in the State of North Carolina.
The city of Hickory has always been an excellent center for learning. Only five years after it had officially become a city, a man called Dr. Jeremiah Ingold, started up the very first school in Hickory, NC. He called it the Free Academy, and it was soon filled with children from the entire city who wanted to learn . . . (or their parents wanted them to learn)! By 1891, it became obvious to everyone that Hickory was in desperate need of such education for when the children got a little bit older. That is when the Highland Academy was founded, and although it only started off with a mere twelve students, it is now called the Lenoir-Rhyne University and is incredibly popular.
One of the greatest – and simultaneously lowest – points in the history of Hickory, NC was just after the Second World War. It is now known as the "Miracle of Hickory". During this time many doctors and nurses were overseas, providing excellent medical care for the men and women who were fighting for the freedom of the world. Tragically, it was during this time when there were very few medical staff still in the area of Hickory, NC, that an outbreak of the disease named "polio" was discovered just outside the city of Hickory. It quickly became one of the very worst cases of polio that had ever been seen: many people were panicked, thinking that their loved ones would eventually become victims of the terrible disease. In fact, believe it or not there are still residents of Hickory, NC that remember this time. Of course, they were only children then, but they can still remember not being allowed to play outside, or visit friends and family that lived outside the safety of Hickory, because their parents were so afraid that they would catch polio. At the time there was not even a hospital in Hickory, NC. The people of Hickory decided that something had to be done – and so they decided that they themselves would build a hospital for those who had fallen sick. It only took fifty four hours between deciding what to do, and having doctors and patients comfortably established in a new purpose-built hospital! The speed by which the community of Hickory was able to build the hospital, and furnish it to a high standard, amazed the world – and in fact, an official from the Red Cross was in Hickory, NC in order to help the effect, and he described it as: "The most outstanding example of cooperative effort that I have ever seen".
One of the great things about the city of Hickory is that it has kept to its roots; quite literally! The city of Hickory is where Hickory White was founded, which is now known as the Hickory Manufacturing Company. It began way back in 1902, and has been running successfully for over one hundred years since – which means it probably is the very oldest furniture manufacturing company in the entirety of the United! One of the reasons why it has managed to survive for this long is that the Hickory White company was always very adaptable. When the Second World War was raging on, and many people were losing their jobs, the factory turned itself around and started to make ammunition boxes for the United States Military. This enabled them to see out the difficult years. Of course, when you work in a furniture manufacturing company, you need some pretty good health insurance to protect you in case the worst happens! Thankfully, the people of Hickory, NC are very careful with their health, and in fact the majority of people that live in the city of Hickory have health insurance to protect them. A top health insurance agency that sells health insurance to the people of Hickory, is WNC Health Insurance / The Asheville Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina® Store. When people need an affordable Hickory, NC health insurance quote, which is the agency to rely upon.
Getting back to furniture: The reason why Hickory, NC has been so successful in establishing and maintaining such a great furniture making industry is really because of where it is. Firstly, the city of Hickory is very close to a huge supply of excellent timber, which makes getting the materials ridiculously easy. But secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, Hickory, NC lies naturally across two important and busy railroads. This means that it was very easy for the people of Hickory, NC to transport the beautiful furniture that they made, and it meant that business could blossom incredibly quickly. Before they knew it, Hickory had become one of the biggest and greatest centers of furniture making. The great transportation also made it possible for other industries to do really well, such as the textile manufacturing industry. Although many people consider the furniture industry in Hickory not to be as strong as it used to be, there are still very many people that live in Hickory and work making furniture.
But that does not mean that new and exciting industries are not emerging from Hickory, NC – far from it! Even in the twenty-first century, Hickory, NC has maintained its excellent reputation for being ahead of the game when it comes to new technology. There are many different manufacturers of fiber optic cable in Hickory, which is a fact that not many people know. These companies are so successful that around forty percent of the fiber optic cable used in the entire world is actually made in the city of Hickory! This means that it has also attracted the attention of many technology companies that wish to use it as a data center corridor. Companies such as Apple and Google use it in this way.
Combine all of this together, and what do you get? One of the most popular and well-loved cities in the United States of America. In fact, the city of Hickory has won the title of "All-American City" not once, not twice, but three times! This is a great honor, as only ten cities earn that award each year, and is considered to be an official recognition of a community that works together to solve its own issues. Even better than that – Hickory, NC has been named the tenth best place to live, and to raise children, in the entirety of the US! We really love Hickory, NC, and we know that you will too. If you decide to go to Hickory, NC on a vacation, you may have to prepare yourself to never want to leave!
