Historic Downtown Hendersonville & the Village of Flat Rock -The tour starts at the Visitors Information Center, 201 South Main Street. Proceed north on Main Street to Historic Downtown Hendersonville.

Main Street - Downtown Hendersonville was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in March of 1988. The serpentine street features planter boxes brimming with seasonal flowers and trees. Thriving businesses such as specialty shops, antique stores and restaurants offer something for everyone of all ages.

Travel one block to the Historic Henderson County Courthouse, located between First & Second Avenues.

Historic Henderson County Courthouse - The rededicated Courthouse is now open, since closing when new Henderson County Courthouse opened in 1995. The Courthouse was built in 1904 to replace to first courthouse, which was built on the same site in 1842. The Historic Courthouse currently houses Henderson County government offices. Tours of the Courthouse are offered every Wednesday at 2:00PM.

The Henderson County Heritage Museum is housed in the recently renovated Historic Henderson County Courthouse. The Museum offers public display galleries, displays, artifacts, collections, archives, libraries, demonstrations, performances and other similar exhibitions relating to the history, culture, heritage and story of the founding settlement and development of Henderson County.

The Henderson County Heritage Museum hours are Wednesday - Saturday from 10:00AM - 5:00 PM and Sunday 1:00PM - 5:00PM. For more information call 828-694-1619 or visit www.hendersoncountymuseum.org

Proceed two blocks to the Mineral & Lapidary Museum of Henderson County, located on the east corner of Fourth Avenue.

The Mineral & Lapidary Museum of Henderson County - The Mineral & Lapidary Museum of Henderson County was established in 1997, housing exhibits from North Carolina, the Smithsonian, English minerals, Indian artifacts, a specialty of a single mineral, fossils, fluorescent minerals and gems. The museum is open Monday-Friday 1:00PM-5:00PM and Saturday 10:00AM-5:00PM. Admission is free. The museum is located at 400 North Main Street, on the lower level of the Henderson County Genealogical & Historical Society building.

Proceed north to the next block to the Skyland Hotel, located on the corner of Main Street and Sixth Avenue.

The Skyland Hotel was built in 1929. During the fall of 1935, author F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in the hotel, while his wife, Zelda was a patient at Highland Hospital in Asheville. This was Fitzgerald's home when he penned short stories for Esquire, Redbook and the Saturday Evening Post. The period lobby decor has been preserved.Today the hotel houses condominiums.

Proceed one block to Seventh Avenue (Highway 64 East) and turn left, travel approximately .8 mile to Oakdale Cemetery. Wolfe's Angel is located on the left side of the cemetery and is protected by a wrought iron fence, and there is a historical marker located on the highway.

Wolfe's Angel - Author Thomas Wolfe's first novel was "Look Homeward, Angel". In the book there are constant references to an angel statue carved from Italian marble. This is the angel Wolfe placed in American literature. Thomas Wolfe's father, W.O. Wolfe, sold the statue to the Johnson family to mark the family plot in Oakdale Cemetery.

Turn right leaving Oakdale Cemetery and head east on Highway 64, approximately .8 mile to Church Street (Highway 25 South) and turn right, proceed four blocks to the Henderson County Curb Market, located on the right corner of Church Street and Second Avenue.

Henderson County Farmers Curb Market - The Henderson County Curb Market is a unique farmers market requiring sellers to be residents of Henderson County. All items sold at the market must be either hand-made or locally grown. Vendors offering a variety of goods such as: crafts, baked goods, jellies, plants, flowers, toys, and produce. The market has been in continuous operation since 1924. The Curb Market's hours are 8:00AM-2:00PM Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from May-December, and Tuesday & Saturday January-April.

Turn right leaving the Curb Market and continue south on Highway 25 to Historic Flat Rock.

Historic Village of Flat Rock - The community of Flat Rock began about a century and a half ago. Throughout Flat Rock the affluent Charlestonians, Europeans and prominent plantation owners of the South’s low country built large summer estates in the English manner. The families of South Carolina’s Low Country came to Flat Rock to escape the sweltering heat and the epidemic of yellow fever and malaria. South Carolina’s Low Country gentry affectionately called Flat Rock “The Little Charleston of the Mountains.” The entire district of Flat Rock is included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Continue to St. John in the Wilderness Church located on the right side, look for the Historical marker on the highway. Turn right on Rutledge Road, make an immediate right into the Church parking lot.

St. John in the Wilderness Church - St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church, listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, offers a unique perspective of prominent families in southern and national history. St. John in the Wilderness was built as a private chapel in 1833, on the grounds of Charles and Susan Barings’ home, Mountain Lodge. The church was deeded to the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina in 1936.

Many well-known members of southern aristocracy have family plots in the churchyard; those names include: Christopher Memminger, first secretary of the Confederate treasury; Rev. John Drayton, developer of the world-famous Magnolia Gardens of Charleston; members of the families of three signers of the Declaration of Independence; Edward P. King, the World War II General who led the infamous Bataan death march. The church and graveyard are open daily from 9:00AM-4:00PM for visitation.

Continuing south on Highway 225, the Flat Rock Playhouse will be on the right. Turn right into the parking lot.

Flat Rock Playhouse, The State Theatre of North Carolina - Considered one of the ten best
seasonal theaters in the country. The Flat Rock Playhouse has presented more than three hundred productions for over fifty years. The Vagabond Players perform a variety of hits each year, featuring comedy, American classics, musicals, farces and whodunits. The Playhouse is open from late-April through mid-December, plus holiday productions, presenting matinees and evening performances Wednesday through Sunday.

Leaving the Playhouse, turn right onto Highway 225, at the next stop light, turn right onto Little River Road, go approximately 100 yards to the parking area of the Carl Sandburg Home.
Carl Sandburg Home - National Historic Site - Carl Sandburg, American poet, historian, author,
and lecturer spent the final 22 years of his long and productive life at his estate, Connemara, in Flat Rock, NC. Today this National Historic Site offers a keen insight on Mr. Sandburg, his family and their 240 acre working farm. The Sandburg Home was built in 1838 and now houses his collection of 10,000 books, notes and papers. The home offers daily tours and is closed only on Christmas Day. There are numerous hiking trails and a functional goat barn, where Mrs. Sandburg raised her prize winning goats.

Leave the parking lot and turn right on Little River Road to Highway 225. Across the intersection is the Book Exchange, originally the Flat Rock Post Office.

We hope you enjoyed your Historic Downtown Hendersonville & Flat Rock tour.