Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Chicken House/Wash House

Historic Structure Report

September 2007

for Cultural Resoources Division

Southeast Region, National Park Service

Joseph K. Oppermann - Architect, P.A.

Winston-Salem, NC 
Cultural Resources

Southeast Region

National Park Service

100 Alabama St. SW

Atlanta, GA 30303

(404) 562-3117

The historic structure report presented here exists in two formats. 

A traditional, printed version is available for study at the park, 

the Southeastern Regional Office of the NPS (SERO), and at a 

variety of other repositories. For more widespread access, the 

historic structure report also exists in a web-based format through

ParkNet, the website of the National Park Service. Please 

visit www.nps.gov for more information.

2007

Historic Structure Report

Chicken House/Wash House

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Flat Rock, NC

LCS#: 05150

Cover image: Helga Sandburg on horseback, with 

daughter Paula, outside Wash House, c. 1946. 

(CARL 30000/08/25P)
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Chicken House/Wash House

Historic Structure Report

CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Project Team 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page vii 

PROJECT TEAM 

Building Investigation/ Joseph K. Oppermann, FAIA 

Building Condition Assessment Joseph K. Oppermann – Architect, P.A. 

 Winston-Salem, NC 

Research Joseph K. Oppermann, FAIA, Historical Architect

 Joseph K. Oppermann – Architect, P.A. 

 Winston-Salem, NC 

Building Recordation Jennifer Plocher Wilkins 

 Joseph K. Oppermann – Architect, P.A. 

 Winston-Salem, NC 

Document Layout Jennifer Plocher Wilkins 

 Joseph K. Oppermann – Architect, P.A. 

 Winston-Salem, NC 

Report Editor Jane Kelly 

 Message Makers 

 Winston-Salem, NC 

Project Manager Tommy H. Jones, Architectural Historian 

 National Park Service 

 Southeast Regional Office 

 Atlanta, GA 

Program Review Coordination Steve Harrison, Chief 

 Chief, Maintenance & Resource Management 

 Carl Sandburg Home NHS 

 Flat Rock, NC 

 

 Tommy H. Jones, Architectural Historian 

 National Park Service 

 Southeast Regional Office 

 Atlanta, GA 

 Lynn White Savage, Museum Curator 

 Carl Sandburg Home NHS 

 Flat Rock, NC 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Project Team 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page viii 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Executive Summary 

1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

Christopher Gustavus Memminger was a 

prominent Charleston, South Carolina, 

attorney, legislator and investor who in the 

1830s purchased a parcel of land in the 

mountains of North Carolina and began 

construction on a summer residence he 

named Rock Hill. He was following the lead 

of several other elite Charleston families 

who in the decade before had established 

the small rural community of Flat Rock as a 

popular summer destination. The area had 

such an influx of these summer residents 

that it was informally called Little 

Charleston. Memminger’s estate was 

apparently well established by the 1850s as 

his sketch and journal indicate a main house 

with an addition, a kitchen building, ice 

house, fountain, wagon house, and two 

servants’ quarters, one of which is the 

subject of this report. 

Memminger rose to national prominence as 

the delegate to the Provisional Confederate 

Congress and then as Secretary of the 

Confederate Treasury. He died in 

Charleston in 1888. The following year, 

Rock Hill was sold to another Charleston 

family, the Greggs. Captain Ellison Adger 

Smyth bought the estate in 1900. Smyth too 

was Charleston-born and was a major 

player in the post-war Southern textile 

industry. Like his predecessors, Smyth used 

the estate, at least initially, for his summer 

home. During those months of residency, a 

variety of servants, including cook, butler 

and laundress, would be brought up from 

Greenville, South Carolina, while a farm 

manager and his family lived there 

throughout the year. 

It was Smyth who gave Rock Hill the new 

name Connemara, reflecting his Irish 

ancestry. And it was the Smyth family who 

first lived in the main house year-round, 

beginning in 1924. Smyth converted part of 

one of the servants’ quarters to a wash 

house, and his butler resided in the other 

servants’ quarters. In later years, 

Connemara was a frequent destination for 

the Smyths’ grown children and 

grandchildren, as well as their extended 

family of siblings and cousins. 

After the death of Captain Smyth in 1942, 

the estate remained unoccupied until after 

World War II. In 1945, Carl and Lilian 

“Paula” Sandburg purchased Connemara. 

Sandburg, already a prolific and awardwinning author, moved with his wife and 

grown children into the main house and 

relocated their herd of prize goats into 

Connemara’s farm buildings. Sandburg 

continued to write, completing over one 

third of his works after moving to North 

Carolina. As the Sandburgs did not have 

resident servants, they used one of the 

servants’ quarters as storage for a massive 

book and magazine collection, and another, 

the subject of this report, as part chicken 

coop and part kid goat quarters. 

Carl Sandburg died in July 1967 at the age of 

eighty-nine. Mrs. Sandburg sold the house 

and outbuildings and donated their 

contents to the United States government in 

order to establish a memorial to the writer 

at Connemara. The necessary legislation 

was approved in 1968 and Carl Sandburg 

Home National Historic Site opened to the 

public in 1974. With the main house and 

grounds open, attention was turned to 

stabilization and restoration of the 

deteriorating outbuildings. The two 

servants’ quarters, called the Swedish House 

and the Chicken House by the Sandburgs, 

underwent exterior restoration in the late 

1970s. Both buildings have since been used 

as storage for the park; the interiors are not 

open to the public. 

A new General Management Plan (GMP) 

was completed for the park in late 2003. 

The selected alternative, called the 

“Sandburg Center Alternative” in the 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Executive Summary 

2

planning document, calls for the park to 

become an international focal point for the 

study of Carl Sandburg and his work. It 

further calls for “rehabilitating one or more 

historic structures near the main house or 

barn for interpretive program areas.”1

To that end, Tommy H. Jones, an 

architectural historian of the National Park 

Service Southeast Regional Office (SERO), 

completed historic structure reports (HSRs) 

for the Main House and the Swedish House 

in late 2005. The Swedish House report 

recommends preservation of that building 

noting its potential as a place for 

interpretive exhibits. 

Also to that end, SERO contracted with 

Joseph K. Oppermann – Architect, P.A. 

(JKOA) in 2007 for an historic structure 

report for the building known as the 

Chicken House/Wash House. The JKOA 

study team for this report included Joseph 

K. Oppermann, FAIA, principal 

investigator, Jennifer Plocher Wilkins, 

intern architect, and Langdon Edmunds 

Oppermann, architectural historian. 

Tommy H. Jones of SERO provided 

research information associated with the 

estate in general and the Main House and 

Swedish House, specifically. Lynn Savage, 

museum curator, provided other 

documentation and access to the park’s 

collection of salvaged historic building 

materials from previous repair campaigns. 

The investigative team found that the 

Chicken House/Wash House is in good 

condition, in general, and that it retains 

much of its building fabric from the 

Memminger period as well as from 

significant alterations during the Smyth and 

Sandburg periods. 

Further, the JKOA team found that the 

small size and un-climatized nature of the 

Chicken House/Wash House makes it 

unsuitable for display of fragile museum 

 

1 Record of Decision: General Management Plan 

and Final Environmental Impact Statement for Carl 

Sandburg Home National Historic Site, p. 5. 

objects. However, part of the building 

interior itself could be displayed as an 

artifact. The two small rooms of the north 

half of the building would serve this 

purpose well with all three significant 

periods of use represented in the surviving 

building fabric; the now single large room of 

the south half could continue its current use 

providing much needed storage. Or, with 

the removal of the NPS-installed shelving as 

an alternate approach, the south room 

could be interpreted as well, displaying all 

three periods of significance. In either 

scenario, the upper level could continue to 

be used as storage space for the park. 

Opening part of the interior of the building 

for interpretation may require the 

reconnection of the electrical supply for 

security and/or lighting, and most likely 

some additional lighting. 

Accessibility is the biggest challenge to 

interior interpretation, with the two current 

east elevation entry door thresholds more 

than a foot above grade with little space 

between these doorways and the service 

drive. The two other historic doorways are 

on the west elevation and are several feet 

above grade. Entry by the handicapped 

through any of these doorways would 

require a ramp with rails or other means of 

wheelchair access, all of which would 

involve the integration of a new major site 

feature. Therefore, the recommended 

design solution is to provide visual but not 

physical public access. The front door or 

doors could be fastened open during public 

visitation with a clear panel or other device 

blocking physical access to the interior. 

There are also minor exterior modifications 

to the Sandburg-era design that were 

installed by NPS during the 1970s that 

should be reversed in order to present a 

more accurate representation of the period 

of interpretation. These modifications 

include the introduction of louvers in one of 

the south elevation windows and the 

inaccurate reinstallation of the fixed ladder 

on the north elevation. The first 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Executive Summary 

3

modification is not important to the 

conservation of the building; by the nature 

of its construction, the building is well 

ventilated. The second modification is an 

error in reinstallation. 

Therefore, the recommended treatment for 

the Chicken House/Wash House is the 

restoration of the exterior to the Sandburg 

period and the preservation of the interior 

spaces for interpretation as building artifact 

by way of visual but not physical 

accessibility.
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Executive Summary 

4
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg NHS, Flat Rock, NC Administrative Data 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page 4 

ADMINISTRATIVE DATA 

Locational Data 

Building Name: Chicken House/Wash 

House 

Building Address: Little River Road, Flat 

Rock, North Carolina 

Location: Carl Sandburg Home 

National Historic Site 

County: Henderson 

State: North Carolina 

Related Studies 

Bailey, Louise Howe. From “Rock Hill” 

to “Connemara”: The Story Before 

Carl Sandburg. National Park 

Service, 1980. 

Hart, Susan. Carl Sandburg Home 

National Historic Site Cultural 

Landscape Report. Atlanta, GA: 

NPS-SERO, Division of Cultural 

Resources, 1993. 

Jones, Tommy. Carl Sandburg Home 

National Historic Site: Connemara 

Main House Historic Structure 

Report. National Park Service, 2005. 

Jones, Tommy. Carl Sandburg Home 

National Historic Site: The Swedish 

House Historic Structure Report. 

National Park Service, 2005. 

Pence, Heather Russo. Carl Sandburg 

Home National Historic Site: 

Archeological Overview and 

Assessment. Tallahassee, FL: 

Southeast Archeological 

Center/National Park Service, 1998. 

Steichen, Paula. “Hyacinths and 

Biscuits; The Life and Works of Carl 

Sandburg,” Handbook 117: Carl 

Sandburg Home. Washington, DC: 

NPS, Division of Publications, 1982. 

Real Property Information 

Acquisition Date: 1968 

LCS #: 05150 

Structure Number: HS-5 

FMSS Number: 69755 

Size Information 

Total Floor Area: 900 square feet

First Floor Area: 450 square feet 

Second Floor Area: 450 square feet 

Additional Floor Area: 0 square feet 

Crawl Space Area: 400 square feet 

Finished Basement Area: 0 square feet 

Unfinished Basement Area: 0 square feet 

Roof Area: 725 square feet

Perimeter Length: 93 feet 

Number of Stories: 1.5 

Number of Rooms: 6

Number of Bathrooms: 0 

Cultural Resource Data 

National Register Status: Listed 

National Register Date: February 1979 

NR Period of Significance: 1838-1968

Proposed Treatment 

Preservation/restoration 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg NHS, Flat Rock, NC Administrative Data 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page 5 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.A Historical Background & Context 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.A.1 

A. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 

AND CONTEXT 

Connemara, the North Carolina mountain 

property where Pulitzer Prize-winning 

author Carl Sandburg lived the last twentytwo years of his life, was originally called 

Rock Hill by its builder C.G. Memminger. 

The estate contains the Greek Revival Main 

House in addition to several vernacular 

outbuildings, including the building called 

the Chicken House/Wash House by the 

Sandburgs, originally built by Memminger 

as a servants’ residence. 

The historical background and context of 

the estate’s development has been 

previously studied in several reports, among 

them the Connemara Main House Historic 

Structure Report and The Swedish House 

Historic Structure Report by Tommy Jones 

of the National Park Service Southeast 

Regional Office, both from 2005. What 

follows is a brief summary of the major 

persons and events associated with the 

estate now interpreted as the Carl Sandburg 

Home National Historic Site. 

Flat Rock 

Flat Rock, North Carolina, became a 

summer destination for wealthy 

Charlestonians in the 1820s after the 

opening of wagon roads through the Saluda 

Gap. The change in elevation was sufficient 

to provide protection from the diseases of 

their rice plantations, including malaria and 

yellow fever. Charleston banker and planter 

Charles Baring built the first summer home, 

Mountain Lodge, in 1827 on an estate of 

several hundred acres. Planter Daniel Blake 

and Judge Mitchell King bought large tracts 

of land soon after; these three men are 

considered the founders of Flat Rock. After 

mountain estates were built by these three 

tastemakers, additional elite families 

Figure A-1 Christopher Gustavus Memminger, c. 

1865 (CARL28429) 

followed. By the end of the 1830s, the 

summer months found twenty Charleston 

families in residence at Flat Rock estates. 

One of those families was that of 

Christopher Gustavus Memminger. 

The Memmingers 

Christopher Memminger was born in 

Germany in 1803 and emigrated with his 

mother and her parents to Charleston soon 

after. He was placed in the Charleston 

Orphan House in January 1807 after his 

mother passed away and his grandparents 

moved to Philadelphia. Memminger was 

adopted into the established Charleston 

family of Thomas Bennett, Jr., in 1814. 

