Editing Eden, North Carolina (section)

===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, [[Garden of 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.<ref>{{cite news| title = Tri-Cities Vote Consolidation; New Municipality Is Named Eden| newspaper = The Danville Register| page = 1-B| date = September 13, 1967| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115620774/tri-cities-consolidate-and-form-eden/|issue=27548}}</ref>

* In 1970, the city had considerable growth. 
* In 2000, city population grew to 15,908. 
* In 2010, the [[US Census]] population was 15,527. 
* In 2014, 39,000 thousand tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of contaminated water [[2014 Dan River coal ash spill|spilled into the Dan River]] near Eden from a coal-fired power plant owned by [[Duke Energy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://greensboro.com/news/state/5-years-after-dan-river-coal-ash-spill-duke-energy-close-to-finishing-state-mandated/article_de8d0fa9-43e8-5b83-85d1-b253683a0548.amp.html|title=5 years after Dan River coal ash spill, Duke Energy close to finishing state-mandated cleanup at site|last=Fernandez|first=Jennifer|date=February 1, 2019|website=greensboro.com|publisher=Greensboro News & Record|access-date=October 5, 2020}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news| last = Chapman| first = Dan| title = Battered mill town braces for onslaught| newspaper = The Charlotte Observer| pages = 1D, 4D| date = December 26, 2004| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115693672/eden-textile-mill-closures/}}</ref> 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]].<ref name= martin>{{cite news| last = Martin| first = Edward| title = Eden's tough transition as MillerCoors departs| newspaper = Business North Carolina| date = October 4, 2017| url = https://businessnc.com/edens-tough-transition-as-millercoors-departs/| access-date = January 3, 2023}}</ref>

On the third weekend of September; Eden hosts the annual River Fest each year to celebrate Eden's history. The [[Boone Road Historic District]], [[Bullard-Ray House]], [[Cascade Plantation]], [[Central Leaksville Historic District]], [[Dempsey-Reynolds-Taylor House]], [[First Baptist Church (Eden, North Carolina)|First Baptist Church]], [[Dr. Franklin King House-Idlewild]], [[Leaksville Commercial Historic District]], [[Leaksville-Spray Institute]], [[Lower Sauratown Plantation]], [[Mt. Sinai Baptist Church (Eden, North Carolina)|Mt. Sinai Baptist Church]], [[Site 31RK1]], [[Spray Industrial Historic District]], [[St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Eden, North Carolina)|St. Luke's Episcopal Church]], [[Tanyard Shoal Sluice]], [[Three Ledges Shoal Sluice]], and [[Wide Mouth Shoal Sluice]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>