Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Last updated

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
Carl Sandburg house, Flat Rock, NC IMG 4847.JPG
Carl Sandburg's last house
USA North Carolina location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Flat Rock, North Carolina, USA
Nearest city Hendersonville, North Carolina
Coordinates 35°16′17″N82°26′50″W / 35.27145°N 82.44723°W / 35.27145; -82.44723
Area246 acres (100 ha)
Built1945
Visitation28,799 (2006)
Website Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
NRHP reference No. 68000013 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 17, 1968
Designated NHLDMay 23, 1968 [2]
Designated NHSOctober 17, 1968 [3]

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, located at 81 Carl Sandburg Lane near Hendersonville in the village of Flat Rock, North Carolina, preserves Connemara, the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and writer Carl Sandburg. Though a Midwesterner, Sandburg and his family moved to this home in 1945 for the peace and solitude required for his writing and the more than 30 acres (120,000 m2) of pastureland required for his wife, Lilian, to raise her champion dairy goats. Sandburg spent the last twenty-two years of his life on this farm and published more than a third of his works while he resided here.

Contents

The 264-acre site includes the Sandburg residence, the goat farm, sheds, rolling pastures, mountainside woods, 5 miles (8 km) of hiking trails on moderate to steep terrain, two small lakes, several ponds, flower and vegetable gardens, and an apple orchard.

Visitors to the site can tour the Sandburg residence and visit the dairy barn housing Connemara Farms' goat herd, representing the three breeds of goats Lilian Sandburg raised. From mid-June until mid-August, live performances of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories and excerpts from the Broadway play, The World of Carl Sandburg , are presented at the park amphitheater.

The Memminger years

In the middle 1830s Christopher Memminger, of Charleston, South Carolina, took a tour of Flat Rock in an attempt to find a summer home. Unable to find a home he liked, he purchased land from Charles Baring, one of the more prominent landholders in the area. In 1838 he hired an architect to begin work on a large summer home in the Greek Revival style. The kitchen house and stable were actually completed first, in the summer of 1838. The house was not complete until 1839. A cook's house was added in 1841, a wagon shed in 1843, and an icehouse in 1845. An addition to the main house was constructed over the course of 1846–1849, and servant quarters were built in 1850. [4]

Memminger called his summer home “Rock Hill,” possibly because the main house was constructed on the gradual slope of Big Glassy Mountain. In 1855, he had a stream in front of the house dammed up to create a small, artificial lake. The Memminger family spent most of their summers after 1839 at Rock Hill, not to be confused with Rock Hill, South Carolina. They lived there full-time from 1864 until the end of the Civil War. During the war, the house was fortified and used as a shelter for friends who needed protection from raids by Union soldiers and Confederate deserters turned bandits. [5]

The Gregg and Smyth years

After Memminger's death, his son Edward sold Rock Hill to Colonel William Gregg, Jr., a Confederate veteran. During his ownership, he built new steps at the front of the house, since the originals had been removed during the war for defense. He also installed a bay window and fireplace mantles. The Greggs used Rock Hill as their summer home for about ten years before they sold it in 1900 to Captain Ellison Adger Smyth. [6]

Smyth changed the name of the house from “Rock Hill” to “Connemara,” after his ancestral district in Ireland. [7] The Smyths winterized the house and enclosed the porch to convert it to a dining room. [8] They also painted the house green for a brief period and even installed an eight-hole golf course in the pastures. The captain and his family used Connemara as a summer home until 1925 when they decided to make it their permanent residence. Smyth died in 1942, and the house remained vacant until 1945.

The Sandburg era

Sandburg purchased Connemara on October 18, 1945, for $45,000 . Mrs. Sandburg had been looking for a new farm in a warmer climate to raise her Chikaming dairy goats. When she showed Connemara to her husband, he reportedly said, “This is the place. We will look no further.” [9] Upon buying the house, the Sandburgs immediately began remodeling. Contractors were hired to work on the heating, plumbing, electrical, the roof and the cement floor of the basement. The Sandburgs installed new chimneys and bathrooms, as well as dozens of bookshelves for his large library. They also repainted the house and installed a new indoor kitchen, having turned the original kitchen building into a three- car garage. The entire remodeling process lasted for some two and a half years. In addition, more than 42,000 lb (19,000 kg) of personal belongings, primarily Sandburg's library, were sent by train from their old house in Harbert, Michigan. [10]