Bennett was a banker, politician, and later 

governor of South Carolina. Memminger 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.A Historical Background & Context 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.A.2 

Figure A-2 View of Rock Hill prior to 1890. 

(CARL3001/01/48P) 

studied law and began his own political 

career under the guidance of Bennett. He 

married Mary Withers Wilkinson in 

October 1832; they went on to have nine 

children who survived to adulthood. 

Memminger made his first recorded visit to 

Flat Rock in the fall of 1836, possibly with 

his own health in mind. As a young man of 

reportedly fragile health, Memminger made 

long trips on horseback to the Virginia 

Springs, near the border of present-day 

Virginia and West Virginia. By contrast, the 

mountains of Flat Rock could be reached in 

two short weeks by train and carriage. 

Published journal entries from 

Memminger’s visit indicate that he found a 

thriving social atmosphere, and he decided 

to locate land for purchase, setting his sights 

on some of Charles Baring’s acreage. He 

wrote: 

Of course, the first comers had the best 

sites for residences. But as I also wanted 

a farm I could not be so easily furnished 

as the land near Flat Rock is miserably 

barren. Nevertheless after much cruising 

I at last found a place that would suit very 

well and authorized the Count [de 

Choiseul] to purchase it if it could be had, 

on Mr. Baring tendering to let me have 

some of his contiguous land and the use 

of a spring from an elevation of his land. 

We also sketched the plan of a kitchen to 

be built for our occupation next summer 

on the spot, - - - a project by the way 

which I am rather doubtful because my 

kitchen is rather too fine an affair. I 

ought to hire Mr. King’s house if possible 

and build at once.1

Construction of Rock Hill 

Construction on Memminger’s summer 

place began in April 1838, with a Greek 

Revival Main House. That year he began 

keeping an account book, which he entitled 

“Account of Expenditures for a/c of 

Buncombe Establishment,” reflecting Flat 

Rock’s location then in Buncombe County. 

His records indicate that he paid Charleston 

architect Charles F. Reichardt fifty dollars 

“for plans”2

 and that he hired carpenter 

James B. Rosamond for construction of the 

house, kitchen, and stable. 

The Memminger family arrived for their 

first summer in Flat Rock in July 1839. 

Memminger makes reference to the estate’s 

name of “Rock Hill” for the first time in his 

account book that month. Rosamond was 

given final payment for his work on January 

4, 1840. 

Entries in Memminger’s account book 

speak to continuing construction at Rock 

Hill. Generally, listings are for building 

materials or labor for a specific tradesman. 

Memminger recorded construction of a 

“wagon house” in 1843 and an “ice house” 

in 1847. Additional “work on house” is 

mentioned from 1847-49, referring to an 

early addition to the back of the house. A 

sketch done in 1852 in preparation for 

construction of a fountain in front of the 

Main House shows two servants’ houses in 

addition to a privy behind the Main House, 

along with the kitchen. One of the servants’ 

houses, south of the kitchen, is the subject 

of this report and was likely constructed in 

the early 1840s. The other servants’ house 

located west of the kitchen, now known as 

 

1 Sadie Smathers Patton, Flat Rock: Little 

Charleston of the Mountains (Hickory, NC: Sadie 

Smathers Patton, 1961), p. 11. 

2 C.G. Memminger Papers (#502) 1803-1915, 

Southern Historical Collection, University of North 

Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.A Historical Background & Context 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.A.3 

the Swedish House, was likely built in the 

early 1850s. 

Life at Rock Hill 

Summers at Rock Hill typically began in late 

June and lasted until late October. The trip 

would begin with a railroad journey of 

several days to Aiken, South Carolina, for 

not only the family and servants, but the 

horses and carriages as well. From there, 

the trip would continue by carriage and 

wagon to 

Greenville and finally through the Saluda 

Gap and into Flat Rock. Initially travel by 

carriage took a week, which was reduced 

after 1853 when the railroad was extended 

to Columbia. In 1861, rail travel extended 

to Spartanburg and further reduced the 

carriage ride to two days. By 1880, it was 

possible to make the entire trip from 

Charleston to Flat Rock by rail. 

Memminger was a slave owner in addition 

to employing several men to oversee and 

work the Rock Hill farm. Kinson 

Middleton was hired in October 1839 as 

Rock Hill’s overseer, and paid $250 per year 

according to Memminger’s account book. 

Middleton held the position until John W. 

McCarson was hired in 1845. A caretaker’s 

residence was likely provided on the estate. 

Originally, domestic servants would have 

been slaves. The 1850 census taken in 

Charleston indicates that Memminger had 

twelve slaves, seven female and five male. 

The two servants’ residences closest to the 

main house, as shown on Memminger’s 

1852 sketch, likely housed cooks, maids, 

and butlers for the family. A servants’ 

dining room in the nearby kitchen was 

provided for their meals.The 1860 

Henderson County census listed six male 

slaves in their thirties and forties in 

Memminger’s possession. Names were not 

provided. 

Figure A-3 Smyth servants in front of the kitchen, 

c. 1910 (Collection of William McKay, Smyths’ 

great-grandson) 

From a previous review of the estate’s 

records, it has been suggested that the two 

men paid for carpentry services during 

1839-41 and identified in the account book 

by their first names only, Ben and Peter, 

were slaves.3

 It was not unheard of for 

slaves with marketable skills to be paid for 

their work; some bought their own freedom 

that way. However, wages were usually paid 

to their owner, with the slave negotiating a 

share, so if Ben and Peter were someone 

else’s slaves, it would have been somewhat 

unusual for them to have been paid directly. 

It is also possible that Ben and Peter were 

local craftsmen, white or freed men, wellknown to Memminger and were therefore 

listed in the ledger without a written last 

name. Peter may have been Peter Corn, a 

local white contractor of the era who, 

according to local tradition, was involved in 

construction on the estate.4

 However, 

during the same period, 1838-43, three local 

white contractors, John Corn, H.P. Corn, 

and Noah Corn, are mentioned in the account 

book by their full names. Therefore, it seems 

most likely that Ben and Peter were either 

freedmen or Memminger’s slaves’ working 

to gain their freedom. After the Civil War, 

African-Americans continued to be 

 

3 Tommy Jones, The Swedish House Historic 

Structure Report (National Park Service, 2003), 22. 4 As told to Joseph K. Oppermann by lifelong Flat 

Rock resident A.Hogan Corn, May 2007. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.A Historical Background & Context 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.A.4 

Figure A-4 Some of the Smyths’ grandchildren, 

possibly with chauffeur James Robinson, c. 1910 

(CARL3001/01/17P) 

Figure A-5 Mary Walker, laundress, c. 1920 

(CARL3002/10/1P) 

employed as domestic servants. Five were 

listed as part of the Memminger household 

in 1870, two in 1880. 

Civil War 

While the Rock Hill estate was being 

developed, Memminger’s political career 

continued to flourish. First elected to the 

South Carolina General Assembly in 1836, 

he served continuously until 1860 (except 

the 1853-54 term). He was named 

commissioner for schools in Charleston in 

1855 after campaigning for improvements in 

the public school system. 

Memminger was a Union supporter until 

tensions escalated and made secession 

inevitable. After the secession of South 

Carolina in 1860, Memminger was a 

delegate to the Provisional Confederate 

Congress in Montgomery, Alabama, in 

February 1861. There he was appointed the 

Secretary of the Confederate Treasury, a 

position which he held until his resignation 

in June 1864. 

During the war, the Memminger family took 

refuge at Rock Hill beginning in early 1865 

until 1867. After the Union occupation of 

Charleston ended, Memminger resumed his 

law practice and began to invest in 

developing industries in the South. He 

organized the Sulphuric Acid and SuperPhosphate Company in 1868, which 

engaged in mining phosphates along the 

Ashley River to be used as fertilizer. He also 

bought shares in a Wyoming mining 

company and served as president of the 

Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad 

Company, which completed rail service 

between these two cities in 1886. 

Memminger regained his political career as 

well. He was re-elected to the South 

Carolina legislature in 1876 but retired 

when his term ended the following year. He 

resigned his post as chairman of 

Charleston’s Public School Board in 

November 1885. He died in Charleston on 

March 7, 1888. The following year, Rock 

Hill was put up for sale. Memminger is 

buried at St. John in the Wilderness 

Episcopal Church in Flat Rock. 

The Greggs 

Mary A. Fleming Gregg acquired the 

acreage and contents of Rock Hill for 

$10,000 on September 12, 1889, purchased 

in trust by her brother-in-law Caspar A. 

Chisholm. Her husband 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.A Historical Background & Context 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.A.5 

William Gregg, Jr., came from an established 

family with cotton mills, while she was the 

daughter of a wealthy Charleston merchant. 

The Greggs had two children and in 1888 

lived near the Battery in Charleston, not far 

from Memminger’s widow. In fact, 

Memminger and William Gregg, Sr., were 

contemporaries in the South Carolina 

legislature, and the families likely were 

acquainted. 

Not much is known about the Greggs’ time 

at Rock Hill. They employed an overseer, 

William Slattery, and made some changes to 

the Main House.William Gregg died in 

February 1895. Five years later, the estate 

was sold by his widow Mary. 

The Smyths 

Ellison Adger Smyth and his wife Julia 

Gambrell Smyth were conveyed title to 

Rock Hill on December 12, 1900, through 

brothers James A. Smyth and Augustine T. 

Smythe as trustees. (Augustine, who bought 

the nearby estate, Many Pines, in 1908, 

began spelling the family name with an “e”; 

his descendants have continued the 

practice.) 

Ellison Smyth was born in Charleston in 

1847 to a Scotch-Irish family who had 

amassed wealth in Belfast as grocers and 

tobacco distributors. Smyth was president 

of Pelzer Mills, which opened in 1880 near 

Anderson, South Carolina, and quickly rose 

to prominence in the cotton industry. In 

1899, he organized the Belton Cotton Mills, 

building two mills in that town. Smyth 

became one of South Carolina’s wealthiest 

businessmen, and like many others of the 

Charleston elite, sought a summer house in 

ever-popular Flat Rock. 

The Smyths renamed Rock Hill, calling it 

Connemara out of respect for the family’s 

Irish roots. Summers in Flat Rock then 

generally began in May and ended in 

September, accommodating the school 

schedules of the many grandchildren who 

made the trip. 

Ellison Smyth traveled by rail each summer 

weekend from the family’s primary home in 

Greenville, South Carolina, to Flat Rock. 

After selling the Belton Mills in 1920 and 

Pelzer Mills in 1924, Smyth established 

Balfour Mills outside Hendersonville, 

North Carolina, a short distance north of 

Flat Rock. The Smyths initially made minor 

changes to the house, with a large-scale 

rehabilitation undertaken after they decided 

to make Connemara their full-time home 

beginning in 1924. 

William Slattery continued to be employed 

by the Smyths as year-round caretaker, to 

tend to the grounds, gardens, and buildings, 

as well as the sheep, hogs, chickens, ducks, 

turkeys, and cows brought to the farm by 

Smyth. Smyth built a new caretaker’s house, 

now known as the Farm Manager’s House, 

in 1912 when Ulysses Ballard took over 

from Slattery. 

The Smyths also employed domestic 

servants at Connemara. Robert Marshall 

was the Smyths’ butler in the late nineteenth 

and early twentieth centuries. James Fisher 

later served as valet and butler, beginning in 

1912. Fisher, along with his wife Carrie who 

was the Smyths’ maid, lived at Connemara 

in the Swedish House with their two 

children after 1924. James Robinson was 

Ellison Smyth’s chauffeur until Robinson’s 

death in the mid-1930s. He lived in the 

tenant house at Connemara 

Nurses were also reportedly employed by 

the Smyths to help look after the many 

grandchildren at Connemara in the 

summers. It is believed that they lived in the 

building that is the subject of this report, the 

servants’ house south of the kitchen 

building. After Connemara became the 

Smyths’ full-time residence, the north 

portion of the servants’ house was modified 

as a wash house, making the laundry closer 

to the Main House than its previous 

location in the Buck House. It is not known 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.A Historical Background & Context 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.A.6 

Figure A-6 Mr. and Mrs. Sandburg in the 

barn, 1951 (CARL4024/56/02) 

Figure A-7 Nubian kids in the yard of the Chicken 

House/Wash House, April 7, 1967. Note the 

Sandburgs’ barrel for burning trash in the 

background. (CARL3000.44.102P) 

if any part of the servants’ house remained a 

residence. Mary Walker was employed as a 

laundress in the 1920s; little is known about 

her. 

Julia Smyth died in 1927, but Ellison 

remained in Flat Rock and continued his 

daily trek to his office at Balfour Mills. He 

died at Connemara on August 8, 1942. The 

unoccupied estate was kept by the family 

until after World War II, and was finally put 

up for sale in the summer of 1945. 

The Sandburgs 

The search for a home suitable for goats and 

more temperate in climate than their 

Michigan residence brought Lilian “Paula” 

Sandburg to the Asheville area with her 

daughter Helga and her sister-in-law Dana 

Steichen in 1945. Mrs. Sandburg had first 

been through the area in the late 1930s. 

They were shown Connemara, which 

fulfilled their need for farm space but was 

expensive at $45,000. Carl Sandburg visited 

the estate in early fall of that year, and his 

decision was swift: “This is the place. We 

will look no further.” 

The Sandburgs made plans for a major 

renovation to the Main House to bring 

bathrooms and electrical wiring up to 

modern standards. They had bookshelves 

installed in nearly every room of the house 

for Carl’s extensive collections. The kitchen 

building was made into a garage. The farm 

buildings were adapted to house Mrs. 

