I recently found myself happily meandering through the many twists and turns of a historical rabbit hole reaching back over 140 years. My carefully curated to-do list was pushed aside and I spent several hours transfixed as I searched through the Henderson County Public Library’s absorbing Baker Barber Collection of over 65,000 photographs dating as far back as the 1880s.
The history of this amazing collection and the people who created it for us.
On a hill overlooking Lake Summit Near Saluda, North Carolina, one finds Montaire, the Montgomery family home. A beautiful white house built in the early 1920s; Montaire derives its name from Mont for Montgomery and air for the fresh mountain breezes that cool off the hot summer days. Betty and Walter Montgomery, Jr., are the current owners of Montaire and descendants of one of the families responsible for constructing Lake Summit.
They recently shared a brief history of the lake and its development with Missy Craver Izard.
Read MoreIf you get a little confused watching this modern-day whodunit, don’t sweat it. Keeping the audience guessing is all part of the theatrical experience that tells the story of a woman who spends a rollercoaster week trying to fill in the informational gaps of a murder that she may have committed.
Read MorePerhaps initially overshadowed by other titles in the FRP 2023 season, The Girl on the Train has emerged from those shadows to rightfully claim its position as “must-see” theatre at the Playhouse this year.
Read MorePaul Bonesteel, age 57, still rides his bike on the backroads and trails of western North Carolina. On sunny days, when he looks down at the pavement below his bike, he sees the shadow of his wheel spinning towards the crest of the next hill or the next bend in the road. And each time he sees that shadow, Paul is invariably taken back to the summer of 1982 when he was a teenager making an epic journey that would be one of the defining moments of his life.
It was an experience so transformative that 40 years later Paul Bonesteel still points to that summer as one of the most consequential of his life.
Read More“My husband said yes to Tippy because he thought I wanted him, and I’d said yes because I thought he wanted him,” Mary Beth recalls with a smile. By that point, of course, the die was cast and the squeaky toy was shredded all over the living room floor. They resolved to find a way to make it work.
Fortunately for all parties involved, the adoption stuck and Mary Beth parlayed the experience into a new phase of her life - as an author of children’s books. Not surprisingly, her books are about a small terror of a terrier named Tippy.
Read MoreIn 1979 Historic Flat Rock, Inc. purchased the old post office and after extensive renovations, moved into the upstairs. The lower level was home to the Ladies Aid Society of Flat Rock’s Book Exchange until 2016 when HFR decided to create a cultural center and museum fulfilling its mission “to discover and collect materials of historic, artistic, or literary value, provide for preservation for such material and its accessibility as far as may be feasible for all who wish to examine it and to operate a cultural center.
Read MoreFulfilling a promise that fell victim to the pandemic in 2020, Flat Rock Playhouse brought up the lights on its powerful presentation of A Chorus Line this past Thursday. Always up to the task no matter the magnitude of the production, the Playhouse brings this iconic Broadway blockbuster to life with all the skill and verve we’ve come to expect on the Leiman Mainstage.
Read MoreFourteen years ago, parishioners at St. John in the Wilderness learned that several children attending Flat Rock Middle School were going hungry on weekends. The students were all participants in the free breakfast and lunch programs offered at public schools and had insufficient access to nutritional foods on Saturdays and Sundays.
They decided to address the problem directly and the Flat Rock Backpack Program was created.
Read MoreA very common question from visitors to Flat Rock concerns the exact location of the expanse of rock for which the Village is named. If they are standing anywhere near the intersection of Little River Road and Greenville Highway, you might just suggest they look under their feet for the answer.
The origin of the Village’s name has been addressed by several notable Flat Rock and Henderson County historians through the years.
Read MoreActors often tell stories of the “big break” that altered the course of their lives and careers. Stories typically involve one last casting call before giving up on their dream, or a chance meeting while struggling to make ends meet as a waiter at a local bistro. For Flat Rock Playhouse Vagabond legend, Scott Treadway, his big moment transpired in a place familiar to anyone that’s ever been to the Playhouse - during the organized chaos of Playhouse parking.
