Leaksville (now Eden) station of Danville and Western Railroad, 1912
By the mid-eighteenth century, the territory of present-day Eden was within a 70,000-acre (280 km2) estate owned by William Byrd II, a planter of Virginia and North Carolina. He originally called his estate "The Land of Eden".[7]
During the last years of his life, William Byrd II dreamed of bringing large numbers of Swiss Protestants to the "Land of Eden"; he eventually acquired more than 100,000 acres (400 km2) in Virginia. He envisioned an industrious, self-sufficient colony that would thrive on the abundance of the frontier. Byrd's dream was not to be realized. After years of negotiations, at least one boatload of Swiss did sail for "The Land of Eden" from Europe, but it was shipwrecked in a December gale off the coast of Virginia. None of the few survivors are believed to have reached Eden. Byrd died August 26, 1744. By that time, the "Land of Eden" began to be surrounded by small farms held by a wave of poor Scotch-Irish immigrants, whom Byrd had compared to the "Goths and Vandals."[citation needed][8]
"Eden" was inherited by William Byrd III, who shared none of his father's dreams of colonization. Young Byrd married Elizabeth Hill Carter in 1748. He sought to dispose of Eden to gain cash to support his grand lifestyle. He was finally successful on November 8, 1755, when he sold 26,000 acres (110 km2) in North Carolina to Simon and Francis Farley, two merchant brothers from the island of Antigua. By this time, yeoman settlement in the area was increasing at a considerable pace. The Farley brothers attempted to create plantations on some of the richest acres, but more frequently, settlers squatted on the land and built homesteads. In 1762 James Parke Farley, son of Francis Farley, went to Williamsburg to attend the College of William and Mary. He married Elizabeth Hill Byrd, daughter of William Byrd III and Elizabeth Hill Carter.[citation needed]
Many later settlers migrating to the Dan River Area knew little of William Byrd. They were familiar with an old Indian village in the area near Town Creek and the Farley holdings. This location became the center of settlement, and the 26,000 acres (110 km2) came to be called the Sauratown tract. In 1775, James Parke Farley and his new bride moved from cosmopolitan Williamsburg, Virginia, to Sauratown.[citation needed]
In the century that Sauratown was in existence, many families settled in the "Land of Eden", and their descendants have stayed in the area, including the Brodnax, Dillard, Ruffin, Morehead, Henry, and Winston families. Many Scots also settled in the area, including the Galloway, Scales, Watt, Lenox, Campbell, and Moir families. Other notable residents of the county include General Lighthorse Harry Lee.[citation needed]
20th century to present
Following previous unsuccessful referendums, on September 12, 1967, residents of Leaksville, Draper, Spray, and the unincorporated Meadows Greens Sanitary District voted to consolidate their communities, 2,252 to 1,753 with 60 percent of eligible voters participating. Of these, 784 elected to call the new city Eden, a term surveyor William Byrd II had used to describe the region in the 1700s. The consolidation took immediate effect, and Eden became the largest city in Rockingham County.[9]
In 2014, 39,000 thousand tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of contaminated water spilled into the Dan River near Eden from a coal-fired power plant owned by Duke Energy.[10]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s the local economy suffered due to the closure of several textile mills- an expected byproduct of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Fieldcrest Cannon laid off hundreds of corporate staff in the 1990s, Pluma closed its plant in 1999, and Spray Cotton Mills closed its yarn mill in 2001, and Pillowtex folded in 2003. Some former workers moved to larger cities in search of jobs.[11] The decline of textiles left the Miller Brewing Company's facility the town's flagship industry, but it announced its closure in 2015. The loss of the brewery and the textile mills had a knock-off effect on local retail stores, many of which closed due to the loss of customers and competition from national chains such as Walmart.[12]
The Smith and the Dan River have their confluence on the south side of Eden. The Dan River flows along Eden's southern border while the Smith River flows from the north bisecting the city on its route to meet the Dan River. Greensboro is 36 miles (58 kilometers) to the south,[14]Reidsville is 15 mi (24 km) southeast via NC 14[15]High Point is 45 miles (72 km) south[16] and Danville, Virginia is 26 mi (42 km) northeast of the city.[17]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.2 square miles (39 km2), of which, 15.0 square miles (39 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (1.12%) is water.
