This project, completed under the National Park Service cooperative agreement with the Organization of American Historians, explores Black history related to the site now known as the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, NC. “Rock Hill,” as the property was named by Charleston attorney Christopher G. Memminger in the 1830s, became “Connemara” under its third owner, Ellison Adger Smyth. Carl and Paula Sandburg purchased the home in 1945.
This study reframes the history of the site to encompass its entire post-1830s history, focusing both on specific aspects of Black life at the site and on the larger involvements and commitments of the white property owners that, in turn, shaped Black lives there.
The project won the 2022 Excellence in Consulting (Group) Award from the National Council on Public History.
