Flat Rock is a village in Henderson County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States. The population was 3,114 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

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 Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

who along with wife Lori renovated the house. A post office called Flat Rock has been in operation since 1829. The village was named for granite rock formations which dotted the landscape. A number of buildings in the village are included in the Flat Rock Historic District listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Also on the Register are Brookland and Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.

Geography

Flat Rock is located in south-central Henderson County. It is bordered to the north by Hendersonville, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and to the east by unincorporated East Flat Rock. North Carolina Highway 225 (Greenville Highway) is the main road through the village, leading north to the center of Hendersonville and south to Zirconia. Asheville is to the north, and the

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

border is to the south. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.56%, are water. The town is drained by King Creek and Meminger Creek, tributaries of the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman, North Carolina, Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston R ...

and part of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

watershed.

Government

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. She is the first female mayor in village history. There are also 5 city council members.

Demographics

2020 census

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

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,565 people, 1,169 households, and 937 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,459 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.83%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.47%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.04% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $42,222. About 0.3% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including none of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Flat_Rock_Playhouse_is_the_state_theatre_of_North_Carolina_02

Flat Rock is home to the Flat Rock Playhouse, the State Theatre of

. 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.

Notable people

* 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.

References

External links

Village of Flat Rock official website

CarlSandburg.net: A Research Website for Sandburg Studies

Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development
{{authority control Villages in Henderson County, North Carolina Villages in North Carolina Asheville metropolitan area Gothic Revival architecture in North Carolina Second Empire architecture in North Carolina Queen Anne architecture in North Carolina