The Sandburgs lived at Connemara from October 1945 to July 1969. Mr. and Mrs. Sandburg lived there along with their three daughters, Margaret, Janet, and Helga, as well as Helga's two children, John Carl and Karlen Paula. Sandburg published more than a third of his works while living at Connemara, and it was at this house he died of natural causes in 1967. After his death, his wife decided to sell Connemara to the U.S. government to preserve the house as a memorial to her husband. The Secretary of Interior and family friend Stewart Udall visited the house in October 1967, and Mrs. Sandburg signed a deed of gift in June of the following year. On October 18, 1968, President Johnson approved a congressional act making the home a historic site. The home officially opened to the public in 1974. The National Park Service restored the house and installed Plexiglas covers over the bookcases during the time between the purchase and its opening. [11]

The site today

The Carl Sandburg National Historic Site is located in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Carl Sandburg National Historic Site sign IMG 4844.JPG
The Carl Sandburg National Historic Site is located in Flat Rock, North Carolina.

Today Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site attracts more than 85,000 visitors a year. The national park is open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

The U.S. government has designated the goats a historic herd. About fifteen goats are kept on the farm at any given time. The interior of the home is arranged in a manner similar to how the Sandburgs maintained it during the 1950s. [12]

The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, supported by North Carolina's congressional delegation, authorized the expansion of the site by 115 acres (0.47 km2) to protect the scenic view, create additional parking, and establish a visitor center. [13]

The park features a writer-in-residence program started in 2010 with the support of the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara. This program offers emerging writers an opportunity to live and work at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site for three weeks during April. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Sandburg</span> American writer and editor (1878–1967)

Carl August Sandburg was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg was widely regarded as "a major figure in contemporary literature", especially for volumes of his collected verse, including Chicago Poems (1916), Cornhuskers (1918), and Smoke and Steel (1920). He enjoyed "unrivaled appeal as a poet in his day, perhaps because the breadth of his experiences connected him with so many strands of American life". When he died in 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson observed that "Carl Sandburg was more than the voice of America, more than the poet of its strength and genius. He was America."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henderson County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,281. Its county seat is Hendersonville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina</span> Village in North Carolina, United States

Flat Rock is a village in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,114 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Memminger</span> German-born American politician

Christopher Gustavus Memminger was a German-born American politician and a secessionist who participated in the formation of the Confederate States government. He was the principal author of the Provisional Constitution (1861), as well as the founder of the Confederate financial system. As the first Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury, Memminger was the principal author of the economic policies of Jefferson Davis's administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Carter National Historical Park</span> National Historical Park of the United States in Georgia

The Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, located in Plains, Georgia, preserves sites associated with Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States. These include his residence, boyhood farm, school, and the town railroad depot, which served as his campaign headquarters during the 1976 election. The building which used to be Plains High School serves as the park's museum and visitor center. As Carter lives in Plains, the area surrounding the residence including the burial site of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (1927–2023) is under the protection of the United States Secret Service and is not open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Old Kentucky Home State Park</span> State park in Kentucky, United States

My Old Kentucky Home State Park is a state park located in Bardstown, Kentucky, United States. The park's centerpiece is Federal Hill, a former plantation home owned by United States Senator John Rowan in 1795. During the Rowan family's occupation, the mansion became a meeting place for local politicians and hosted several visiting dignitaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Experimental Farm</span> Government-owned farm and research facility in Ottawa, Ontario

The Central Experimental Farm (CEF), commonly known as the Experimental Farm, is an agricultural facility, working farm, and research centre of the Science and Technology Branch, formerly the Research Branch, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. As the name indicates, this farm is centrally located in and now surrounded by the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located on 4 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi) of land, the farm is a National Historic Site of Canada and most buildings are protected and preserved as heritage buildings.

Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel is a "how to" show on PBS hosted by Georgia Bonesteel. The show debuted in 1979 on UNC-TV and has been on the air for over 40 years. By 1983, it was being distributed out of Boston to 120 major PBS stations, including Chicago's WYCC. The show shares different quilting techniques and styles from around the United States and the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Sandburg State Historic Site</span>

Carl Sandburg State Historic Site was the birthplace and boyhood home of author Carl Sandburg in Galesburg, Illinois, United States. It is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Division. The site contains the cottage Sandburg was born in, a visitor center with a museum about Carl Sandburg, a museum shop, a small theater, and the rock under which he and his wife Lilian are buried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weigel House</span> Historic house in Tennessee, United States

The Weigel House is a historic house built in 1893 at 2721 Asbury Road in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is also known as the Monday House, or the Osborne House. The house was constructed in the late 19th century in the Queen Anne style. It was one of the better-known homes of the Weigel family, who immigrated from Germany in the 19th century and were prominent in the dairy business, both in East and North Knox County, for generations. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Monday House" since 2001.