Sandburg’s prize-winning goat herd. 

They kept milking goats in the barn and had 

several horses as well. Baby goats, called 

kids, were eventually housed in the Smyth’s 

wash house, and at times chickens were 

kept in the south portion of the building. 

Frank Mintz, Jr., was hired in early 1946 as 

farm manager, succeeding Frank Ballard. 

Leroy Levi took over as farm manager 

around 1958. Other than these farm 

workers, the Sandburgs did not have a fulltime resident staff, only an occasional cook 

or housekeeper. Mrs. Sandburg managed 

the farm while Carl continued to write; he 

produced more than a third of his life’s 

work after moving to North Carolina, and 

continued to travel and lecture as well. 

Their three adult children, Margaret, Janet, 

and Helga, also lived at Connemara, along 

with Helga’s two children John Carl and 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.A Historical Background & Context 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.A.7 

Paula. Helga and her children moved from 

the estate after she remarried in 1952. 

Sandburg’s health began to deteriorate in 

1963, when he was hospitalized after an 

extended trip to California. By 1965 he was 

spending a lot of time in a hospital bed at 

Connemara, and rarely left the estate. He 

died on July 22, 1967. After a simple church 

funeral at St. John in the Wilderness, his 

body was cremated and his ashes returned 

to his birthplace in Galesburg, Illinois. 

Mrs. Sandburg decided to offer the entire 

estate to the Federal government as a 

memorial. A deed of gift was given for the 

house and its contents. President Lyndon 

Johnson approved the congressional act 

creating the Carl Sandburg Home National 

Historic Site in October 1968. 

National Park Service 

After Mrs. Sandburg moved to her new 

home in Asheville with her daughters 

Figure A-8 Carl Sandburg in front of the Main 

House, 1946. (CARL109103, photo by June Glenn, 

Jr. 

Margaret and Janet in the summer of 1969, 

the National Park Service began a 

maintenance program for the Main House 

and outbuildings. The site officially opened 

to the public in 1974. The park is charged 

both with continuing the legacy of Carl 

Sandburg’s works and with preserving his 

last home. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

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2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.A.8 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B. Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.1 

B. CHRONOLOGY OF 

DEVELOPMENT AND USE 

The building known by the Sandburgs as the 

Chicken House or Wash House was initially 

constructed as a servants’ house by C.G. 

Memminger. Evidence in Memminger’s 

account book, along with extant original 

building fabric, indicates that construction 

likely took place around 1841. 

Initial Construction 

Memminger kept a detailed account book 

for work on and related to Rock Hill, which 

he entitled “Account of Expenditures for 

a/c of Buncombe Establishment.” The 

entries begin in April 1838 and document 

his purchase of land and materials for the 

Main House, kitchen, and stable. Entries 

for building materials continue throughout, 

generally mentioning no specific building, 

so that it is not clear for which structure(s) 

the individual materials were intended. 

Exceptions include an entry mentioning 

construction of a “wagon house” in 1843 

and an “ice house” in 1847. Additional 

“work on house” is believed to refer to the 

Memminger addition at the back of the 

house, noted during the period 1847-49. 

A group of records from 1840-42 seems to 

indicate the construction of a new building 

at the estate. Entries for lumber begin in late 

1840. Later entries make reference to 

carpenters identified only as “Peter” and 

“Ben.” Peter was paid $5 “on a/c work” on 

October 14, 1840, and later was paid $71 for 

wages on January 5, 1841. Another $95 for 

carpenter’s wages was entered on 

November 1, along with $194.52 for 

“Lumber & Work.” January 31 the 

following year, sashes are noted for $7.22, 

and hardware for $25.37. 

In the entries for Summer 1841, Ben was 

paid $5 and Peter $1 on June 30; Ben was 

paid another $2 on September 5. On 

November 5, wages for Ben are listed as $50 

and $40, along with $5 for Peter. 

There has been speculation that Peter and 

Ben may have been slaves because they are 

identified by first name only, a common 

practice of the day. Slaves with marketable 

skills were sometimes paid, though wages 

were usually paid directly to their owner. It 

is also possible that Ben and Peter were 

locals well known to Memminger and were 

recognizable in the ledger without a written 

last name. Peter may have been Peter Corn, 

a local contractor of the era who, according 

to local tradition, was involved in 

construction on the estate. Outside of this 

cluster of entries in 1840-42, only Peter is 

mentioned again as being paid $70 in wages 

on January 18, 1844. 

A sketch included on one of the account 

book’s first pages depicts the location of the 

early buildings of the estate. The sketch 

(Figure B-1) is not dated, but is assumed to 

date to c. 1852 as it contains pipe lengths 

related to the installation of a fountain in 

front of the house in that year. The sketch 

indicates property lines, with the Main 

House situated approximately in the center. 

A building marked “Kitchen” is situated to 

the west and slightly south of the house; 

another marked “Servant’s House” is 

oriented perpendicular to and west of the 

kitchen. These structures are understood to 

be the present Garage and Swedish House, 

respectively. A third ancillary building, also 

marked “Servant’s House,” is shown south 

and slightly west of the kitchen and parallel 

in orientation. The present Chicken 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B. Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.2 

Figure B-1 Sketch of Rock Hill in Memminger’s account book, c. 1852, annotated for legibility. North is up on 

the drawing. (Pence, Archeological Overview and Assessment, 1998) 

House/Wash House has the same 

orientation and placement relative to the 

early kitchen as this second servants’ house. 

The extant building also possesses building 

fabric and technologies typical of the 

antebellum period. Thus, the Chicken 

House/Wash House is assumed to be this 

second servants’ house shown on 

Memminger’s sketch plan. 

The National Park Service has collected no 

other iconographic images or 

documentation which might suggest the 

original floor plans of the building. 

However, existing fragments of early 

building fabric and other evidence (ghost 

marks, nail patterns, etc.) point to plausible 

early, possibly original, configurations. 

Physical evidence indicates that the ground 

floor was subdivided into four rooms of 

approximately equal size by wide, tongueand-groove vertical board walls at the 

midpoint of each exterior wall. The inner 

surface of the exterior walls and the ceilings 

were sheathed with the same wide, tongueand-groove boards; wall boards were 

installed horizontally while the ceiling 

boards were set north-south. Doorways on 

the east and west elevations provided a 

single entry to each room; each room also 

had one double-hung window. The 

flooring was tongue-and-groove boards. 

Construction features in the half-story 

space above suggest that this level of the 

building was not initially intended for 

habitation. Two pairs of notches in the 

exposed east and west wall plates indicate 

that the framing was prepared for collar ties 

to connect the top plates of the long sides of 

the building. Likewise, the gables were 

framed with notches aligned horizontally in 

the vertical studs, indicating an indent for 

horizontal support in lieu of window or 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B. Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.3 

Figure B-2 Helga Sandburg on horse, with daughter Paula outside Chicken House, c. 1946. Note framing 

protruding from siding at arrow and lack of goat entrances on north elevation, and ladder aligned with 

eastern window. (CARL3000/08/25P) 

door openings. However, a change in 

intended use apparently was made during 

construction. The undisturbed 

characteristics of these notches suggest that 

neither collar ties nor horizontal supports 

were installed in the gable end. A window 

was installed in the south gable, along with a 

board-and-batten door installed in the 

north gable, both features matching those of 

the first floor. A wide tongue-and-groove 

vertical board wall, matching in board size 

the subdividing walls of the first floor, did 

extend east-west subdividing the space into 

roughly equal halves. At the center of this 

board wall was a doorway. The remnant of 

a beam outside the exterior doorway 

suggests that there was a shallow landing for 

an exterior ladder or stairs. It is worth 

noting that the exposed wall and roof 

framing in the upper level has many 

instances of waney where a bark edge is still 

in place. A waney edge enables 

dendrochronology through analysis of the 

tree rings in the timber. Dendrochronology 

would determine a more definitive 

construction date for the building. 

The exterior of the building was a simple, 

vernacular design which suggests the 

absence of a formal designer. Wood 

weatherboard siding sheathed the exterior, 

and the roof certainly would have been 

sheathed with wood shingles. 

Photographic documentation from the early 

Sandburg occupancy shows that there once 

were two framing members protruding from 

the weatherboard siding on the north 

elevation, on either side of the door to the 

second level, approximately at floor level. 

One of these is still existing, and measures 4 

1⁄2” by 3 1⁄2”. It is plausible that these are 

remnants of early landing framing that 

survives behind the siding. Selective 

removal of building elements to expose 

framing and archaeology would likely 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B. Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.4 

Figure B-3 Undated photo of Smyth grandchild playing near the kitchen; servants’ house is seen in the 

background with dark-colored siding and light-colored trim (CARL3001/16/13P) 

identify important design characteristics of 

this feature. The same photograph shows 

the ladder on the north elevation providing 

access to the upper level. It was not 

centered beneath the upper door, but rather 

adjacent to the eastern (left) window. The 

ladder remains, but is now aligned with the 

western (right) window, suggesting that it 

was moved mistakenly during the 1970s 

renovations. As Memminger was a slave 

owner, it is believed that the building 

originally housed enslaved persons for the 

summer months while the family was in 

residence. Therefore, no means for heating 

the building would have been needed and 

none were observed. 

Smyth Occupancy 

Grandchildren of Captain Ellison Smyth 

recalled in interviews conducted in the 

1970s that the building was used to house 

nurses early in the Smyths’ occupancy of 

Connemara, from approximately 1900 to 

1922.6

 It is not known whether any changes 

to building fabric occurred at this time, as its 

 

6 Heather Russo Pence, Carl Sandburg Home NHS, 

Archeological Overview and Assessment (Southeast 

Archeological Center, 1998), 57. 

use was in line with the original purpose of 

the servants’ residence. 

After the Smyths made Connemara their 

full-time home in 1924, part of the building 

was converted to a laundry, and it became 

known as the Wash House. (A wash house 

had previously been located farther away 

from the Main House in a structure now 

known as the Buck House.7

) In the 

conversion, the original flooring was 

removed in the north half of the first level, 

along with its north-south board wall, and a 

large hearth and chimney were constructed 

that incorporated two large wash tubs. 

These wash tubs were perhaps reused from 

the earlier wash house. Running water was 

apparently installed at each wash tub; a oneinch pipe aside each wash tub is now capped 

about one foot above floor level and 

connects to the hose bibb outside at the 

northwest corner of the building. Early 

floor joists at first and second levels were 

cut to accommodate the new chimney. The 

brickwork of the chimney abutted the eastwest board wall in the first level, and did the 

same in the upper story, blocking the early 

door opening in the center of the wall. The 

 

7 Ibid, 33-34. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B. Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.5 

brick appears to be of the same 

manufacturer as was used in the foundation 

of the rear addition to the main house, 

which was built c. 1925, though it is of 

poorer quality. The bricks of the addition 

are more regular, harder, and more deeply 

colored, while softer, salmon-colored bricks 

were used at the Wash House. Both brick 

types have a distinctive parallel mineral 

striation along the length of the soldier sides 

and swirl striations at the header ends. The 

mortar of the Wash House chimney is tan in 

color and has a half-inch wide concave 

joint. The mortar of the house’s addition 

has joints one-half inch to three-quarter 

inch in width, a flush joint profile, and 

whitish mortar. (It is noteworthy that the 

Wash House bricks match those used by his 

brother, Augustine T. Smythe (1842-1914), 

at the 1917 wash house of his Flat Rock 

summer place, Many Pines. Early in his life 

Augustine began spelling the family name 

with an “e” and his descendants have 

continued the practice.) 

New flooring was installed in the north half 

of the first level, consisting of uniform 5”- 

wide tongue-and-groove planks. The one 

substantial change made to the south half of 

the first level is the removal of most of the 

north-south board wall, creating one larger 

room. It is plausible that this change was 

concurrent with the conversion of the north 

half to a laundry. Neither the function of 

the south room or the building’s upper story 

is known after the building’s conversion. 

Heather Russo Pence’s Archeological 

Overview and Assessment, authored in 1998 

and summarizing past archaeological 

investigations at the house, notes that the 

building was converted into a smoke house 

along with a wash house by the Smyths.8

 

However, no physical evidence in the south 

portion of the first level indicates its use as a 

smoke house. In addition, it is unlikely that 

the smoke and soot from a smoke house 

would be desirable in the same building as 

the laundry. 

 

8 Ibid, 57. 

Figure B-4 Kid room in Chicken House, Dec. 1969 

(CARL4012/3)

Figure B-5 Nubian kids in Chicken House yard. 

Note two small openings added on north elevation. 

(CARL3000/44/103P)

It is not known when steps to the doors on 

the west elevation and the potential landing 

serving the upper story were removed. 

Photographs of the building from the Smyth 

era are sparse, and the earliest photographic 

evidence from the Sandburg period does 

not display these features. 

The knob-and-tube electrical service likely 

was added to the building at some point 

during the Smyth occupancy. Smyth 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B. Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.6 

Figure B-6 South room in Chicken House, Dec. 

1969. (CARL4012/3) 

Figure B-7 North door on east elevation, Dec. 

1973 (CARL4024/6/02)

Figure B-8 Partial west elevation, Dec. 1969. 

(CARL4012/3)

installed a battery-powered Delco electric 

lighting system for the Main House and 

probably the Swedish House in about 1920; 

standard electric service arrived to the 

estate by 1935. He could have added it 

concurrent with one of these events or at 

another time, perhaps when the laundry was 

installed. The fact that the light fixture on 

the south half of the first level is installed 

near the center of the larger room indicates 

that the original dividing wall had been 

removed by the time the electrical service 

was added. 

