Tar Heel Towns
By Mary Jo Padgett
Flat Rock
Plenty of rich and famous folks have passed through the
‘Little Charleston of the Mountains’ over the years.
Flat Rook, a settlement tucked in
the verdant greenery of the Blue
Ridge Mountains, is close enough
to cities such as Asheville and
Greenville. South Carolina, to satisfy a
need for brighter lights and noisier traf¬
fic, yet clearly an enclave of quiet ele¬
gance that has deep roots.
What we now know as the community
of Flat Rock began during the Old
South-era of plantations and wealthy
landowners, when connections to the
“mother country" of F.ngland were still
strong. The first settler in Flat Rock, in
fact, was an Englishman, Charles
Baring, a member of the Baring
Brothers banking firm of London. (The
firm made international news recently
with the announcement of its anticipat¬
ed closing after a widely publicized trad¬
ing scandal.)
Baring built his Flat Rock home.
Mountain Lodge, in 1827 on a 3.000-
acre estate in territory that had long
been inhabitated by the Cherokee
Indians and. later, by a few hardy pio¬
neers with an interest in growing apples.
The cool summers and lush environ¬
ment soon enticed other wealthy fami¬
lies from Charleston. South Carolina,
Savannah. Georgia, and Europe to
build magnificent homes near and
around the Baring estate. Within a few
years. Flat Rock had gained a small
amount of fame among the genteel set
as a wonderful hideaway on the edge of
the “wilderness." Soon it was known as
“Little Charleston in the Mountains."
What's interesting about the settle¬
ment today is how its residents deal with
the sense of history still prevalent along
its tree-lined byways and grand old
estates while they hurtle toward the 21st
century.
Flat Rock's historic St.John in the Wilderness
By the lime this article appears in July,
Flat Rock residents — many of whom
hail from different areas of the country
— will have taken a referendum vote to
decide whether or not to incorporate. A
new cultural center, which will be built
within the historic Flat Rock School
buildings along l.'.S. Highway 25. is on
the drawing boards. Within the next
year, at least one older home will likely
Ik* replaced with a volunteer fire station.
Rumor has it that one of the historic
inns is up for sale. And the local historic
preservation society, Historic Flat Rock
Inc., has its hands full finding creative
wavs to purchase or save historic struc¬
tures that have been neglected or are in
danger from development.
Within the Flat Rock Historic District,
which is on the National Register of
Historic Places, there are 28 registered
structures. A favorite fund-raiser — the
Flat Rock Tour of 1 Ionics — has always
drawn crowds of visitors to see inside
this community's outstanding land¬
marks of the past.
When Charles and Susan Baring
came to the area in those early years of
1800, they came to what was labeled on
maps as "The Wilderness."
There is much history in
the variety of old buildings
you’ll find in Flat Rock. St.
John in the Wilderness, a
chapel built by the Baring
family in 1833. has since
become an Episcopal church.
Mountain Lodge still stands
in a quiet corner of Flat
Rock. Argyle, the estate built
by Judge Mitchell King for
summer visits by his impres¬
sive family of 18 children, was
built in 1830. Tall Trees
(called Greenlawn when it
was built) was constructed in
1840. Heidelberg, an iinpos-
K 'iU ing residence built in I860 by
a Charlestonian. Dr. Arthur
Rose Guerard, for his
German bride, is now one of
the main buildings at
Bonclarkcn, a conference
center for the Associate
Reformed Presbyterian
Church. Flat Rock post
«Д
of fice, now home of the Book
chapel Exchange, was built iu 1847.
Saluda Cottages, finished
around 1836 by Count Joseph Marie
Gabriel St. Xavier de Choiseul, is a pri¬
vate residence.
Richard Campbell King, a descendent
of Judge King, lives at Dunroy. a 100-
acre estate built in 1852. King spends
his time managing the estate, which he
says is constantly being ref urbished, and
recording the history of his family.
The bung family was among the most
locally influential who summered in Flat
Rock. Judge King changed the course of
history early on in Henderson County
when a debate raged about where to
rhe»l*c-u llna.
The State/July 1995
10