Flat Top Manor facts for kids
Flat Top Manor is a beautiful old mansion located in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. It's also known as Moses Cone Manor or just Flat Top. You can find it on the famous Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 294. Many people who visit the Parkway know it as the Parkway Craft Center, which is a big part of the manor house today. It welcomes over 225,000 visitors every year, usually from spring through fall.
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History of Flat Top Manor
Building the Mansion
The mansion was built by a man named Moses H. Cone and his wife, Bertha. They started building it in 1899, and it was finished in 1901. This huge house has 23 rooms and about 13,000 square feet (1,200 square meters) of living space.
Moses Cone started buying land in the Blowing Rock area in the 1890s. He wanted to build a grand estate, much like George Washington Vanderbilt II did with his famous Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Back then, newspapers even called them "Farmer Cone" and "Farmer Vanderbilt." In 1898, Moses announced he would build his mansion for $25,000. That was a lot of money, especially when a regular house in the area cost only about $200!
Exploring the Estate's Location
Why "Flat Top"?
The mansion is called "Flat Top Manor" because it's very close to Flat Top Mountain. Moses and Bertha Cone bought this mountain too. It's part of the amazing Blue Ridge Mountains. The house itself sits at an elevation of about 4,500 feet (1,370 meters). Just a few miles south, Grandfather Mountain is even taller, reaching almost 6,000 feet (1,830 meters)!
Moses Cone's Scientific Farm
Moses Cone used his large estate to show off his knowledge of scientific farming. He had huge orchards, beautiful gardens, and many different kinds of livestock. When the Blue Ridge Parkway was built and the government took over the property, some buildings were removed. These included homes for workers, a laundry building, and even a single-lane bowling alley!
The Unique Bowling Alley
The bowling alley was in a small building that looked like a long outhouse. Only men used it. They would roll the ball down the lane, then walk down to pick up the ball and set the pins again. To stop the bowling ball, a big bear skin hung on the back wall. The property also had several apple orchards. One orchard was so far away that they called it "China" because it felt like "the other side of the world."
Visiting Moses H. Cone Memorial Park
The mansion is part of the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, located between Milepost 292 and 295 on the Parkway. It's free to visit the house! On the first floor, you'll find the Craft Center, run by the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild. There's also a National Park Service information desk and a book store.
Park Rangers offer tours of the second floor of the mansion. You can also relax in a rocking chair on the big veranda or walk on the self-guided trail nearby. The hike around Bass Lake is one of the most popular activities. At the Craft Center, you can buy gifts and often watch craftspeople demonstrate their skills. They might be doing pottery, wood carving, weaving, painting, or needlepoint.
The Manor's Architecture
Many people thought Flat Top Manor was built in the Colonial Revival style. However, a study by architects found that it's actually an example of Beaux-Arts design. This style was inspired by the grand buildings at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Building the mansion around 1900 was a big challenge. It had modern features like gaslights, a telephone, and a central heating system. All the building materials had to be hauled by horse-drawn wagons. They came from the railhead in Lenoir, North Carolina, which was over 20 miles (32 kilometers) away! All the beautiful furnishings and decorations for the mansion were brought in the same way.
The Cone Family's Art Collection
Moses Cone had two sisters, Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta Cone. They were famous art collectors. They used some of their family's money, which came from their textile business, to buy an amazing collection of modern art. Their friend, the writer Gertrude Stein, even visited Flat Top Manor once. Another friend, the artist Henri Matisse, received apples from the Cone estate as a gift! Today, the Cone Collection, with its many works by Matisse and other artists, is kept in a special part of the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Flat Top Manor in Movies
Flat Top Manor has also been a filming location for movies! It was used for scenes in the movie "The Green Mile". The manor was also shown in exterior shots for the movie "Mandie and the Secret Tunnel" (2009).
Images for kids
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Moses Cone Manor in Blowing Rock, North Carolina