Sandburg Occupancy 

The Sandburgs made changes throughout 

the estate to accommodate their lifestyle 

and Mrs. Sandburg’s goat herd. The 

original kitchen was converted to a garage, 

the other servants’ house was used for 

storage and dubbed the Swedish House for 

its decorated bargeboard, and the Servants’ 

House/Wash House was made to 

accommodate animals and was called the 

Chicken House or Wash House according 

to whether the south end or north end were 

signified. Chickens occupied only the south 

half of the first floor, while the north half 

was occupied by baby goats, called kids, 

beginning c. 1950s. 

In the north half of the building, the wash 

tubs and hearth were retained, and a roughsawn vertical-board wall was installed 

running north-south, near the location of 

the original transverse vertical-board wall. 

An additional rough-sawn enclosure was 

built along the south side of the room in the 

alcove east of the chimney. Feed bins 

constructed of wood and wire were placed 

in these rooms. 

Low openings were made on the north 

elevation for the goats, one near the 

northeast corner and another under the 

adjacent window. An exterior wood ramp 

with applied battens for traction was 

constructed for kids to enter through the 

easternmost window. 

National Park Service 

After the National Park Service began 

administering the property as the Carl 

Sandburg Home National Historic Site in 

1968, it embarked on research and repairs of 

several outbuildings. Historic American 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B. Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.7 

Figure B-9 Plan showing 1976 Walker/Shephard archaeological investigations (Pence, Archeological 

Overview and Assessment, 1998)

Buildings Survey documentation was 

completed on the Chicken House/Wash 

House in 1975 preceding exterior 

restoration. Archaeological investigations 

were conducted by John W. Walker and 

Steven Shephard in November 1976 at the 

Chicken House/Wash House and other 

buildings of the estate. Trenches just over 

eight feet wide were excavated around the 

two sets of stone steps on the east side of the 

building, and red brick was found 

underneath them. 

No other artifacts were discovered in these 

two areas. A test pit just over 19” square 

was excavated against the south wall of the 

building, near its midpoint. Here was found 

a modern 1” diameter plastic pipe, said by 

the chief of maintenance to be a drain pipe, 

at about 7.5” below the surface; no other 

artifacts were found. A test pit about five 

feet wide was excavated at the north wall, 

where bedrock was encountered close to 

the surface and no other artifacts were 

found. Finally, two trenches were 

excavated along the west wall of the 

building, where the 1” diameter pipe was 

again unearthed with no other artifacts.9

 

 

9 Ibid, 57-58. 

Figure B-10 Flooring removed in Kid room to 

facilitate joist repairs, Haynes, 1977 

(CARL4007/35/09P)

Five test pits were dug extending west of the 

building where a drain pipe was to be 

installed. Test Pit D, located approximately 

52’-0” west of the southwest corner of the 

building, contained numerous artifacts and 

was determined to be a likely trash pit 

feature. The fifth pit, Test Pit E, was 

excavated about 6’-6” south of Test Pit D to 

determine the extent of the trash pit. Very 

few artifacts were found in the fifth pit. All 

total, window glass, container glass, wire 

nails, construction material fragments, and 

four historic ceramic fragments were 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.8 

Figure B-11 Northwest oblique, Dec. 1969. 

(CARL4012/3)

Figure B-12 Sill repairs on east elevation, 

summer 1978 (CARL4008/05/59P)

found.10 A handwritten report in the 

archives of the Carl Sandburg Home NHS 

(CARL) seems to date from the mid-1970s 

and offers an indication of the building’s 

condition at that time. The report states 

that the roof is metal and painted with an 

asphaltic roof coating. Under a heading 

marked “condition,” the report states: 

“Poor! Numerous sections of the 

foundation mortar is missing. Floor and 

floor framing completely rotten. Windows 

and doors broken. Roofing and siding 

shows hand paint sealing.” 

Further evidence from period photographs 

 

10 Ibid, 42. 

shows deteriorated siding near the 

northeast corner of the building on the 

north and east elevations, missing siding and 

a sagging sill along the west elevation, and 

sections of windows covering the door 

openings on the south elevation. Shutters 

were missing on the north elevation, in 

addition to some window muntins. 

A Section 106 statement was prepared for 

the outbuildings at CARL in 1976; it states 

that work on the outbuildings would 

“provide for maintenance through 

preservation” and that any missing or 

deteriorated elements would be replaced inkind. The 106 statement appears to be the 

only proposal of the work to be done to the 

Chicken House/Wash House. 

Apparently, no plans or specifications were 

made for this building, although they were 

prepared for the Swedish House repairs 

underway at the same time. An undated 

sheet in the CARL archives entitled 

“exterior work” states that in summer 1979, 

a ground drain was installed, hardware 

“replaced where needed,” shutters replaced, 

windows repaired, siding repaired and 

replaced, foundation repaired, and the 

building and roof prepared and painted, for 

a total of $5,950. 

Photographic documentation of the repair 

work begins in late 1977 and continues into 

the following summer. It shows that 

flooring was removed to facilitate repairs to 

framing. Dutchman repairs were made to 

the sills and studs, and many floor joists 

were sistered. 

Some siding was removed as well, and it is 

not known whether any of the removed 

siding was reinstalled or if new siding was 

used in its place. The building was shored 

up and the stone foundation completely 

removed. A reinforced concrete spread 

footing was poured, and the foundation 

rebuilt. It is not known if the original 

foundation stones were re-used, but it 

seems likely. 

It was probably at this time that the ladder 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.9 

on the north elevation was relocated to align 

with the western window rather than in its 

earlier position along the eastern window. 

Photographs show that the ladder was 

removed during the work. The louvers 

were installed in the window on the south 

elevation during this time as well, similar to 

those installed at the Swedish House. 

In the CARL files is a flattened packaging 

box (5” x 23⁄4”) for “old-fashioned cut nails,” 

“decorative wrought head nails” made by 

the Tremont Nail Co. of Wareham, 

Massachusetts, apparently a container for 

the nails used in the 1970s work. The 

Section 106 statement had also called for 

repointing of the chimney. 

A purchase order for roof replacement 

dated September 23, 1977, indicates that 

McCall Sheet Metal & Roofing, Inc., was 

awarded a contract for $965 for installation 

of a new standing-seam tin-coated metal 

roof and flashing of the chimney. An 

amendment to the contract for roofing 

metal, dated May 26, 1978, added $207.90 to 

McCall’s contract. CARL records state that 

the building was painted by John Tulen in 

1978. 

Building fragments were taken from the 

Chicken House/Wash House and other 

buildings at the time of the 1970s repair, to 

be catalogued and placed in storage. 

Unfortunately, their precise locations 

within the building were not recorded, and 

some materials now in the museum 

collection seem unlikely to have originated 

at the Chicken House/Wash House. The 

artifacts in question include a section of 

green mineral asphalt roofing with 5” 

exposure, a tongue- and-groove board 

appearing to have come from a roof deck, 

and a circular-sawn stud with wire nails and 

lime stains indicating plaster applied to the 

wall. No evidence within the building 

suggests that plaster or asphalt roofing has 

ever been in place on any surface, and the 

existing roof decking appears to be the 

original. Artifacts in storage that do appear 

to have come from the Chicken 

House/Wash House include a hewn sill 

Figure B-13 New reinforced concrete footings, 

November 10, 1977 (CARL4008/05/35P)

Figure B-14 North elevation being repainted, 

October 1979 (CARL4004/15-32P)

measuring 7” by 9”; a 6” by 8” timber sashsawn on one face and circular-sawn on the 

other; a 2 3⁄4” by 10” sash-sawn joist; a box 

lock and hinges, all of 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.10 

Figure B-15 Roof repairs in progress, May 1978 

(CARL4008/05/46P) 

Figure B-17 Box lock in museum collection, 

February 2007

Figure B-16 Hand-hewn section of sill in museum 

collection, February 2007

unknown location within the building; and a 

miscellaneous piece of metal that might 

have been part of the laundry apparatus. 

Another undated sheet in the CARL 

archives entitled “interior work” indicates 

work to the electrical service and flooring of 

the Chicken House/Wash House. The sheet 

notes “1976 – electricity replacement to 

switch box” and “1982 – floor in kid quaters 

[sic] side.” It is presumed that the electrical 

work was to bypass the extant knob-andtube wiring to the service of one switch box, 

presently located in the north room. 

The roof of the Chicken House/Wash 

House was painted in June 1984, along with 

the house, barns, tenant house, garage, 

maintenance shop, and greenhouse. The 

work was completed by Marine & Industrial 

Insulators, Inc., of Charleston, South 

Carolina. 

Further documentation of the building’s 

condition was made in August 1985 in a 

handwritten inspection report. The report 

states that the “front side of building needs 

some attention,” weatherboard needed 

scraping and painting, one shutter needed 

to be replaced, ventilation was needed 

underneath, the front door sill “needs 

attention,” the windows needed cleaning, 

and 12’ to 14’ of weatherboard needed to be 

replaced on the front. The report also 

noted that the historic color of doors was to 

be determined. 

An undated, handwritten report entitled 

“Plan of Action: Cyclic Maintenance, 

Painting Exterior of Chicken House” is 

assumed to have been written to address the 

conditions documented in August 1985. 

The report indicates that the exterior of the 

building, including siding, cornice, 

windows, and shutters, was to be washed 

using Jomax mildew remover, and followed 

with primer and paint with mildew inhibitor 

added. It indicates that shutters were to be 

repaired, and one replaced. Under the 

category of “Foundation,” it states the 

following: “repair underpinning taking 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.11 

Figure B-18 Southwest oblique of Chicken House, 

presumably showing completed repairs, 1985 

(CARL4004/21-02P)

special consideration to the original, replace 

only what is necessary and restore to 

original appearance; vent foundation by 

leaving cracks between underpin boards 

and screen behind boards to keep out 

pests.” It is assumed that this work was 

carried out, though photo-documentation 

of the repairs is sparse. 

The most recent work to the Chicken 

House/Wash House occurred in 2001, when 

a lead abatement project resulted in the 

entire building’s being tented, completely 

stripped of exterior paint, and repainted. 

Similar abatement took place at the Swedish 

House. The work was completed by Blue 

Ridge Environmental Specialists of Horse 

Shoe, North Carolina. 

Throughout National Park Service 

occupancy, the building has been used 

strictly for storage. Modern wood shelving 

was installed by the NPS along the north 

and west walls of the south room for this 

purpose. 

A new General Management Plan was 

completed for the park in late 2003. The 

selected alternative, called the “Sandburg 

Center Alternative” in the planning 

document, calls for the park to become an 

Figure B-19 Northwest oblique, showing tent for 

lead abatement, 2001 (CARL4018/2-116P) 

Figure B-20 Wooden storage shelves along north 

and west walls of south room, February 2007

international focal point for learning about 

Carl Sandburg. It calls for “rehabilitating 

one or more historic structures near the 

main house or barn for interpretive program 

areas.”11 The Chicken House/Wash House 

was identified as having good potential for 

restoration/rehabilitation and for 

incorporation of interpretive media 

displays. 

 

11 Final General Management Plan and 

Environmental Impact Statement for Carl Sandburg 

Home National Historic Site (August 2003), p. 5. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.B Chronology of Development and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.B.12 

Timeline 

1836 fall C.G. Memminger begins looking for property at Flat Rock 

1838 March Construction begins on the Main House, kitchen, and stable 

 April Memminger makes first entry in account book for Rock Hill 

1839 July Memmingers arrive for first summer at Flat Rock 

1841 c. Servants’ house is constructed 

1889 Memmingers sell Rock Hill to Gregg family 

1900 Greggs sell Rock Hill to Smyth family; estate is renamed Connemara 

 Servants’ house is used to house nurses for the Smyth grandchildren 

1924 Smyths make Connemara their full-time home 

 Servants’ house is modified to contain wash tubs, and becomes known as Wash 

House 

1945 Oct. Smyths sell Connemara to Sandburg family 

Sandburgs use the north half of the Wash House for kid goats and the south half for 

chickens; they begin calling the building the Chicken House 

1967 July Carl Sandburg dies on the 22nd

1968 June Mrs. Sandburg signs deed of gift of the estate to National Park Service 

1968 Oct. Carl Sandburg National Historic Site is established by Congress 

1974 May Carl Sandburg NHS opens to the public 

1975 HABS documentation is completed on the outbuildings 

1978 Repairs to the foundation, framing, siding, fenestration, and roof are completed 

1984 Roof is repainted 

1985 c. Siding, cornice, windows, and shutters are repainted 

2001 Building exterior is completely stripped of paint and repainted as part of a lead abatement 

 project
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.1 

C. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION 

Photographs in this section were taken in 

2007 by the Project Team during 

investigations for this report. 

General Description 

The Chicken House is a small, story-and-ahalf frame building sheathed in 

weatherboard siding. Rectangular in plan 

with central chimney and gable roof, its long 

elevation is oriented on a north-south axis. 

Set on a site gently sloping to the west, a 

stone foundation lifts the building just six 

inches above grade along its now-principal 

east elevation, and some 30 inches above 

grade at the rear or west elevation. 

Access today to the two main interior spaces 

is through the two doorways on the east 

elevation. Access to the partially finished 

upper half-story is by way of an exterior 

ladder and doorway at the center of the 

north gable. The west elevation mirrors that 

of the east with two regularly spaced 

doorways, now unused, and no windows. 