Read MoreThe site of the Markley Blacksmith Shop was of such significance that Historic Flat Rock, Inc. erected a marker in 2013 commemorating the location on West Blue Ridge Road where the shop once stood. The legacy of the small blacksmith shop started by John Markley endures and is recounted here through extracts of various accounts and articles written about the Markley family through the years.
Read MoreLittle Rainbow Row is now such a common phrase in the local lexicon, it is easy to assume that the colorful moniker applied to the village business district has always been a part of the historic tapestry of Flat Rock. In reality, however, the brightly painted buildings that define Little Rainbow Row are a relatively new addition to the Village’s already colorful 216-year history.
Read MoreIn 2021, Christopher Liberatos and Jenny Bevan purchased Five Oaks in Flat Rock from Christopher’s brother, John. After 13 years in Charleston, SC, the couple saw an opportunity to pursue their shared profession and passion for architecture in an inviting new community. They also saw incredible potential in a house that has a long and varied history in the very heart of Flat Rock.
Read MoreAs a child, Flat Rock resident Denise Cumbee Long heard from her father that she was a descendant of Scottish ancestors bearing the surname MacCumbee which later was shortened and altered to her maiden name of Cumbee. Intrigued by the family lore, Denise decided to trace her roots back to her Scottish ancestors. Her path to Scotland, however, took a very unexpected turn southward as Denise ultimately traced her paternal ancestry not to Scotland but to West Africa in the 1600s.
She recently shared her surprising story with the Genealogy Society at Flat Rock …
Read MoreIn December of 2003, Howard Molton was delivering a Christmas gift at WTZQ when he ran into local radio legend, Frank “Hollywood” Jones. At that time, Hollywood was manager of the Skyland Arts Cinema in Downtown Hendersonville and Howard told him how much he and his wife Barbara loved the cinema. He casually added that he would enjoy doing something like that someday. Hollywood suggested he call the owner and inquire about the possibility of buying the theater.
Intrigued, Howard made the call. Three weeks later, he and Barbara were the new owners of Skyland Arts Cinema - and about to embark on an adventure full of many unexpected twists and turns that has spanned nearly two decades.
Read MoreVisitors to Flat Rock Playhouse arrive expecting to be entertained by some of the most professional theater and musical productions offered anywhere in the Southeast. What they don’t expect, however, is to see professional landscaping and the series of beautiful gardens that adorn the expansive Playhouse campus.
Read MoreIn 1836, Dr. Mitchell Campbell King, the son of Susanna Campbell and Judge Mitchell King, a founder of the Flat Rock summer colony and builder of Argyle, purchased 293 acres from his father for 25 cents an acre to build his family estate, Glenroy. He hired Mr. Freeman, a Scottish architect and shipbuilder from Charleston, to design the house constructed of lumber harvested on the place and cured for three to four years.
Considered at one time to be the most beautiful home in western North Carolina and now a private country club and gated community called Kenmure, the Glenroy was steeped in Flat Rock history.
Read MoreLong before the lights come up and the actors take the stage at Flat Rock Playhouse, the Playhouse marketing department will have been working towards that climactic moment for months. Indeed, because of the talent and dedication of the staff responsible for promoting FRP, the many brilliant performers who will grace the Leiman Mainstage this season will be greeted by a theater full of enthusiastic patrons.
Read MoreAfter 20 years in Miami, photographer Jaime Seymour-Newton resolved it was time to marry together her passions for photography, animals, and the mountains of North Carolina. She discussed the idea with her husband Rupert and made her case for the move to a new home. “I said to my husband, ‘Let’s have an adventure.’” He agreed and together they embarked on an adventure that eventually brought Jaime Seymour-Newton Photography to Flat Rock.
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