Flat Rock

Book excerpt: Named for the great expanse of rock where the Cherokee Indians used to spend their summers, Flat Rock, North Carolina, is beautifully situated near the Continental Divide in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Flat Rock is known as "the Little Charleston of the Mountains," thanks to the pioneering Lowcountry settlers who flocked to the area after the Revolutionary War. These prominent South Carolina families, drawn to the refreshing cool mountain air that offered relief from the steamy Charleston summers, purchased vast quantities of land and built grand estates for their residences or summer getaways. The photographs in Images of America: Flat Rock illustrate the gorgeous homes and attractions of this National Historic Site, including the Flat Rock Playhouse and St. John in the Wilderness Church, the oldest Episcopal Church in western North Carolina.