Flat Rock is a village in Henderson County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...

, United States. The population was 3,114 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

Charles Baring and Susan Heyward Baring built Mountain Lodge in 1827 as the community became known as the "Little Charleston of the Mountains" due to an influx of wealthy summer residents from the South Carolina Low Country. Historic Flat Rock Inc. bought the abandoned house and sold it in 2014 to Julien Smythe, a descendant of an owner of

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

who along with wife Lori renovated the house. A post office called Flat Rock has been in operation since 1829. The village was named for granite rock formations which dotted the landscape. Historic Flat Rock Inc. began in 1968 after the loss of Ravenswood and began buying historic properties. A number of buildings in the village are included in the Flat Rock Historic District listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Also on the Register are Brookland and

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site 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 ...

Geography

Flat Rock is located in south-central Henderson County at (35.266605, -82.453425). It is bordered to the north by Hendersonville, the county seat, and to the east by unincorporated East Flat Rock.

North Carolina Highway 225 North Carolina Highway 225 (NC 225) is a route running from U.S. Route 25 (US 25), near the South Carolina state line to Hendersonville. It crosses over US 25 once before ending. It runs through East Flat Rock and near La ...

(Greenville Highway) is the main road through the village, leading north to the center of Hendersonville and south to

Zirconia Zirconium dioxide (), sometimes known as zirconia (not to be confused with zircon), is a white crystalline oxide of zirconium. Its most naturally occurring form, with a monoclinic crystalline structure, is the mineral baddeleyite. A dopant stabi ...

is to the north, and the

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

border is to the south. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the village has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.56%, are water. The town is drained by King Creek and Meminger Creek, tributaries of the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville forms ...

and part of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

watershed. The elevation at the center of Flat Rock is .

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 3,486 people, 1,590 households, and 1,071 families residing in the village.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,565 people, 1,169 households, and 937 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPop ...

was 327.1 people per square mile (126.3/km²). There were 1,459 housing units at an average density of 186.0 per square mile (71.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.83%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.47%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, 0.04% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.04% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.51% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...

or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population. There were 1,169 households, out of which 15.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 1.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.46. In the village, the population was spread out, with 13.6% under the age of 18, 2.3% from 18 to 24, 13.4% from 25 to 44, 34.9% from 45 to 64, and 35.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $67,813, and the median income for a family was $81,811. Males had a median income of $55,263 versus $34,375 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $42,222. About 0.3% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including none of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Flat Rock is home to the Flat Rock Playhouse, the State Theatre of

. The

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), as it exists today, is the historical descendant of the Synod of the South, a Synod of the Associate Reformed Church. The original Associate Reformed Church resulted from a merger of the Associate ...

retreat

Bonclarken Bonclarken is a conference center located in Flat Rock, North Carolina (between Asheville, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina) operated by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP). Bonclarken is the conference center of the Ass ...

is located in Flat Rock. It also is home to the main campus of Blue Ridge Community College. The Historic Flat Rock Cultural Center and Museum opened in the former post office June 3, 2017.

Notable people

* Mitchell Campbell King (1815–1901), 19th-century planter and physician. *

Christopher Memminger Christopher Gustavus Memminger (german: link=no, Christoph Gustav Memminger, translit=Christopher Gustavus Memminger; January 9, 1803 – March 7, 1888) was a German-born American politician and a secessionist who participated in the format ...

, the first Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederacy, had his summer home here, which he called "Rock Hill," later called "Connemara". He is interred in Flat Rock. *

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) 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 ...

lived in the village from 1945 until his death in 1967. His home, once owned by Memminger, is part of the

and a major tourist attraction in the village. *

Buffalo Bob Smith Robert Emil Schmidt (November 27, 1917 – July 30, 1998), nicknamed Buffalo Bob, was the host of the children's show ''Howdy Doody''. Biography Born in Buffalo, New York, as Robert Emil Schmidt, he attended Masten Park High School. Schmidt g ...

(1917–1998), TV host of long-running children's program "

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F Campbell

," retired to the Kenmure section of Flat Rock, yet sometimes used a Hendersonville address. * George A. Trenholm, a summer resident, was the second Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederacy, from July 18, 1864 to April 27, 1865.

References

External links

Village of Flat Rock official website

CarlSandburg.net: A Research Website for Sandburg Studies

Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development
{{authority control Villages in Henderson County, North Carolina Villages in North Carolina Asheville metropolitan area Gothic Revival architecture in North Carolina Second Empire architecture in North Carolina Queen Anne architecture in North Carolina