Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Stepping out of our car was like stepping back in time. Our trip to the mountain home of Carl Sandburg was one of the most peaceful and inspirational visits we have had in some time. The first view of the home from the bottom of the hill took my breath away. It sits grandly on the top of a hill overlooking a pond and the beautiful North Carolina mountains.



The path leading to the home site is lined with English ivy and tall trees. At the top of the hill we took the path leading to the barn where Lilian Sandburg kept her prize winning dairy goats. She was the reason that Carl decided to relocate in North Carolina in 1945. The goats kept there today are no longer milked, but are for the enjoyment of visitors.



The barn was situated away from the main house to allow Carl to write without the distraction and noise of the farm activities.



The house is quite large and stately. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Sandburg sold the property to the National Park Service and donated the contents for preservation. The home is set up exactly the way the Sandburgs left it. I was amazed at how simply they lived, even though they were financially well off.



The view from the front porch is stunning. No wonder Sandburg was able to pen some of the most beautiful words in American literature. Surrounded by the peaceful sounds of nature, I might even be inspired to write such words (in my dreams).



The solitude found in the mountain farm named Connemara may have inspired one of Sandburg's famous quotes-

"It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask of himself,'Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?'" -Carl Sandburg