

Several more buildings were quickly added. From the time the decision was made until equipment, doctors, and patients were in a new facility, took less than 54 hours. Since local facilities were inadequate to treat the victims, the citizens of Hickory and the March of Dimes decided to build a hospital to care for the children of the region. Residents who were then children recall summers of not being allowed to play outside or visit friends for fear of contracting the disease. In 1944 the area around Hickory (the Catawba Valley) became the center of one of the worst outbreaks of polio ever recorded. Hickory was known in the years after World War II for the "Miracle of Hickory". During World War II, the factory made ammunition boxes for the U.S. Hickory White, formerly known as Hickory Manufacturing Company, was built in 1902 and has been in continuous operation ever since. Hickory is home to one of the oldest furniture manufacturers in the United States that is still located and operated on the original site. In 1891, Lenoir–Rhyne University (then Highland Academy) was founded by four Lutheran pastors with 12 initial students. 1921), sits directly across the street from the site of the old opera house. The current Hickory Community Theatre, housed in the old Municipal Auditorium (c. In 1902, a fire destroyed the entire building and it was never rebuilt. The first known musical organization performed there with the name Hickory Symphony Band. The opera house hosted shows from out of town as well as the "Hickory Amateurs," the city's first acting troupe. It was decorated in French renaissance style with mythology motifs. The auditorium could seat 750 and the parquet balcony could fit another 350. In 1889, the Elliott Opera House opened in the city. With Hickory's rapid population growth in the late 1800s, the need for a proper place for entertainment was needed.
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Jeremiah Ingold, pastor of Corinth Reformed Church (then German Reformed Grace Church), established Hickory's first school, the Free Academy.
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Hickory was also one of the first towns to install electric lights in 1888 and a complete sewage system in 1904. The community of Hickory was the first for many things in North Carolina, including the council-manager form of government it adopted in 1913. His house is now known as "The 1859 Cafe", a restaurant (closed in 2011). The first lot was sold to Henry Link for $45.00 in 1858. The first train operated in the area of Hickory Tavern in 1859. Three years later in 1873, the name was changed to the Town of Hickory, and in 1889 to the City of Hickory. The spot was known as "Hickory Tavern." In 1870, Hickory Tavern was established as a town. The origin of Hickory's name stems from a tavern made of logs beneath a hickory tree during the 1850s. 1.1 National Register of Historic Places.
