Saluda, North Carolina

Saluda is a city in Polk and Henderson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 631 at the 2020 census. Saluda is famous for sitting at the top of the Norfolk Southern Railway's Saluda Grade, which was the steepest main line standard-gauge railway line in the United States until Norfolk Southern ceased operations on the line in 2001. Saluda is close to the South Carolina state line, between Asheville, North Carolina, and Spartanburg, South Carolina.

History

Saluda's name came from the Cherokee word Tsaludiyi, meaning "green corn place". The first name of the area by European settlers was "Pace's Ridge", from the Pace family who inhabited the area. Many of the original families were Scots-Irish who left Pennsylvania around the time of the Whiskey Rebellion in the early 1790s.

In 1878, there were only two houses in the limits of present-day Saluda. The completion of the Southern Railroad that same year brought about a large change in Saluda. The Saluda railroad grade is unmatched by any main line east of the Rocky Mountains with a grade that drops to the mile. This included 50 curves, some horseshoe, and saved money by going over rather than through the mountains. This section of railroad was originally built as the Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad. The railroad was built with convict labor, which marked the first such use on a large scale, and was supervised by Colonel Andrew Tanner, who operated the first hotel in Saluda and was elected the first mayor of Saluda in 1881. Freight service along the line ended in December 2001 when Norfolk Southern suspended operations along the line between East Flat Rock, North Carolina and Landrum, South Carolina before severing this segment from the rest of its system in April 2003. Talks to convert this segment to passenger train excursion and a Rails-to-trails conversion made no headway in the 2000s and 2010s. In February 2023, Norfolk Southern agreed to sell 31 miles of the Saluda Grade to the Saluda Grade Trail Conservancy, which plans to convert the segment to a rail trail.

Geography

Saluda is located in southwestern Polk County. Two small parts of the city extend west and north into Henderson County. The elevation on Main Street is above sea level, while the elevation at the bottom end of the Saluda Grade, in Tryon, is .

U.S. Route 176 is Saluda's Main Street; the highway leads east down the mountain to Tryon and northwest to Hendersonville. Interstate 26 passes just north of Saluda, with access from Exit 59. I-26 leads north to Asheville and southeast to Spartanburg, South Carolina.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Saluda has a total area of , all land.

Geology and seismology

Saluda-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above the North Carolina state average but is 85% smaller than the overall U.S. average.

On November 30, 1973, at 07:48:41, a magnitude 4.7 (4.7 MB, 4.6 ML) earthquake occurred 98.9 miles away from the city center.
On August 2, 1974, at 08:52:09, a magnitude 4.9 (4.3 MB, 4.9 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 94.8 miles away from the city center.
On August 25, 2005, at 03:09:42, a magnitude 3.6 (3.6 MW, Depth: 5.0 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: II - III) earthquake occurred 51.2 miles away from the city center.
On June 16, 2006, at 00:57:27, a magnitude 3.1 (3.1 LG, Depth: 2.9 mi) earthquake occurred 53.3 miles away from the city center.
On August 4, 2007, at 10:04:46, a magnitude 3.0 (3.0 LG, Depth: 5.8 mi) earthquake occurred 22.7 miles away from the city center.
On December 7, 2007, at 11:07:03, a magnitude 3.1 (3.1 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 10.5 miles away from the city center.

Demographics

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Saluda racial composition

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 573

| 90.81%

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 17

| 2.69%

!scope="row"| Asian

| 2

| 0.32%

!scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 22

| 3.49%

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 17

| 2.69%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 641 people, 369 households, and 231 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 Census, there were 713 people and 493 households with 310 currently occupied, 141 seasonal/recreational/occasional use houses, and 28 for sale/rent. The population density as of the 2000 census,

Attractions

The main street of Saluda is a hub of newly formed restaurants and art galleries. Tourists and cyclists are common on summer and fall weekends due to the many winding mountain roads located around Saluda. The main town festivals are the Saluda Arts Festival, Coon Dog Day, and the Home Town Christmas Celebration. The nearby Green River includes some of the most challenging whitewater in the eastern U.S. and is host to the annual Green River Games kayak race the first weekend in November.

Festivals

The Saluda Arts Festival is an event in which fine artists from all over western North Carolina and South Carolina exhibit and sell oil paintings, watercolors, acrylic paintings and drawings, woodworking, photography, pottery, jewelry, sculptures, stained glass, and metal working. The festival also offers live demonstrations of landscape painting, weaving, pottery, and blacksmithing. It is typically held the third Saturday in May.

The Coon Dog Day festival

Parks and forests

The Saluda Community Land Trust manages parks and develops trails including the Lazy Girl Loop, Tryon Missing Trace 40, Little Park, and a Community Garden. A small park with a playground and picnic shelter borders the railroad tracks on Main Street. The Saluda Dog Park is on Chestnut Street.

Waterfalls

There are 5 main waterfalls near the city: Pearson's Falls, Melrose Falls, Big Bradley Falls, Heaven Leigh Falls, and Little Bradley Falls.

Education

Saluda Elementary is the public elementary school in Saluda, located on Main Street, serving grades pre-kindergarten through 5.