(Figures from Terrell T. Garren's "Mountain Myth: Unionism in Western North Carolina, published 2006).

However, parts of the county had long been known as retreats, including the "Little Charleston" of Flat Rock in which South Carolina's Low Country planter families had maintained second homes since the early 19th century.

A major land boom ensued in the 1920s, culminating in the crash of 1929, which severely deflated prices and left structures such as the Fleetwood Hotel atop Jumpoff Mountain incomplete.

Other notable historic sites in Henderson County include: the Woodfield Inn (1852), Connemara—final home of Carl Sandburg (originally known as Rock Hill, the home of CSA Secretary of the Treasury Christopher Memminger) – and the St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church.

The county's largest body of water is Lake Summit, a reservoir impounded by the Duke Power Company for hydroelectric generation.

The high point is located on Little Pisgah Mountain at approximately 5,278 feet along the Henderson-Haywood County boundary in North Carolina (Note that a second Little Pisgah Mountain at 4,412 feet is located at the boundary between Henderson and Buncombe counties in North Carolina).

Henderson County's topographic and climatic diversity make it ideal for a great variety of commercial crops and agricultural products.

At the present time the fruit and berry types being raised include apples, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries, grapes, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries and watermelons.

Since World War II, apples have been the most important agricultural crop in the county;[7] they require extensive winter chilling, and do not tolerate summer heat and humidity well, so Henderson County, with its cooler climate due to its elevation represents an ideal environment for orchards.

Henderson County represents, in fact, the southern limit for large-scale commercial apple production in the eastern United States.

[8] In addition to fruits and berries, a number of commercial vegetable crops are raised in Henderson County, including asparagus, green beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, corn, cucumbers, egg plants, greens, herbs, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, onions, peas, peppers (bell and hot), potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, spinach, squash (winter and summer varieties), tomatoes, turnips, and zucchini.

[21] In April 2021, the district attorney for Henderson County, Gregory A. Newman, was removed from office for willful misconduct and perjury, notably in a 2015 child rape case.

[23] Since Roosevelt carried the county in 1944, only Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Kamala Harris in 2024 have managed to win more than 40 percent of the vote.

Barack Obama came close to that mark in 2008 as part of the Democratic surge in the area, and Joseph Biden came closer still in 2020, winning 39.8%.

[24] Political news and civic affairs are covered by the county's daily newspaper, the Times-News of Hendersonville.