Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Address:81 Carl Sandburg Lane
Flat Rock, North Carolina
Tel: (828) 693-4178

Scenic pastures and fascinating artifacts abound at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina. The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site was the home of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Carl Sandburg for the last 22 years of his life. Today, the site is home to ranger-guided tours of the home, magnificent hiking trails, and 30-acres of pastureland, where Sandburg's wife, Lilian raised dairy goats.

The house that would become the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site was originally built in the 1830s when Christopher Memminger, after touring Flat Rock, could not find a summer home to his liking. In 1945, Carl and Lilian Sandburg, moved into the house so that Carl could pursue his writing and Lilian could raise her prized dairy goats. Over the next two and a half years, the couple remodeled the house, including heating, plumbing, and dozens of bookshelves for Carl's extensive library. Upon Carl's death in July 1969, Lilian sold the house to the federal government, and the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site was opened to the public in 1974.

The 30-minute ranger-guided tour of the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site exposes visitors to over 65,000 artifacts from the Sandburg residence. The Connemara Farms Goat Dairy allows visitors to learn the fascinating story behind Lilian Sandburg's goat operation. Hiking at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site takes visitors through several miles of the beautiful countryside. There is neither food nor drink available at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, so visitors should pack accordingly.

To get to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, visitors should take I-26 East to exit 53, then turn left onto Greenville Highway, then right onto Little River Road.