Eden has three downtown areas, concentrated in the former towns of Leaksville, Spray, and Draper.[19][20][21]
B. Frank Mebane, who had married into the prominent Morehead family, started the first of his six textile mills in the area in 1893. Marshall Field took over the company in 1912 and named it Fieldcrest. The company made textile products that included bedding: sheets and blankets. It employed more than 3000 people. After taking over Cannon Mills in 1986, the company became known as Fieldcrest Cannon; it later moved its headquarters and 110 employees to Kannapolis, North Carolina. Changes and restructuring were affecting the textile industry throughout the South, as companies moved manufacturing operations to areas with cheaper labor, including offshore.[22][23][24]
In 1997 Fieldcrest Cannon was sold to Pillowtex. Pillowtex closed its Eden plants in 2003, laying off the last 495 textile workers.[25][26]
Miller Brewing Company ran a brewery in Eden into the early 21st century. In 2012 it still employed nearly seven hundred people, and produced nine million barrels annually.[27] Miller announced in 2015 that it was shutting down the brewery by September 2016.[28] In September 2020, it was announced Nestle Purina will move into the old MillerCoors facility and will open in 2022.[29]
In February 2017, it was announced that the European-based German grocery store Lidl had broken ground on a store in Eden. It was expected to open in early 2018.[30] As of April, 2019, the store had not opened.[31]
In 1980, the Eden Mall, an approximately 400,000 square feet shopping center, was constructed. The mall began to decline in the late 1990s when its Kmart store closed. More stores began to shut down, culminating in the departures of Peebles in 2008 and Belk in 2015. The mall's physical condition deteriorated over the following years. It was sold in 2013 and subsequently leased out to local businesses.[32] In the late 2010s, the mall gained media attention and became an example of a "Dead mall" due to lack of stores in the mall and had no anchors left,[33] the mall closed to the public in early 2020s.
There were 6,644 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.0 males. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 79.4 men.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,670, and the median income for a family was $35,259. Males had a median income of $29,443 versus $21,797 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,275. About 13.9% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.6% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.
The city has three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.
The City of Eden operates under an Council/Manager form type of government. Elected officials include the mayor, elected at-large, and seven council members.[43] The Mayor and City Council serve for a term of Four years. The Mayor is the presiding officer and does not vote if the vote is tied. The Eden City Council meets on the third Tuesday of every month.[44]
On November 12, 2017, Neville Hall took the office of mayor.[45]
Each year in September Eden host its annual Fall Riverfest, which celebrates the city's art, history, and river heritage.[51] It is located in the "old" Leaksville shopping district on Washington Street, the oldest downtown street since 1917.[52] Others include: Charlie Poole Music festival, which features music legends such as, Mike Seeger and the Osbourne brothers.[53] The Eden chamber of commerce created the Eden Business Expo, as a venue for local businesses to present career opportunities, products, and services.[54]
Eden Museum
On September 19, 2009, the museum was officially opened.[55] In 2010, the exhibits were completed. The museum is an initiative of the Eden Preservation Society. The museum reflects on the city's history from the consolidation of Leaksville, Spray, and Draper, Triassic period, Saura Indians, William Byrd, Civil War, World Wars, the Korean War and much more.[56]
Smith River Greenway
The Smith River Greenway is a walking trail consisted with the Smith River that is 1.5 miles long extending along the Eden Family YMCA located on Kennedy street and Island ford landing filled with plenty of interesting plants and wildlife found in the trail. From a circumference view the Greenway can cross the smith river on meadow road. Local parking, picnic shelters, and restroom facilities are offered at the trailhead for visiting tourist. The city's next plan for the Greenway is to extend the trail towards the Spray dam.
