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History · Gerton

Gerton’s post office opened in 1902

Most of Gerton was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1935 on.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Gerton began

When was Gerton founded?

1902

The Gerton post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 290124 years
Founding year: the first Gerton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Gerton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gerton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gerton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gerton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Gerton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gerton.

Read it all →

The area was first connected by a Drovers' road, a natural access into the interior of the Blue Ridge Mountains for drovers who were moving livestock, mostly flocks of turkeys and some geese, herds of hogs and some cattle in and out of the mountains to the markets. Established in 1798, it connected the area with Asheville, following on what is today U.S. Route 74A (US 74A). In 1883 the "Pump" Post Office was opened, named after a pump that supplied water off Bearwallow Mountain to the community in the valley. In 1902, the United States Post Office issued a new cancelling stamp for the post office, but had misspelled Pump as Rump. The residents, being both upset and embarrassed, decided to rename the community after a long-time and beloved school teacher in the community, Gertrude Freeman. However, having been known to be very shy and modest, it was decided to use a contraction of her na…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Gerton on the map, 1935 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gerton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Gerton on the 1935 USGS mapGerton on the 1946 USGS mapGerton on the 1969 USGS mapGerton on the 1997 USGS map1935Batcave sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gerton.

Famous people

Famous people close to Gerton

Nobody well known was born in Gerton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Thomas WolfeAmerican writer · b. 1900
Roberta FlackAmerican singer · b. 1937
Kenneth NolandAmerican artist · b. 1924
S
Sierra McCormickAmerican actress and model · b. 1997
Bellamy YoungAmerican actress · b. 1970
Dorothy Hansine AndersenAmerican physician · b. 1901
Places that used to be

Old corners

Gerton’s post office has been open since 1902.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Chestnut Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Gerton’s history

What year was Gerton founded?

The Gerton post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.