Packing only what was necessary, Oleksandr and Halyna left Kyiv and headed 30 miles east of central Kyiv and away from the heaviest shelling, seeking refuge at her parent’s home. Although they did not know it at the time, that short journey of just 30 miles was to be the first step on a much longer odyssey leading them to a small village in the mountains of North Carolina -  5,246 miles away.

A post office was established in Flat Rock in 1829 and John Davis was appointed the first postmaster. In 1845 the Rev. Peter Stradley was appointed postmaster. It was during his tenure that the “old post office” was built. Read accounts of its history from various authors here.

Mountain Lodge — considered to be the first house built by Charlestonians in the Flat Rock settlement — was purchased out of bankruptcy by Historic Flat Rock, Inc. The house was in extremely poor condition due to its age, lack of maintenance, and vandalism. The preservation group submitted an offer from a revolving fund it uses to buy and resell endangered historic properties. Their purpose was to stabilize the house and find a preservation-conscious person to buy it.

The story of Mountain Lodge’s origin and its ultimate return to glory …

I love living in a small town where the morning show at the local radio station announces your name on your birthday. And for that, I am very thankful.

North Carolina poet laureate and Henderson County native Robert Morgan wrote of Louise Howe Bailey, “No one has taught us more about our heritage than Louise. She has served as our essential guide to the past, reminding us of our achievements with humor and respect. She has reminded us of who we are, and what she has told us is what we will pass on to our children and future generations.”

Those of us who live in Flat Rock drive past Blue Ridge Fire and Rescue’s Station #2 almost daily. Sitting adjacent to Village Hall and atop “the Great Flat Rock” that gives the village its name, the old substation was renovated last year to add living quarters. As of February 2022, Station 2 is now the home away from home for the dedicated men and women who are committed to keeping area residents safe, healthy, and protected.

The year 1933 was a very good year for dinosaurs. The movie, King Kong, was released and featured a giant ape captured on an uncharted island inhabited by long-lost dinosaurs. It was also the year of the Chicago World’s Fair which featured animatronic, roaring dinosaurs. The prehistoric creatures even found their way into newspapers around the country via a cartoon strip about a Stone Age caveman and his pet dinosaur, Dinny. The strip was called Alley Oop.

Improbably, that same caveman would later find a home in Flat Rock, NC.

From its humble beginnings decided over a cup of coffee in 1951, Flat Rock Playhouse took root in the rocky ground that surrounded Mrs. Conrad’s Rockworth estate. Under Robroy’s leadership, the nascent theater would steadily grow to become not only one of the finest summer theaters in the land …

The character of communities is often shaped and defined by the presence of a handful of seminal figures who have the ability to transform the world around them by sheer force of will and tenacity. For Flat Rock, Robroy Farquhar was clearly one of those individuals.

When John Quinley moved to Henderson County in 2006, it was a reunion of sorts. John grew up in Maywood, Illinois just a few blocks from where a young reporter named Carl Sandburg had lived for five years. Half a century later, John found himself once again living close to a Sandburg home. Destiny, one might argue, was calling the life-long educator to revive and retell the story of Carl Sandburg.