Both the south and north elevations have 

two first-level, six-over-six double-hung 

sash windows. While a doorway with 

transom is at the center of the north gable at 

the upper story, the south gable has a 

central window. The central chimney 

serves the two wash tubs added during the 

building’s first major change of use. 

The foundation of the building is stone 

blocks set in mortar, and was entirely rebuilt 

in the repairs of the late 1970s. Two 

openings on the west elevation and one on 

the north provide access to the crawl space 

under the building; the openings are 

covered by wood boards set between the 

stone piers. 

A fenced pasture area borders the building 

on the north and west sides; the pasture is 

Figure C-1 Northwest oblique of Chicken 

House/Wash House 

Figure C-2 East and partial south elevations of 

Chicken House/Wash House, with garage beyond.

further enclosed by other ancillary buildings 

constructed by C.G. Memminger as part of 

his summer place. Aligned with and 

immediately to the north is the original 

kitchen building, later modified by the 

Sandburgs into a garage. To the northwest 

and set perpendicularly is a servants’ 

quarters known by the Sandburgs as the 

Swedish House. All three buildings are 

behind the Main House, which faces north. 

Immediately east of the Chicken House is a 

gravel driveway that connects the drive 

surrounding the Main House to the spring 

house and woodshed to the south, and 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.2 

Figure C-3 Stone foundation near west corner of 

south elevation 

Figure C-4 Wall and roof framing visible in upper 

half-story 

Figure C-5 Larger vertical members mortised into 

top plate at sides of photo, newer vertical in center 

toenailed, and empty mortises adjacent 

eventually back to the main drive leading to 

the barns. Also to the east is a large boulder 

with a hollowed-out basin; this was the 

location of an early water pump for the 

Memmingers. 

North of the Chicken House and adjacent 

to the pasture fence is a steel barrel which 

the Sandburgs used for burning trash. 

Each board-and-batten door on the east 

elevation provides access to one-half of the 

first floor. The south rooms now contain 

modern storage shelves but were used as the 

chicken coop during the Sandburg’s 

occupancy. The north rooms are also 

presently used for storage, having housed 

goats for the Sandburgs. These north rooms 

contain two large wash tubs with fireboxes 

underneath and their chimney, reportedly 

added to the building by the Smyths. 

One large, partially finished room is found 

on the upper half-story of the building, 

accessed through a board-and-batten door 

matching those of the first floor. This room 

was also once subdivided into two spaces by 

a vertical board wall running transverse near 

the middle of the room; an early door 

opening can be seen in the intact boards 

adjacent to the added chimney stack. 

Structural Systems 

Foundations & Cross Walls: The perimeter 

foundation walls are made of randomlycoursed blocks of granite, and they were 

rebuilt in the 1970s work. It is not known if 

the original stones were reused, though it is 

likely. Photo-documentation indicates that 

poured-in-place concrete footings were 

installed at that time. 

Exterior Walls: The perimeter walls of the 

building are wood framed with weatherboard siding on the exterior and flush 

boards on the interior. In the partially 

finished second level, the vertical framing 

members are exposed; they are oak timbers 

measuring 2 3⁄4” to 3 1/8” wide by 3 5/8”to 4” 

deep. Many of the framing members exhibit 

an intact bark edge known as waney. 

Vertical framing members have tenons at 

the top and bottom that fit into notches in 

the sill and top plates. Some sections of sill 

were replaced in the 1970s work. In the 

upper half-story, the exposed framing 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.3 

shows that larger vertical members are at 

either side of the door openings on the east 

and west walls below. These larger 

members measure 5 3/8” to 6” wide and 3 

5/8” to 4” deep and are mortised into the 

top plate. Between them are newer vertical 

members which are toenailed into the plate. 

There are empty mortises adjacent to the 

newer vertical posts. 

Flooring Systems: The first-floor framing 

consists of 2 7/8” by 10” floor joists spaced 

at 23” on center and spanning the full 

dimension of the building from east to west. 

All floor joists were sistered in the 1970s 

repairs with 2 3⁄4” by 10” new joists. Also, 

during these repairs a new 5 1⁄2” by 5 1⁄2” 

girder was added extending north to south 

at the midpoint of the building; it is 

supported by modern concrete masonry 

units in the crawl space. The second-floor 

framing consists of 3” by 7” floor joists 

spaced at 24” on center, spanning east to 

west. 

Roof Framing: The original common 

rafter-with-ridge-pole roof framing system 

remains in place. The roof rafters are 3” 

wide by 3 5/8” to 4” deep at approximately 

24” on center, with a 3⁄4” by 4” ridge board. 

The rafter pitch is approximately 34 

degrees. Most of what appears to be early, if 

not original, decking is also in place. The 

early deck boards are not squared off and 

have two waney edges. They are of random 

widths with 2” to 4” gaps between deck 

boards. The early decking exhibits a pattern 

of square nails indicating wood shingles 

were installed. There are also some later 

deck boards, squared off and of random 

widths. 

Exterior Features 

Roof and Rainwater Collection/Dispersal: 

The roofing material consists of standingseam terne-coated metal roofing, installed 

in 1978. It replaced a previous metal roof 

seen in the earliest clear photo of the 

building, dated c. 1946 in the early years of 

Figure C-6 Floor framing with modern sistered 

joists and CMU supports 

Figure C-7 Roof decking with early nails for wood 

shingles 

Figure C-8. Terne-coated metal roofing and 

stepped chimney flashing.
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.4 

Figure C-9 Wood weatherboard siding and stone 

foundation walls, west elevation 

Figure C-10 East elevation, north doorway 

the Sandburg occupancy. The stepped 

flashing at the chimney is also tin-coated 

metal. There are no gutters or downspouts 

on the building. The roof rafters are 

exposed, painted, and overhang about 1’-2” 

beyond the walls below. 

Chimney: The building has a central 

chimney that serves two fireboxes in the 

north room under the washtubs. The 

chimney is built of pressed brick measuring 

2 1⁄4” by 3 5/8” by 8” long, with coloration 

varying from salmon to red to red-brown. 

The bricks have distinctive mineral patterns, 

white specks, and parallel striations along 

the length of the soldier sides, as well as 

white specks and a swirl at each header side. 

The bricks are set in a white Portland 

cement mortar with a 1⁄2” wide concave 

joint. The chimney was added by Ellison 

Smyth in about 1924 when the building was 

converted to a wash house. 

Walls: The walls of the building are 

sheathed with painted wood weatherboard 

siding. The exposure of the siding ranges 

from 6” to 7”.The foundation walls consist 

of randomly sized blocks of local gray 

granite set in flush-pointed mortar. The 

foundation was completely rebuilt in the 

1970s repairs, incorporating reinforced 

concrete footings. It is not known if the 

original stone was re-used, though it is 

likely. 

Doorways: The east and west elevations 

each have two doorways that are virtually 

identical in detail. All have board-andbatten doors measuring 3’-0” to 3’-0 1⁄2” 

wide and 6’-3 1⁄2” to 6’-4” tall, consisting of 

tongue-and-groove boards approximately 

9” wide by 7/8” thick. Each door has three 

battens measuring 9” tall and 7/8” thick, 

with a chamfer on all edges of the back side. 

Each door is painted on its exterior face. 

Each door has two 1 3⁄4” by 1’-7 1⁄2” long 

wrought-iron strap hinges on driven pintles, 

except for the west elevation door into the 

north room. That board-and-batten door 

has been cut horizontally to form a Dutch 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.5 

door and has a total of four iron strap hinges 

on driven pintles. 

The hinges are of similar design to two pairs 

surviving at the Main House basement level, 

though larger than those 1 1⁄4” by 1’-5” long 

hinges. Also, the strap hinges at the Main 

House are supported with face-mounted 

rather than driven pintles. 

Each door has slightly different locking 

hardware and knobs. At the east-elevation 

door to the south room, there is an iron rim 

lock measuring 4” wide by 5” tall and 3⁄4” 

deep with two 1 3⁄4” diameter brass knobs 

and iron keeper with brass trim. The lock is 

marked with a medallion bearing a crest and 

the words “Carpenter & Co. Patent EES.” 

This lock is similar to those at the bedroom 

doors on the second floor of the Main 

House, and like those, is installed with flattipped screws. These are the only screw 

holes present, strongly suggesting that this is 

the only lock that has been on this door. 

(Pointed screws became more prevalent by 

the late 1840s, though flat-tipped screws of 

earlier manufacture could certainly be used 

or re-used well after that date.) 

At the east-elevation door to the north 

room is an iron rim lock, 6” wide by 4” tall 

and 3⁄4” deep with a modern iron keeper. 

The lock is marked with the words “E. 

Wootton No. 60 Warranted.” The lock has 

two modern 2 1⁄4” diameter steel knobs. 

Like the lock to the south room, east side, 

this lock is installed with flat-tipped screws 

and there are no other screw holes for a 

lock on this door. 

At the west-elevation door to the north 

room is a modern 3 1⁄4” wide by 4” tall rim 

lock with two brown mineral knobs and a 

modern keeper. A modern hook-and-look 

closure is also in place at the top portion of 

the Dutch door. At the west-elevation door 

to the south room is a 3 1⁄4” wide by 4” tall 

rim lock with two white knobs and a 

modern keeper.On the two east doorways, 

screen doors measuring 3’-0” wide and 6’-4” 

tall are in 

Figure C-11 West elevation, north doorway 

interior 

Figure C-12 Rim lock at east elevation, south 

doorway 

Figure C-13 Rim lock at east elevation, north 

doorway 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.6 

Figure C-14 Rim lock at west elevation, north 

doorway 

Figure C-15 Rim lock at west elevation, south 

doorway 

Figure C-16 Screen door at east elevation, south 

doorway 

place. The door into the south room is 

framed with 1 1/8” thick stock, with a 5/16” 

by 1 1⁄2” trim piece at the screen, while the 

north door is built of 1”-thick stock with a 

5/16” by 1” trim piece at the screen. Both 

doors have 2” by 3” face-mounted hinges, 

3” by 4 1⁄2” rim locks, and 2 1⁄4” diameter 

knobs. The south door also has a modern 

metal strap pull. These doors are visible in 

the earliest Sandburg-era photos, c. 1945.

Each doorway is cased on the exterior with 

wood trim 3” wide, including a 1⁄4” bead and 

1/8” quirk. The east doorways have an 

added 1 1⁄2” by 3⁄4” stop for the screen doors. 

Each doorway has a 4” wide, rounded 

threshold. The two east thresholds are 

painted. 

At the upper half-story, there is one boardand-batten door on the north elevation. 

The door measures 3’-0” by 6’-1”, and is 

constructed identically to those at first 

floor. It has two strap hinges on driven 

pintles, but no locking hardware or knob, 

though there is evidence of a box lock once 

in place. On the door’s painted exterior face 

it has a simple leather pull and a metal latch. 

The doorway is cased on the exterior with 

wood trim 3 1/8” wide, including a 1⁄4” bead 

and 1/8” quirk. 

Though this door matches the four 

apparently original doors of the first floor 

exterior, the attic level framing suggests that 

the doorway was not initially planned. The 

gable framing has notches for a horizontal 

member, although there are no fasteners or 

marks of fasteners, and the notches remain 

clean and crisp as unused. Therefore, it 

appears this door was a change made during 

construction. 

This upper doorway also has a four-light 

fixed transom above. Unlike the window 

sash found on the first floor, the transom 

has elaborate muntins suggesting it was not 

initially intended for this simple building. 

Like the accompanying door and the attic 

level window on the south elevation, it was 

probably installed as a change during 

construction. As such, it would have been a 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.7 

feature added to give the only light to the 

north attic room. 

Windows: There are five windows of 

approximately equal size in the building: 

two on the north elevation at first floor, two 

on the south elevation at first floor, and one 

on the south elevation at the upper halfstory. Each window measures 

approximately 2’-4” wide by 3’-10” tall. At 

first-floor level, each of the four windows 

has a pair of six-over-six light sashes. All 

sashes appear to be original. The window 

on the attic level apparently was a 

modification during construction. Similar 

to the doorway on the north elevation, the 

gable framing was constructed for 

horizontal bracing, apparently never 

installed. This window opening was framed 

for a fixed upper sash, but neither top nor 

bottom sashes are in place. Therefore, the 

window shutter stays in a closed position. 

The windows on the north elevation, and on 

the upper story of the south elevation, are 

cased on the exterior with wood trim 3” 

wide, including a 1⁄4” bead and 1/8” quirk. 

In contrast, the windows on the south 

elevation at first level are cased with 3 1/8” 

wide trim, with a similar bead and quirk. 

A wooden louver is in place at the window 

near the southeast corner of the building. 

The bottom sash of the window is in a raised 

position, with the louver in its place 

underneath. The louver was installed by the 

NPS in the 1970s repairs. 

Each window has one board-and-batten 

wood shutter. The shutters typically 

measure 2’-3” wide by 3’-10” tall, and are 

constructed of approximately 9” wide 

tongue-and-groove boards placed vertically 

with two 6” wide battens. Each shutter has 

two iron strap hinges on driven pintles and 

two wrought-iron hooks: one to fasten the 

shutter closed at a staple on the jamb, and 

one to fasten the shutter open at a staple on 

the exterior wall. 

