Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina

Charles Baring and Susan Heyward Baring built Mountain Lodge in 1827 as the community became known as the "Little Charleston of the Mountains" due to an influx of wealthy summer residents from the South Carolina Low Country. Historic Flat Rock Inc. bought the abandoned house and sold it in 2014 to Julien Smythe, a descendant of an owner of Connemara who along with wife Lori renovated the house.{{cite news|url=http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/09/24/visiting-our-past-party-susans-flat-rock-story-1836/691159001/|title=Visiting Our Past: A party at Susan's - a Flat Rock Story from 1836|last=Neufeld|first=Rob|work=Asheville Citizen-Times|date=September 24, 2017|access-date=September 25, 2017}}

A post office called Flat Rock has been in operation since 1829.{{cite web|url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=NC&county=Henderson |title=Henderson County |publisher=Jim Forte Postal History |access-date=May 23, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524023430/http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=NC&county=Henderson |archive-date=May 24, 2015 }} The village was named for granite rock formations which dotted the landscape.{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6KEaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NSQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5250%2C5292855 | title=Tuxedo: It's not formal wear | work=The Times-News | date=February 22, 1987 | access-date=May 23, 2015 | author=Kramp, Penn | pages=27}}

A number of buildings in the village are included in the Flat Rock Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also on the Register are Brookland and Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

Flat Rock is located in south-central Henderson County. It is bordered to the north by Hendersonville, the county seat, and to the east by unincorporated East Flat Rock. North Carolina Highway 225 (Greenville Highway) is the main road through the village, leading north {{convert|4|mi|0}} to the center of Hendersonville and south {{convert|3|mi|0}} to Zirconia. Asheville is {{convert|25|mi}} to the north, and the South Carolina border is {{convert|8|mi|0}} to the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of {{convert|21.3|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|21.0|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|0.3|km2|order=flip|1}}, or 1.56%, are water. The town is drained by King Creek and Meminger Creek, tributaries of the French Broad River and part of the Tennessee River watershed.

The village of Flat Rock is governed under a mayor/council form of government. The Mayor and City Council members are elected to staggered four-year terms. Currently the mayor of Flat Rock is Anne Coletta, who was elected unopposed on November 5, 2024.{{Cite web |title=Mayoral election in Flat Rock, North Carolina (2019) |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Anne_Guerard_Coletta_(Mayor_of_Flat_Rock,_North_Carolina,_candidate_2024) |access-date=February 18, 2025 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}} She is the first female mayor in village history. There are also 5 city council members.{{Cite web |title=Mayor and Council |url=https://www.villageofflatrock.org/index.asp?SEC=98B0C7EF-7357-4CA5-A8E1-1ADB92D36CBD&Type=B_DIR |access-date=February 18, 2025|website=www.villageofflatrock.org| language=en}}

{{US Census population

|1960= 1808

|1970= 1688

|1980= 1922

|1990= 1812

|2000= 2565

|2010= 3114

|2020= 3486

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090709154456/http%3A//www%2Ecensus%2Egov/prod/www/abs/decennial/index%2Ehtm|archive-date=July 9, 2009}}

}}

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,486 people, 1,590 households, and 1,071 families residing in the village.

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,565 people, 1,169 households, and 937 families residing in the village. The population density was {{convert|327.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,459 housing units at an average density of {{convert|186.0|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 98.83% White, 0.47% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population.

There were 1,169 households, out of which 15.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.5% were married couples living together, 1.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.8% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.46.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 13.6% under the age of 18, 2.3% from 18 to 24, 13.4% from 25 to 44, 34.9% from 45 to 64, and 35.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 58 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $67,813, and the median income for a family was $81,811. Males had a median income of $55,263 versus $34,375 for females. The per capita income for the village was $42,222. About 0.3% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

File:Flat_Rock_Playhouse_is_the_state_theatre_of_North_Carolina_02.jpg

Flat Rock is home to the Flat Rock Playhouse, the State Theatre of North Carolina. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church retreat Bonclarken is located in Flat Rock. It also is home to the main campus of Blue Ridge Community College.

The Historic Flat Rock Cultural Center and Museum opened in the former post office June 3, 2017.

• Mitchell Campbell King (1815–1901), 19th-century planter and physician.
• Christopher Memminger, the first Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederacy, had his summer home here, which he called "Rock Hill," later called "Connemara". He is interred in Flat Rock.
• Carl Sandburg lived in the village from 1945 until his death in 1967. His home, once owned by Memminger, is part of the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site and a major tourist attraction in the village.
• Buffalo Bob Smith (1917–1998), TV host of long-running children's program "Howdy Doody," retired to the Kenmure section of Flat Rock, yet sometimes used a Hendersonville address.
• George A. Trenholm, a summer resident, was the second Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederacy, from July 18, 1864, to April 27, 1865.

• [http://villageofflatrock.org/ Village of Flat Rock official website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012133336/http://carlsandburg.net/ CarlSandburg.net: A Research Website for Sandburg Studies]
• [http://www.hcped.org/ Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development]

{{Henderson County, North Carolina}}

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Category:Villages in Henderson County, North Carolina

Category:Villages in North Carolina

Category:Asheville metropolitan area

Category:Gothic Revival architecture in North Carolina

Category:Second Empire architecture in North Carolina

Category:Queen Anne architecture in North Carolina