In 1945, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Carl Sandburg and his wife, Lilian “Paula” Sandburg, left Michigan for a 245-acre estate near Flat Rock, North Carolina. The move was driven in large part by Paula’s expanding dairy-goat operation, which needed more pasture and suitable farm buildings. Carl also wanted a warmer climate and a quieter place to write. The property, known as Connemara, offered both. More than 30 acres were available as pasture for Paula’s champion goats, while the surrounding landscape gave Sandburg the solitude he wanted. The couple and their three daughters lived there for 22 years. After Sandburg died in 1967, Paula sold the estate to the National Park Service, and Congress had already authorised it as the first NPS unit to honour a poet.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