The four shutters at first-floor level are 7/8” 

thick with 7/8” thick battens. Each appears 

Figure C-17 North doorway to upper half-story 

Figure C-18 West window on south elevation 

Figure C-19 East window on south elevation 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.8 

Figure C-20 Window shutter strap hinge, south 

elevation, east window 

Figure C-21 Window shutter strap hinge, south 

elevation, west window 

Figure C-22 Window shutter strap hinge, north 

elevation, east window 

to be relatively crisp, with little weathering, 

in contrast to some weatherboards and 

window casings. On the south elevation, the 

east window shutter has two 1 1⁄4” by 9” long 

iron strap hinges on driven pintles, while 

the west shutter has 1 1⁄4” by 1’-1 1⁄2” long 

strap hinges. The west shutter is the only 

Figure C-23 Window shutter strap hinge, north 

elevation, west window 

one where the battens do not cover the 

heads of the hinge fasteners.

On the north elevation, the east shutter has 

1 1⁄4” by 10 1⁄2” long strap hinges, while the 

west shutter has 1 1⁄4” by 1’-1” long strap 

hinges. 

The upper-story window, on the south 

elevation, has no window sash in place and 

therefore the shutter typically remains 

closed. In contrast to the first-level 

shutters, this upper shutter is comprised of 

3⁄4” thick boards and 3⁄4” thick battens, and it 

appears more weathered than the shutters 

of the first-floor level. Its strap hinges are 1 

1⁄4” by 1’-1 1⁄2” long. Its wrought-iron hooks 

feature a twisted stem, a detail not found in 

the hooks of the first-floor shutters. It 

appears most plausible that the upper-story 

window shutter and hardware are original, 

along with the similar strap hinge at the west 

window of the south elevation. The 

shutters of the first floor appear to be 

reproductions of perhaps varying ages, and 

most hardware either reproductions or reused from other locations. All window 

elements are painted on the exterior. Both 

faces of shutters are painted, except for the 

upper-story shutter, which is painted only 

on the face that is exposed when the shutter 

is closed. 

Other Features: Two rough-cut, squareedged granite steps lead to each door on the 

east elevation. The tread of each bottom 

step is approximately at grade level. A 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.9 

painted wooden ladder is permanently 

installed against the north elevation and 

serves as the only access to the upper story. 

The ladder is built of 1 5/8” by 3 5/8” 

vertical members and 1” by 3” horizontal 

members. The ladder appears in the earliest 

Sandburg-era photo, though was previously 

aligned with the casing of the eastern 

window. Photographs of the 1970s work 

show that the ladder was removed during 

painting; when replaced, it was aligned with 

the western window rather than in its earlier 

location next to the eastern window. 

An unfinished wooden ramp with 

horizontal battens built by the Sandburgs 

leads to the sill of the east window of the 

north elevation. This ramp allowed goats to 

enter the building through the open 

window. Two additional small openings 

were made by the Sandburgs on the north 

wall to allow the baby goats, called kids, 

access from the building to the adjacent 

fenced pasture. An opening measuring 1’-6” 

by 1’-10” was cut under the window and is 

covered by a sliding board panel. Another 

opening measuring 1’-9” by 3’-0” was cut 

directly adjacent to the east wall and is 

covered by a hinged board panel. 

Two large openings in the west foundation 

wall and one on the north lead to the crawl 

space below the building. Each opening is 

covered by a modern wood panel built of 

three horizontal boards connected with 

three vertical battens. The panels are nailed 

in place to the frame walls through the top 

of the battens. The horizontal boards are 

spaced slightly to allow ventilation to the 

crawl space. These wood panels are 

unpainted on the west elevation and painted 

on the north elevation. The panels are 

1970s replacements for earlier, deteriorated 

board panels visible in Sandburg-era 

photographs. 

Interior Features 

The Crawl Space 

The entire area below the building is 

unexcavated crawl space. Grade slopes 

Figure C-24 Wrough- iron hook at upper-story 

window shutter 

Figure C-25 Northwest oblique, showing ladder 

and ramp on north elevation of building 

Figure C-26 Detail of ramp and goat door under 

window on north elevation 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.10 

Figure C-27 Northwest corner of building 

showing wooden panels at foundation level 

Figure C-28 Crawl space looking northeast, 

showing base of chimney and galvanized pipe 

Figure C-29 Room 101A looking northwest, 

showing modern wood shelving

from east to west, with about 37” from 

ground level to underside of floor framing 

at the west side to as little as 8” at the east 

side. Its interior walls are the stone 

foundation walls visible from the exterior. 

A large brick chimney base is at the center. 

The crawl space does not enclose any 

mechanical or electrical components. 

Galvanized water pipe extends from below 

grade to the first floor adjacent to the 

chimney base. 

The First Floor 

The first floor originally contained four 

rooms of equal size, each individually 

accessible from an exterior doorway, their 

board-and-batten doors apparently still in 

place. Changes in use over time have caused 

the dividing walls in both the south and 

north halves of the building to be removed. 

In the south half, three boards that had 

comprised the dividing wall remain. In the 

north half, none of the vertical boards 

remain; however, another board wall was 

built parallel to the original, a few inches to 

the west. Throughout all periods the 

construction materials are those that are 

reliably available, and the construction 

methodology is straightforward, 

unadorned, and speaks to the utilitarian 

functions of this building over time. 

Room 101A: This room is the west portion 

of the south half of the building, and 

measures approximately 14’-9” by 7’-9”. 

Like all rooms on the first floor, it has a 

ceiling height of 6’-8”. It was originally 

accessed through a board-and-batten door 

on the west wall, which is still in place albeit 

without steps leading to grade below. 

Storage shelving installed by the NPS covers 

the north and west walls of this room, 

blocking access to the west doorway. The 

room is now reached through Room 101B. 

The dividing wall between Rooms 101A and 

101B at some unknown point was removed, 

and the one large room was used by the 

Sandburgs to house chickens. 

Flooring: The flooring is 1” thick tongueand-groove pine in widths from 4 3⁄4” to 5 

1⁄2”, varying in 1⁄4” increments. The flooring 

appears to be early, if not original. 

Walls: The west and south walls, which are 

exterior walls, are sheathed with 3⁄4” thick 

horizontal tongue-and-groove boards 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.11 

measuring 9”, 10”, or 11” wide. The north 

wall, which is an interior wall bisecting the 

building, consists of 3⁄4” thick vertical 

tongue-and-groove boards. All that remains 

of the east wall is a 1’-4” long section 

adjoining the south wall; like the north wall, 

it consists of vertical tongue-and-groove 

boards. The remainder of the west side of 

the room is open to Room 101B. All wall 

boards are early, if not original, 

components. 

Doors: In the center of the room on its west 

wall is a board-and-batten door, discussed 

previously. The interior door casing is 4 1⁄2” 

wide, including a 3/8” bead and 1/8” quirk. 

Windows: One wood six-over-six doublehung window is on the south wall. Its 

interior casing is a 4” board with an 1⁄2” 

applied beaded stop. 

Ceiling: The ceiling is sheathed in what is 

probably the original, tongue-and-groove 

boards measuring 3⁄4” thick by 9 1⁄4”, 10 1⁄4”, 

10 3⁄4”, or 11” wide, running north-south. 

Baseboards: Early if not original baseboard 

is present along all existing sections of wall. 

The baseboard is 3⁄4” by 5” and has a 3/8” 

bead with 1/8” quirk. A corresponding 

ghost mark is visible on the remaining 

fragment of east vertical board wall. 

Finishes: The walls and ceiling have 

evidence of early limewash in a cool gray 

color. Some graffiti is present under the 

limewash just west of the window. The 

window and door casings and door also 

have evidence of early limewash, while the 

window sash are painted. The flooring is 

unfinished. 

Mechanical Systems: None are present. 

Electrical Systems: None are present. This 

room appears to have been historically lit by 

a ceramic light socket on the ceiling of 

Room 101B, placed close to the ghost mark 

from the original dividing wall. 

Figure C-30 Section of early board wall at 

east side of Room 101A, with baseboard ghost 

mark 

Figure C-31 Room 101B looking southeast, 

with section of early board wall at right. 

Figure C-32 Door at north wall of Room 

101B, strike jamb and head indicated 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.12 

Figure C-33 Interior of louvered window 

Figure C-34 Ceramic light socket in Room 101B 

Figure C-35 Room 102A looking north 

Plumbing Systems: None are present. 

Other Features: Modern wood shelving 

units installed by the NPS are in place along 

the west and north walls of Room 101A. 

Room 101B: This room is the east portion 

of the south half of the building, and 

measures approximately 14’-9” by 7’-7”. It 

is accessed through a board-and-batten 

door on the east wall, and opens into Room 

101A where the original board wall dividing 

the two rooms has been removed. The 

enlarged room was reportedly used by the 

Sandburgs to house chickens. 

Flooring:The flooring is 1” thick tongueand-groove pine in widths from 4 3⁄4” to 5 

1⁄2”, varying in 1⁄4” increments. The flooring 

appears to be early, if not original. 

Walls: The east and south walls, which are 

exterior walls, are sheathed with 3⁄4” thick 

horizontal tongue-and-groove boards 

measuring 9”, 10”, or 11” wide. The north 

wall, which is an interior wall bisecting the 

building, consists of 3⁄4” thick vertical 

tongue-and-groove boards. All that remains 

of the west wall is a 1’-4” long section 

adjoining the south wall; like the north wall, 

it consists of vertical tongue-and-groove 

boards. The remainder of the west side of 

the room is open to Room 101A. All wall 

boards are early, if not original, 

components. 

Doors: In the center of the room on its east 

wall is a board-and-batten door, discussed 

previously. The interior door casing is 4 1⁄2” 

wide, including a 3/8” bead and 1/8” quirk. 

At the north wall is a 1’-10” wide door into 

Room 102B, created by cutting two of the 

vertical boards of the wall and adding 

battens. The door is largely hidden from 

view by the modern storage units. 

Windows: One wood six-over-six doublehung window is along the south wall. Its 

interior casing is a 4” board with a 1⁄2” 

applied stop with 3/8” bead. The window is 

in a raised position with a wood louver 

installed in the lower portion of the 

opening. 

Ceiling:The ceiling is sheathed in what is 

probably the original, tongue-and-groove 

boards measuring 3⁄4” thick by 9 1⁄4”, 10 1⁄4”, 

10 3⁄4”, or 11” wide, running north-south. 
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Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.13 

Baseboards: Early, if not original, baseboard 

is present along the south and north walls, 

along with the east wall north of the door. 

The baseboard is 3⁄4” by 5” and has a 3/8” 

bead with 1/8” quirk. On the east wall south 

of the door, a reproduction baseboard is in 

place.

Finishes: The walls and ceiling have 

evidence of early limewash in a warm gray 

color. Graffiti written in pencil is along the 

south wall just east of the window. The 

casings and door also have evidence of early 

limewash, while the window sash are 

painted. The flooring is unfinished. 

Mechanical Systems: None are present. 

Electrical Systems: A ceramic light socket is 

mounted on the ceiling near the west side of 

the room, serving to illuminate both this 

room and the adjacent Room 101A. Twowire knob and tubing extends east from this 

socket and then turns north to the 

remainder of the building. Electrical service 

to the building is not operational. 

Plumbing Systems: None are present. 

Other Features: Modern wood shelving 

extends from Room 101A along the north 

wall. A rechargeable fire extinguisher is 

mounted on the east wall, south of the door, 

and is earmarked for ABC fires. The unit 

was made by Buckeye Fire Equipment 

Company and was inspected on February 

12; a year is not given with the date. 

Room 102A: This room is the west portion 

of the north half of the building, and 

measures approximately 14’-7” by 7’-4”. It 

was originally accessed through a boardand-batten door on the west wall, which is 

still in place albeit without steps leading to 

grade below. In 1924 the Smyths removed 

the board wall that divided Rooms 102A 

and 102B to construct a brick chimney with 

two wash tubs. The expanded room 

became the laundry. It subsequently was 

used by the Sandburgs to house young 

goats. At some unknown date, a new 

Figure C-36 East board wall of Room 102A 

Figure C-37 North jamb of door opening in east 

wall 

Figure C-38 Outlet and Romex along west wall, 

two-wire knob and tubing along north wall 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.14 

Figure C-39 Galvanized pipe adjacent to wash 

tubs 

Figure C-40 Room 102A looking southeast. 

Figure C-41 View inside firebox under wash tub 

dividing wall running north-south parallel 

to the original was constructed but set 

several inches to the west. The room is now 

reached through an east doorway to Room 

102B. 

Flooring:The flooring is 1” thick tongueand-groove pine in widths from 5” to 5 1⁄4”, 

varying in 1/8” increments. The flooring 

appears newer than that of the south half of 

the building, and probably dates to the 

1920s when the building was made a wash 

house. Records indicate that some work 

was done to this flooring in 1982; it is not 

known whether repairs were made or 

sections replaced. 

Walls: The west and north walls, which are 

exterior walls, are sheathed with 3⁄4” thick 

horizontal tongue-and-groove boards 

measuring 9”, 10”, or 11” wide. The south 

wall, which is an interior wall bisecting the 

building, consists of 3⁄4” thick vertical 

tongue-and-groove boards. These wall 

boards are early, if not original, 

components. The more recent east wall is 

built of 1” thick vertical boards ranging in 

widths from 6” to 9 3⁄4” set on 1 7/8” by 4” 

stud framing. The framing and sheathing of 

this wall is circular sawn and is newer than 

the other walls of the room. It is not known 

whether this wall was built late in the Smyth 

occupancy of the estate or by the 

Sandburgs. 

Doors: In the center of the room on its west 

wall is a board-and-batten door, modified to 

function as a two-part Dutch door, as 

discussed previously. The interior door 

casing is 4 1⁄2” wide, including a 3/8” bead 

and 1/8” quirk. A door opening in the center 

of the room on its east wall currently 

contains a rough wood gate opening into 

the adjacent Room 102B. This opening has 

two hinge leaves in place on the south jamb 

indicating that a door was once in place 

opening into Room 102A. It also retains a 

keeper on the north jamb for a rim lock. 

