A new historical novel is drawing attention to a little-known post-Civil War community that once thrived in the mountains near Hendersonville. Happy Land, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, is based on the real story of a settlement founded by formerly enslaved people in the 1870s.
The Kingdom of the Happy Land was located along the North Carolina-South Carolina border. Its founders came from Cross Anchor, S.C., pooling their resources to buy land and build a self-sustaining community. They operated a school and chapel, maintained a shared treasury, and sold herbal remedies, including a product known as Happy Land Liniment.
The community lasted for several decades before fading in the early 1900s. The land was eventually sold in 1919. For years, the Kingdom’s story was kept alive primarily through local oral histories and a 1957 pamphlet written by a Henderson County court stenographer.
Perkins-Valdez discovered the Kingdom’s history during the pandemic while researching Black musicians in Western North Carolina. That interest led her to Hendersonville, where she connected with local storyteller Ronnie Pepper and researcher Suzanne Hale. Their work helped her piece together a more complete — and more accurate — version of the Kingdom’s story than previously documented.
The novel Happy Land blends fact and fiction, using the Kingdom’s history as the foundation for a story about family, memory and return. At its heart is a woman returning home — uncovering her family’s history through the story of the Kingdom.
Meet the Author: Upcoming Events
Dolen Perkins-Valdez will appear at two local events to discuss the book:
- Sunday, April 14 – Henderson County Library, in conversation with Ronnie Pepper
- Tuesday, April 15 – Malaprop’s Bookstore, in conversation with Suzanne Hale
