Historic Flat Rock, Inc.

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Historic Flat Rock, Inc.

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Historic Flat Rock, Inc. was established in 1968. Since then it has been instrumental in the preservation and restoration of properties of note.

To protect, preserve and promote, in the community of Flat Rock in Henderson County, NC, such landmarks that are or may be of historical, architectural, cultural, or recreational value to the community, state, and nation. It has obtained numerous preservation easements on historic properties through the cooperation and generosity of the owners. Many thanks to all those whose efforts will help preserve Flat Rock now and for future generations. Please think of us first in connection with preservation.

10/31/2026

🎃Happy Halloween

10/28/2026

On a Wednesday evening in Flat Rock, the parking lots around St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church are alive with activity. Dozens of children, some barely old enough for kindergarten and others approaching middle school, are pedaling bicycles in every direction. The swirl of happy activity i

10/25/2026

Advertisement for the Opera House in Hendersonville published in The Hendersonville News in October 30, 1919 (from our newspaper collection).

10/19/2026

Starting to see past-peak colors at elevations above 5000' in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Do you have pictures of the fall foliage in the North Carolina Mountains from this year? Post photos in the comments below. 👇

Photo Credit: Parkway Colors

10/15/2026

THIS SATURDAY - SALE #2
Come and support your FAVORITE PARK!

Last weekend, we "almost" hit a record sale day for our Annual Pumpkin Sale! The heavy rain kept a few regulars and park-goers away. Here is ONE MORE CHANCE to buy a pumpkin and support your Park. Stop by while quantities last. It was a bumper crop of beautiful pumpkins! JOIN US. 100% of purchase goes directly to Park projects. WHILE QUANTITY LASTS...

10/12/2026

~Dolce Far Niente, ca. 1836~
Site of the Thomas Lowndes house c1836, Dolce Far Niente means “sweet nothing to do.” The property includes a contemporary house, Hemlocks, and Emmy’s Cottage. The property is a well known vista upon entering the village from the north with its original granite rock wall and gateposts, laid without mortar. The property has a long history going back to Henry McAlpin in 1833, Charles Baring in 1936 and then Thomas Lowndes the same year. The original tract of land (125 +/- acres) stretched from the present highway east to Highland Lake. The house, which no longer stands, was a grand summer house with wide piazzas and circular drive, lined with Hydrangeas. The house was taken down in 1960, and the property was purchased by Lawrence W. Baynard, who’s daughter Barbara Baynard Hubbell now owns the property with her husband. EMMY’S COTTAGE is included in this Agreement. The cottage was built in 1924 by Richard I’On Lowndes, Jr., who also built the Lowndes House at the Flat Rock Playhouse. The cottage ultimately became home to his sister Alice Lowndes Andrews and her husband William P. (Wick) Andrews. They lived here with their two children William P. (Wick) Jr. and his sister Betty Lee.

10/09/2026

10/06/2026

In 1967, David Butler spent a long winter helping his father plow the ground for 2500 apple trees on Mt. McAlpine, which overlooks the southern end of what is now the Village of Flat Rock. Little did that teenage boy know that he was actually planting the seeds for his own very successful and rewa

10/03/2026

On October 3, 1900, Thomas Wolfe, the famed writer from Asheville, was born. Wolfe attended public schools in Asheville for seven years while living in his mother’s boardinghouse with the rest of his family.

Growing up in Asheville formed the basis for his thinly-veiled autobiographical novel Look Homeward, Angel, which was published in 1929. Asheville residents easily recognized themselves in the text, and Wolfe received letters from irate readers who felt wrongly portrayed in the book. It was 1937 before he would return to his childhood home, having published many short stories and a second novel, Of Time and the River, in the meantime. Although he planned to spend the summer writing in a rented cabin, Wolfe worked little, being constantly disturbed by visitors and undergoing family strife. He began to ponder the many implications of the phrase “You can’t go home again,” the title of a novel that would be published in 1940, two years after his death.

His mother’s former boardinghouse, known as the “Old Kentucky Home,” made famous as “Dixieland” in his first novel, is now a State Historic Site.

Marker located in Asheville, NC: https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2024/01/22/thomas-wolfe-p-17

Address

118 Village Center Drive
Flat Rock, NC
28731

Telephone

+18289744242

Website

http://www.historicflatrockinc.com/

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