The opening is made for a 2’-10” by 6’-8” 

door. 

Windows: One wood six-over-six doublehung window is along the north wall. The 

bottom sash is missing one section of its 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.15 

horizontal muntin. The window’s interior 

casing consists of a 4” board with a 1⁄2” 

applied stop with 3/8” bead. 

Ceiling: The ceiling is sheathed in what is 

probably the original tongue-and-groove 

boards measuring 3⁄4” thick by 11” wide, 

with some 10 3⁄4” wide boards. 

Baseboards: Early, if not original, baseboard 

is present along the west and north walls. 

The baseboard is 3⁄4” by 5” and has a 3/8” 

bead with 1/8” quirk joint. Baseboard is 

missing along the early south partition wall, 

likely removed when the wash tubs and 

chimney were added. Baseboard has never 

been installed along the newer east partition 

wall.

Finishes: The walls and ceiling have 

evidence of early limewash in a cool gray 

color. The casings, door, and window sash 

also have evidence of early limewash.The 

flooring is unfinished. 

Mechanical Systems: None are present. 

Electrical Systems: An outlet mounted high 

on the west wall, just north of the door, is 

supplied by Romex wiring which extends 

along the ceiling to the electrical service 

point at the north wall.Two-wire knob and 

tubing extends along the ceiling near the 

north wall from the service point towards 

the east portion of the building. 

Plumbing Systems: A galvanized pipe near 

the firebox likely provided water for the 

wash tubs. It is no longer functional. 

Other Features: In the southeast corner of 

this room is a large chimney with a wide 

base containing an iron wash tub. The tub is 

a round-bottomed cast iron kettle 2’-8” in 

diameter. This feature was added early in 

the 1920s when a part of the building was 

converted from a nurse’s summer residence 

to a wash house serving year-round 

residents in the Main House. The kettle 

may have been reused from the earlier wash 

house, a building now known as the “Buck 

Figure C-42 Wooden trough with wire on west 

wall 

Figure C-43 Room 102B looking northwest 

House,” which is located much farther from 

the Main House. 

The base of the chimney, which supports 

the wash tub with firebox underneath, 

extends 5’-3” into the room from the south 

wall. The east wall of Room 102A bisects 

the chimney base, leaving 3’-6” of the base 

exposed in the room. In the corner of the 

room, the chimney proper measures 1’-10” 

by 1’-7”. A poured concrete hearth at the 

north side of the chimney base extends 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.16 

Figure C-44 Room 102B looking southeast 

Figure C-45 Door opening with wooden gate on 

west wall of Room 102B 

another 1’-11” from the firebox opening 

under the wash tub. A wooden trough is 

mounted on the west wall north of the door. 

Attached above the trough is a section of 

wire grid fencing, probably installed during 

the Sandburg occupancy to hold hay for 

their goats.

Room 102B: This room is the east portion 

of the north half of the building, and 

measures approximately 14’-7” by 7’-11”. It 

is accessed through a board-and-batten 

door on the east wall and, like the adjacent 

Room 102A, was used by the Sandburgs to 

house young goats. 

Flooring: The flooring is 1” thick tongueand-groove pine in widths from 5” to 5 1⁄4”, 

varying in 1/8” increments. The flooring 

appears newer than that of the south half of 

the building, and perhaps dates to the 1920s 

when the building was converted into a 

wash house. 

Walls: The east and north walls, which are 

exterior walls, are sheathed with 3⁄4” thick 

horizontal tongue-and-groove boards 

measuring 9”, 10”, or 11” wide. The south 

wall, which is an interior wall bisecting the 

building, consists of 3⁄4” thick vertical 

tongue-and-groove boards. These wall 

boards are early, if not original, 

components. The west wall is built of 1” 

thick vertical boards ranging in widths from 

6” to 9 3⁄4” set on 1 7/8” by 4” stud framing. 

The framing and sheathing of this wall is 

circular sawn and is newer than the other 

walls of the room. It is not known whether 

this wall was built late in the Smyth 

occupancy of the estate or by the 

Sandburgs. A vertical notch 13/16” wide 

and 3⁄4” deep on the north wall, located 2 3⁄4” 

east of the newer west wall, indicates the 

location of the original board wall 

separating the two rooms in the north half 

of the building. It is likely that the original 

wall was removed by the Smyths for the 

installation of the wash tubs. 

A small closet area in the southeast corner 

of the room is framed on its north side with 

modern, circular-sawn 2x4 lumber and 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.17 

sheathed in rough-cut vertical boards 

measuring 7 1/8” wide by 1⁄2” thick. The 

north portion of this enclosure appears to 

be a 1970s replacement of an earlier, 

possibly Sandburg-era, enclosure that 

appears deteriorated on record photos 

taken before the 1970s work. 

Doors: In the center of the room on its east 

wall is a board-and-batten door, discussed 

previously. The interior door casing is 4 

7/16” wide, including a 3/8” bead and 1/8” 

quirk joint, and is a reproduction installed 

in the 1970s repairs. The threshold in this 

location is also a reproduction. A doorway 

in the center of the room’s west wall 

contains a rough wood gate opening into 

the adjacent Room 102A. The gate is made 

of 2 1⁄2” by 3⁄4” unpainted wood slats and 

likely dates to the Sandburg period. This 

opening has two hinge leaves in place on the 

south jamb indicating that a door was once 

in place opening into Room 102A. The 

opening is made for a 2’-10” by 6’-8” door. 

A small board-and-batten door into the 

closet measures 1’-7” wide by 3’-10” tall. 

The door has two 3 1⁄2” by 3 1⁄2” five-knuckle 

butt hinges, a modern 3 1⁄2” by 3 3⁄4” rim lock, 

and 2 1⁄4” diameter steel knobs. Inside the 

closet, at the original south dividing wall, is 

a 1’-10” wide door into Room 101B. The 

door was created by cutting two of the 

vertical boards of the wall and adding 

battens. 

Windows: One wood six-over-six doublehung window is on the north wall. The 

window’s interior casing consists of a 4” 

board with a 1⁄2” applied stop with 3/8” 

bead. 

Ceiling: The ceiling is sheathed in what is 

probably the original tongue-and-groove 

boards measuring 3⁄4” thick by 10 3⁄4” wide, 

with some 11” wide boards. Two ceiling 

boards nearest to the east wall are newer 

circular-sawn boards measuring 6” and 9 1⁄2” 

wide by 7/8” thick. It is assumed that these 

ceiling boards were replaced when the 

adjacent electrical disconnect box was 

added in 1976. 

Figure C-46 Door at south wall of Room 102B 

Figure C-47 Ceramic light socket and knob-andtube wiring in Room 102B 

Baseboards: Early if not original baseboard 

is present along the east and north walls. 

The baseboard is 3⁄4” by 5” and has a 3/8” 

bead with 1/8” quirk. Baseboard is missing 

along the early south wall within the newer 

closet. It was likely removed when the wash 

tubs and chimney were added. Baseboard 

has never been installed along the newer 

west wall.
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.18 

Figure C-48 Galvanized pipe and interior of 

closet 

Figure C-49 Disconnect box on east wall of Room 

102B, with adjacent replacement ceiling boards 

Figure C-50 Room 102B looking southwest 

Finishes: The walls and ceiling have 

evidence of early limewash in a cool gray 

color. The window casings, door, and 

window sash also have evidence of early 

limewash. The framing and wall of the 

closet in the southeast corner is unpainted, 

as is the wooden gate leading to Room 

102A. The modern casing for the east 

board-and-batten door is painted. The 

flooring is unfinished. 

Mechanical Systems: None are present. 

Electrical Systems: Two-wire knob and 

tubing extends along the ceiling near the 

north wall from the adjacent Room 102A, 

then turns south near the midpoint of the 

ceiling in this room. A ceramic light socket 

near the center of the room is served by this 

wiring. The wiring continues south to the 

adjacent room 101B. A disconnect box is 

located on the east wall just north of the 

door. It is a fuse-type box rated for 125/250 

volts and 30 amps, made by General Switch 

Company. Two modern Romex wires 

extend up into the ceiling cavity from this 

box. Records on file indicate that this box 

was installed in 1976. 

Plumbing Systems: A galvanized pipe near 

the firebox, now located within the closet, 

likely provided water for the wash tubs. It is 

no longer functional. 

Other Features: In the southwest corner of 

this room is a large chimney with a wide 

base containing an iron wash tub. The tub is 

a round-bottom cast iron kettle 2’-8” in 

diameter, and retains a three-prong wire 

apparatus in the bottom. This feature was 

added early in the 1920s when part of the 

building was converted from a summer 

nurse’s residence to a wash house serving 

year-round residents in the Main House. 

The kettle may have been reused from the 

earlier wash house, a building now known 

as the “Buck House,” which is located much 

farther from the Main House. The base of 

the chimney, which supports the wash tub 

with firebox underneath, extends 5’-3” into 

the room from the south wall. The west 

wall of Room 102B bisects the chimney 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.19 

base, leaving 3’-8” of the base exposed in the 

room. In the corner of the room, the 

chimney proper measures 1’-10” by 1’-9”. A 

poured concrete hearth at the north side of 

the chimney base extends another 1’-11” 

from the firebox opening under the wash 

tub. On the east wall, adjacent to the 

chimney and now within the closet, is an 

early built-in shelf 2’-6” long and 12” deep. 

The shelf has graceful curved edges and is 

supported by brackets. It is likely an early, if 

not original, element.A wooden trough 

mounted to the east wall north of the door 

is topped by wire lattice attached to the wall 

above it and was most likely built by the 

Sandburgs to hold hay for their goats. 

Another wooden trough on the west wall 

was probably intended for grain. Two small 

openings to the exterior were added along 

the north elevation by the Sandburgs to 

allow the baby goats, called kids, access to 

the adjacent fenced pasture. One opening 

measuring 1’-6” by 1’-10” was cut under the 

window and is covered by a sliding board 

panel. Another opening measuring 1’-9” by 

3’-0” was cut directly adjacent to the east 

wall and is covered by a hinged board 

panel.A rechargeable fire extinguisher is 

mounted on the east wall, north of the door, 

and is earmarked as a dry chemical 

extinguisher for type B and C fires. The unit 

was made by Buckeye Fire Equipment 

Company and was inspected on February 

12; a year is not given with the date. 

The Second Floor 

The second floor is a half-story area with 

exposed wall and roof framing. Wall studs 

extend up from the floor about 3’-9” to a 4” 

by 7 5/8” plate supporting the roof rafters. 

Two large notches in the plates suggest that 

large tie beams were intended to connect 

the east and west walls; however, it appears 

that they were never installed. 

Room 201A: This room is the south portion 

of the upper half-story and measures 

approximately 14’-9” by 15’-7”. It was 

originally accessed through a door opening 

on its north wall, which is now blocked by 

the added chimney. Most of the north wall 

Figure C-51 Wash tub in Room 102B 

Figure C-52 Early shelf on east wall 

Figure C-53 Hinged goat door on north wall of 

Room 102B with adjacent feed trough

has been removed allowing this room to 

continue into the adjacent Room 201B, 

which has access to the exterior along the 

north wall. The historic function of this 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.20 

Figure C-54 Notches in top plate suggest collar 

ties; note painted sections of crown moulding along 

parts of top plate 

Figure C-55 Room 201A looking southeast 

Figure C-56 Room 201A looking north to early 

door opening and vertical board wall 

room is not known, but it may have been a 

sleeping area for older children of the 

servants. It is currently used for storage. 

Flooring: The flooring is tongue-andgroove pine in widths from 5 1⁄4” to 6 1⁄4”, 

varying in 1⁄4” increments. The flooring 

appears to be early, if not original, and is 1” 

thick. 

Walls: The west, south, and east walls, 

which are exterior walls, have exposed 

studs. A 4’-2” long portion of the early 

north partition wall remaining at the 

chimney consists of 3⁄4” thick vertical 

tongue-and-groove boards. The remainder 

of the north side of the room is open to 

Room 201B. 

Doors: In the center of the room on its 

north wall is a door opening, sized for a 2’-

8” by 6’-4” doorway into Room 201A. 

There are marks on the south jamb for two 

missing butt hinges with four nail holes per 

leaf. The doorway has 7/8” by 3 3/8” plank 

casing. The chimney immediately abuts the 

door opening in the adjacent room and does 

not allow access through the doorway. 

Windows: One window opening is along the 

south wall. Framed for a double-hung 

window, this opening is currently protected 

only by a single board-and-batten shutter. 

The window’s interior casing is a 4” board 

with an 1⁄2” applied stop with 3/8” bead. The 

applied stop is missing along the south jamb 

and the head. At the gable end housing this 

window, notches are visible at the outer face 

of each stud. The notches line up and 

suggest that the building was framed for a 

horizontal support in that location. These 

notches, along with large mortises for collar 

beams at the long sides of the building, 

possibly suggest that it was originally framed 

for an unoccupied upper story. The fact 

that the tie beam mortises and the gable end 

notches were apparently never used further 

suggests that during construction, the 

decision was made to add fenestration to 

the upper story and make it a habitable 

space. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.21 

Ceiling: The ceiling consists of exposed 

rafters and roof decking. The rafters are 3” 

wide by 3 5/8” to 4” deep at approximately 

24” on center, with a 3⁄4” by 4” ridge board. 