Oscar Gregory Stonorov was a modernist architect and architectural writer, historian and archivist who emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1929. His first name is often spelled "Oskar".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Bottom Farm</span> Historic house in West Virginia, United States

Ridgedale is a 19th-century Greek Revival plantation house and farm on a plateau overlooking the South Branch Potomac River north of Romney, West Virginia, United States. The populated area adjacent to Washington Bottom Farm is known as Ridgedale. The farm is connected to West Virginia Route 28 via Washington Bottom Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope House Museum</span> Historic house in North Carolina, United States

The Pope House Museum, built in 1901, is a restored home once owned by Dr. Manassa Thomas Pope, a prominent African-American citizen of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Pope House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, It was an official project of the Save America’s Treasures Program and the city of Raleigh took over management of it, offering tours for the first time in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craftsman Farms</span> Historic house in New Jersey, United States

Craftsman Farms is a historic house located in Parsippany-Troy Hills, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. It was founded by noted early 20th century designer Gustav Stickley as a farm and school for the Arts and Crafts movement. It remained in use until 1915 when it was sold to a family and became a private house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flat Rock Historic District</span> Historic district in North Carolina, United States

Flat Rock Historic District is a national historic district located at Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 55 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site associated with estates centering on the ambitious summer houses of the prominent Charlestonians. The homes includes notable examples of Stick Style / Eastlake movement, Second Empire, and Gothic Revival residential architecture. Located in the district is the separately listed Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, also known as Connemara. Other notable estates include Mountain Lodge, Argyle, Beaumont, Tall Trees (Greenlawn), Many Pines, Chanteloupe, Teneriffe, Rutledge Cottage, Dunroy, Treholm-Rhett House home of George Trenholm, Kenmure (Glenroy), Vincennes home of William Elliott, Sallie Parker House, Enchantment, Bonclarken (Heidleberg), Saluda Cottages, Tranquility, and the Rhue House. Also located in the district is St. John-in-the-Wilderness church and rectory, the Old Post Office, Woodfield Inn, The Lowndes Place.

Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland.

Georgia Bonesteel is an American quilter. She is the author of several books about quilting, as well as the former host of multiple television programs about quilting, most notably Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel. She has been credited with inventing "lap quilting".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandburg House</span> United States historic place

The Sandburg House is a private home located on Lake Michigan near Harbert, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Penelope Ellen Niven was an American academic and biographer. As Penelope McJunkin, she worked at a Catholic school and multiple high schools by the late 1980s. During this time period, she worked for Earlham College and the University of Illinois, Urbana as part of the Sandburg Collection Development Project. As Penelope Niven, she was a fellow at Yale University during the mid 1990s. She also held writer-in-residence positions with Greensboro College and Salem College up to the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. A. Smyth (industrialist)</span>

Joseph Ellison Adger Smyth, known as E. A. Smyth was an American industrialist.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "List of National Historic Landmarks" (PDF). National Park Service. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  3. Backlund, Connie Hudson Backlund (September 30, 2008). "Public Invited to 40th Anniversary of National Historic Site" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved October 15, 2009.
  4. Galen Reuther. The Carl Sandburg Home: Connemara, (Charleston, Chicago, Portsmouth, San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), 7-9.
  5. Ibid. 9.
  6. Ibid. 21.
  7. David H. Wallace, Historic Furnishings Report: Carl Sandburg Home Main House and Swedish House: National Historic Site / North Carolina, (Frederick, Maryland: 1984), 6.
  8. Elena Miller Park Ranger and Louise Williamson volunteer, interview by author, 9 February 2007, Flat Rock, tour of Carl Sandburg Home National Historic site.
  9. Reuther, Connemara, 41
  10. Wallace, Furnishings Report, 8-19.
  11. Ibid. 20-26.
  12. Miller and Williamson interview.
  13. Harrison Metzger, "Delegation Backs Sandburg Expansion", Times News, Hendersonville, North Carolina, 8 February 2007.
  14. "Carl Sandburg Writer-in-Residence - Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved May 3, 2020.