Carl Sandburg Historic Home

Carl Sandburg Historic Home

Hours:
Daily: 9:30a - 4:30p
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Days
Tours:
Summer Months:  Guided house tours are given daily every half hour starting at 9:30a and 10:00a through 4:30p.
Winter Months: Guided house tours are given only on the bottom of the hour 9:30a - 4: 30p, weekdays, and on weekends every half hour.

Tickets: Purchased for the main house guided tour in the bookstore, on the ground level of the house. A limited number of tickets are available for each tour; there may be a waiting period. The house tour takes 30 - 45 minutes. Videos of the home tour and of the Sandburg’s are available for viewing in the bookstore.

Carl Sandburg's home is located three miles south of Hendersonville, NC on Little River Road off of the Greenville Highway/Rt. 225 in Flat Rock, NC. It is across the street from the Flat Rock Playhouse. The distance from the Hendersonville Visitors Center to Carl Sandburg's house is 3.7 miles.

Walk to the park’s information station below the parking lot, cross the bridge and walk up the hill to the main house. The trail is a moderate climb. If you are unable to walk to the house, use the phone at the information station to call for assistance (during summer season). The Carl Sandburg Home has limited handicap accessibility; the areas that are accessible are the first floor, bookstore and the second floor, main level of the house.

Carl Sandburg was recognized as the "People's Poet", was also an author, historian, Pulitzer-prize winner and biographer of Abraham Lincoln. Carl Sandburg and his family moved to his home known as "Connemara Farms" in 1945 for peace and solitude for his writing. He lived at the estate for 22 years with his family. Mr. Sandburg was a collector of books. There are about 10,000 books in the home, along with notes and papers.  It took several railroad cars to move all the books from Elmhurst, MI.

The Carl Sandburg house was built in 1839 by owner Christopher Memminger from Charleston, SC. The Memminger family lived at Connemara 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. In 1900 the house was sold to Captain Ellison Adger Smyth who lived in the house with his family until his death in 1942. The house remained vacant until 1945 when the Sandburgs purchased the house.

Today you can take a tour of Carl Sandburg's home with a tour guide who will give you interesting information about Carl Sandburg and his wife and family.  Also, don't forget to visit Mrs. Sandburg's world-renowned herd of dairy goats. You are permitted to walk among the goats, pet them and even have your picture taken with the goats by your friends. The 264 acre farm also includes rolling pastures, hiking trails, two small lakes, several ponds, flower and vegetable gardens, and an apple orchard.There are five miles of hiking trails on the property. Most trails are rated easy to moderate.

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.

There are several hiking trails to choose from:

1) The trail from the contact station to the house is 0.35 miles

2) The trail from the house to the barn is 0.35 miles

3) The trail from the main house to the trail head of Glassy Mountain is 0.34 miles

4) The trail from the house to Big Glassy is 1.30 miles

5) The trail from the contact station to the top of Glassy Mountain is 1.55 miles

6) The trail around the front lake is 0.41 miles

7) The trail from the front lake to the main house through the woods is 0.37 miles

8) Little Glassy Trail is 0.78 miles

There are five miles of hiking trails located on the Connemara property. Each trail is easy to moderate, with Glassy Trail being steep in only one place. The time that it takes is about 35

For more information visit the Carl Sandburg Home.