Carl Sandburg Home and the Goats

A Day at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site and Mrs. Sandburg's Goats - Flat Rock, NC January 19, 2013

The Front Lake view and the house on the hill.

Carl Sandburg National Historic Site was the beginning of my Up State South Carolina trip.  Located about 45 minutes from Greenville, SC.  

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 himself, 'Who am I, and where have I been, and where am I going?'

― Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg was born in Illinois 1878 to a Swedish family, is considered one of the greatest American writer, poet, and philosopher.  Famous works include The People, Yes the , Abraham Lincoln:  The Wars Years, and the Abraham Lincoln:  The Prairie Years. 

In 1945 and already famous, he moved his family to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the western North Carolina.  At age 67 when he moved, there was no sign of slowing up his productive writing at the farm, the Connemara.  

The estate belonged to Christopher Memminger, who built the main residence around 1838, had served from 1861 to 1864 as Secretary of the Confederate Treasury.  The second occupant textile tycoon Ellison Smyth, named it Connemara to honor his Irish ancestry.  When the Sandburgs moved from Michigan with three daughters, two grandchildren, a library of over 14,000 volumes, and the Chikaming goat herd.  

While living at the farm, Carl Sandburg was productive, including a Pulitzer Prize.  The family was busy too.  Mrs. Sandburg bred her prize-winning goats and ran the farm business.  Carl often worked at night while it was quiet and still, and slept late in the morning.  Carl died at home on July 22, 1967.  In 1968, the Sandburg family sold the property, donating the contents of the home to the National Park Service to be preserved as the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.  

As part of the trip, a five dollar (exact change will be appreciated or checks) will get you into a "dying house" of Carl Sandburg.  Walking into a house that is ~170 years old and everything kept at the house reminded everything about the 1950s.  Books, music, and humble way of life is the main theme in the house.  There is not a place without books.  There are so many of them they even have fire extinguisher and "water hose" that they never used! 

Lilian Sandburg and Her Goats

Mrs. Sandburg's deep interest in goats can still be seen today.  She started raising prize-winning goats in Michigan and Connemara was what Lilian Sandburg had visioned.  Not only she has world fame for her dairy goats, she also improved the bloodlines and milk production of goats.  In 1952, the herd grew to about 200, and helpers will milked 50 to 80 does a day.  Jennifer II, produced 5,750 ponds of milk, about 2.5 gallons a day in 1960.  She became the all-breed American champion in milk production and the world Toggenburg Champion.  Today, there are goats related to Lilian's herd.  They are Toggenburgs (tan and white), Saanens (all white), and Nubians (multi-colored with long, floppy ears).  Come in the spring and you will see the kids running around. : )

Tiger and the Goat Barn.

Eating grass on a brisk morning at the farm.

Isn't it cute?

Sophie's Final Thought:

Try to live a simple life.  This is where "loneliness" comes to play.  This is where great ideas are made and live through every one of us.  He touched our souls, our thoughts, and visions for future generations to come.  There is always time to write, to express our deepest thoughts while nature surrounds us.  

“Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lincoln never saw a movie, heard a radio or looked at television. They had 'Loneliness' and knew what to do with it. They were not afraid of being lonely because they knew that was when the creative mood in them would work.” ― Carl Sandburg

“Gather the stars if you wish it so
Gather the songs and keep them.
Gather the faces of women.
Gather for keeping years and years.
And then...
Loosen your hands, let go and say good-bye.
Let the stars and songs go.
Let the faces and years go.
Loosen your hands and say good-bye.” ― Carl Sandburg