The rafter pitch is approximately 34 

degrees. The deck boards are random 

widths with 2”-4” gaps and waney edges. 

Baseboards: None are present. 

Finishes: All surfaces in this room are 

unfinished. 

Mechanical Systems: None are present. 

Electrical Systems: None are present. 

Plumbing Systems: None are present. 

Other Features: Along the south wall, near 

the middle of the building, three sections of 

reused painted crown moulding are nailed 

between the four adjoining roof rafters at 

the top plate. The origin of the crown 

moulding is not known, and its function, if 

any, is not known. 

Room 201B: This room is the north portion 

of the upper half-story and measures 

approximately 14’-8” by 15’-7”. It is 

accessed through a board-and-batten door 

along the north wall and a wooden ladder to 

grade below. The historic function of this 

room is not known; it is currently used for 

storage. 

Flooring: The flooring is tongue-andgroove pine in widths from 5 1⁄4” to 6 1⁄4”, 

varying in 1⁄4” increments. The flooring 

appears to be early, if not original, and is 1 

1⁄4” thick. 

Walls: The west, north, and east walls, 

which are exterior walls, have exposed 

studs. A brick chimney measuring 1’-10” by 

3’-10” is along the center of the south wall. 

On the chimney’s south face, a 4’-2” long 

portion of an early board wall consists of 3⁄4” 

thick vertical tongue-and-groove boards. 

The remainder of the south side of the room 

is open to Room 201A. 

Figure C-57 Window opening at south wall of 

Room 201A, with shutter closed and stud notch 

indicated 

Figure C-58 Room 201B looking southwest 

Figure C-59 Notches in studs at north gable end 

Doors: In the center of the room on its east 

wall is a board-and-batten door discussed 

previously. The door has a four-light 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.22 

Figure C-60 Door opening and transom on north 

wall of Room 201B 

Figure C-61 Romex wiring leading from service 

point to disconnect box below 

Figure C-62 Letter “P” inscribed on west 

top plate 

transom with elaborate muntins, likely reused from another location. The interior 

door casing is 4 3/8” wide, including a 3/8” 

bead and 1/8” quirk. 

Windows: None are present.

Ceiling: The ceiling consists of exposed 

rafters and roof decking. The rafters are 3” 

wide by 3 5/8” to 4” deep at approximately 

24” on center, with a 3⁄4” by 4” ridge board. 

The rafter pitch is approximately 34 

degrees. The deck boards are random 

widths with 2”-4” gaps and waney edges. 

Baseboards: None are present.

Finishes: All surfaces in this room are 

unfinished. 

 Mechanical Systems: None are present. 

Electrical Systems: Romex wiring extends 

along the north wall from the service point 

near the west corner, over the transom, to 

the north wall where it leads to the 

disconnect box in Room 102B below. 

Plumbing Systems: None are present. 

Other Features: Along the exposed top 

plate of the west wall, a large letter “P” has 

been elaborately inscribed. It is thought 

that this initial might have been added by 

the person “Peter,” referred to in 

Memminger’s account book, who is thought 

to have been a carpenter working on the 

initial construction of the building. In a 

small opening adjacent to the chimney 

exposing the floor cavity, small sections of 

painted baseboard seem to have been 

discarded. 

Utility Systems 

Documentary sources indicate that Ellison 

Smyth installed a battery-powered Delco 

electric lighting system for the Main House 

and probably the Swedish House in about 

1920, and that standard electric service 

arrived by 1935. The Sandburgs replaced 

much of the wiring in the Main House after 

their purchase of the estate in 1945.Like the 

south gable end, horizontal notches are 

present at the exterior face of the studs. 

It is not known when electrical service was 

added to the Chicken House/Wash House. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.23 

The age of the extant knob-and-tube wiring 

would indicate that it was likely installed 

late in the Smyth occupancy of the estate. 

The electrical service point is on the north 

elevation, near the west corner. The service 

is not currently operational.The building 

has likely never had a heating or cooling 

system because it was built to house 

servants in the summer months. 

Water service was originally provided at a 

hand pump located just east of the building. 

The pump is gone, but the stone basin 

remains. Running water had likely been 

provided in the Main House in the last 

quarter of the nineteenth century. Two 

galvanized pipes adjacent to the wash basins 

in Rooms 102A and 102B indicate that 

running water was provided in the Chicken 

House/Wash House by the Smyths. A hose 

bibb is located at the exterior near the 

northwest corner of the building, along the 

route of the galvanized piping. 

The Chicken House/Wash House remains 

in good condition. The repairs done in the 

late 1970s corrected deterioration in the 

framing and foundation and replaced the 

roof, essentially completing an exterior 

restoration of the building. The interior has 

been preserved with little change from the 

Sandburg era. Regular maintenance appears 

to have been performed. 

Deterioration is present at some points of 

the exterior. The siding is beginning to rot 

on the south elevation near the west corner, 

where the rebuilt foundation slopes back 

towards the building and water is pooling 

on the narrow ledge created. Bees were 

observed entering the exterior wall through 

a small hole in the siding between the 

windows on the north elevation, near sill 

level. Exterior paint is beginning to fail in 

some locations. 

Summary of Conditions 

The Chicken House/Wash House remains 

in good condition. The repairs done in the 

late 1970s corrected deterioration in the 

framing and foundation and replaced the 

Figure C-63 Painted sections of baseboard 

discarded in floor cavity 

Figure C-64 Stone basin at early well just east of 

Chicken House/Wash House 

Figure C-65 Hose bib at west elevation
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part I.C. Physical Description 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page I.C.24 

roof, essentially completing an exterior 

restoration of the building. The interior has 

been preserved with little change from the 

Sandburg era. Regular maintenance appears 

to have been performed. Deterioration is 

present at some points of the exterior. The 

siding is beginning to rot on the south 

elevation near the west corner, where the 

rebuilt foundation slopes back towards the 

building and water is pooling on the narrow 

ledge created. Bees were observed entering 

the exterior wall through a small hole in the 

siding between the windows on the north 

elevation, near sill level. Exterior paint is 

beginning to fail in some locations. 

 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part II. Treatment and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page II-1 

TREATMENT & USE

In the 1830s, Christopher Gustavus 

Memminger built an estate in the mountains 

of North Carolina, following the lead of 

several elite families from Charleston, South 

Carolina, who established Flat Rock as a 

popular summer destination. Memminger 

rose to prominence as the Secretary of the 

Confederate Treasury and was involved in 

several successful business ventures in 

Charleston. He was a slave owner and two 

structures he built at the estate he named 

Rock Hill were designated as “servants’ 

quarters.” 

After Memminger’s death, Rock Hill was 

sold to another Charleston family, the 

Greggs. Captain Ellison Adger Smyth 

bought the estate in 1900, after a short 

period of ownership by the Greggs. Smyth 

was also Charleston-born and was a giant in 

the Southern textile industry. Like his 

predecessors, Smyth used the estate, at least 

initially, for his summer home. During 

those months of residency, a variety of 

servants, including cook, butler and 

laundress, would be brought up from 

Greenville, South Carolina. A farm manager 

and his family lived there throughout the 

year. 

It was Smyth who gave Rock Hill the new 

name Connemara, reflecting his Irish 

ancestry. And it was the Smyth family who 

first lived in the Main House year-round, 

beginning in 1924. Smyth converted part of 

one of the servants’ quarters to a wash 

house, and his butler resided in the other. 

In later years, the house was frequently a 

destination for the Smyth’s grown children 

and grandchildren, as well as extended 

family of siblings and cousins. 

In 1945, Connemara was purchased by Carl 

and Lilian “Paula” Sandburg following the 

death of Captain Smyth. Sandburg, already 

a prolific and award-winning author, moved 

his wife and grown children into the Main 

House and their herd of goats into the farm 

buildings. Sandburg continued to write, 

completing over one third of his works after 

moving to North Carolina. As the 

Sandburgs did not have resident servants, 

they used one of the servants’ houses as 

storage for a massive book and magazine 

collection, and the other divided between 

chicken coop and housing for their kid 

goats. 

Carl Sandburg died in July 1967 at the age of 

eighty-nine. Mrs. Sandburg sold the 

property and donated the contents of the 

buildings to the United States government 

in order to establish a memorial to the 

writer at Connemara. The necessary 

legislation was approved in 1968, and Carl 

Sandburg Home National Historic Site 

opened to the public in 1974. 

With the Main House and grounds open, 

attention was turned to stabilization and 

restoration of the deteriorating 

outbuildings. The two servants’ quarters, 

called the Swedish House and the Chicken 

House by the Sandburgs, underwent 

exterior restoration in 1977-78. Both 

buildings have since been used as storage 

for the park; the interiors are not open to 

the public. 

A new General Management plan was 

completed for the park in late 2003. The 

selected alternative, called the “Sandburg 

Center Alternative” in the planning 

document, calls for the park to become an 

international focal point for learning about 

Carl Sandburg. It calls for “rehabilitating 

one or more historic structures near the 

main house or barn for interpretive program 

areas.”12

To that end, new historic structures reports 

were completed in fall 2005 for the Main 

 

12 Record of Decision: General Management Plan 

and Final Environmental Impact Statement for Carl 

Sandburg Home National Historic Site, p. 5. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part II. Treatment and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page II-2 

Figure B-1 Northwest oblique of Chicken 

House/Wash House, February 2007

House and the Swedish House. The 

Swedish House report recommends 

preservation of the building and notes that it 

has potential as a place for interpretive 

exhibits. 

This report is focused on documenting the 

historic evolution of the Chicken 

House/Wash House and analyzing options 

for its treatment. The Chicken House/Wash 

House retains much of its original building 

fabric from the Memminger period as well 

as significant alterations from the Smyth and 

Sandburg periods. The recommended 

treatment is restoration of the exterior to 

the Sandburg period and preservation of the 

interior of the building. 

The small size and unclimatized nature of 

the Chicken House/Wash House makes it 

unsuitable for display of fragile museum 

objects. However, the building interiors 

themselves might be displayed as artifacts. 

The two small rooms of the north half of the 

building would serve this purpose well with 

all three significant periods of use 

represented in the surviving building fabric. 

The now single large room of the south half 

could continue its use providing much 

needed storage or, with the removal of the 

NPS-installed shelving, interpret all three 

periods of significance. The upper level 

might continue to be used as storage space 

for the park. 

The building is in generally good condition. 

Opening the interiors of the building for 

interpretation may require the reconnection 

of the electrical supply for security and/or 

lighting, and perhaps likely some additive 

lighting. 

Accessibility is the biggest challenge to 

public use and interior interpretation, with 

the two entry door thresholds at 1’-1” and 

1’-3” above grade, and virtually no clearance 

between these doors and the service drive to 

the east of the building. Access through the 

rear would require conspicuous ramps or 

lifts that would compromise the integrity of 

the building and site. The recommended 

design solution is to provide visual but not 

physical access. The front door or doors 

could be fastened open during public 

visitation with a clear panel or other device 

blocking physical access into the interior. 

Another building, perhaps the garage, 

would be more suitable for the broader 

interpretive 

ULTIMATE TREATMENT & 

USE 

The Chicken House/Wash House at Carl 

Sandburg Home National Historic Site, 

built c. 1841 by C.G. Memminger, 

represents three significant eras at the 

estate. 

Built by Memminger as a servants’ residence 

at the estate he named Rock Hill, the 

building is an example of an antebellum 

vernacular structure which retains a large 

amount of original building fabric. 

Modified by Ellison Smyth to serve as a 

wash house at the estate re-christened 

Connemara, the building is an artifact of 

how elite Flat Rock estates functioned in the 

early twentieth century. 

Reused by the Sandburgs as a chicken house 

and kid barn, the building has a place in the 

interpretation of Connemara as the last 

home of author Carl Sandburg. 

The building retains physical characteristics 

from each of these three eras: basic form 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part II. Treatment and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page II-3 

and building fabric from the Memminger 

period, chimney and wash tubs from the 

Smyth period, and goat ramps and feed 

bunks from the Sandburg period. 

Subsequent changes made by NPS include 

repositioning of the exterior ladder, the 

addition of louvers to a south window, and 

installation of interior shelving. 

Considering these characteristics, the 

following recommendation is made. 

The Recommended Ultimate Treatment 

is to restore the exterior and preserve the 

interior of the Chicken House/Wash 

House. The north half of the first-floor 

interior can be interpreted by way of 

providing visual, but not physical, access 

to the public. The south portion and 

upper story should be closed to the public 

and used for storage. 

This approach would have the following 

advantages: 

• Restores and preserves the building to 

the Sandburg era consistent with the 

mission of the park, which is to continue 

the legacy of Carl Sandburg’s works and 

preserve Sandburg’s last home; 

• Preserves existing character-defining 

interior and exterior elements of the 

building’s principal era of significance, 

the Sandburg era; 

• Preserves existing character-defining 

interior and exterior elements from the 

Smyth and Memminger eras of 

occupancy, which also allows for 

interpretation of the estate on a broader 

historical scale; 

• Expands current interpretation 

opportunities to include part of the 

interior, and; 

• Provides much needed storage space 

close to the Main House. 

There would be disadvantages to this 

approach as well: 

• Diminishes interpretation quality for all 

three periods of significance by allowing 

only visual access to the north interior 

portion. 

• Limits interpretation of the primary 

period of significance when the south 

interior portion was used for chicken 

coop and the secondary periods of 

significance when used for servants’ 

quarters. 

• Limits interpretation of the secondary 

periods of significance when the upper 

level was likely used as servants’ sleeping 

quarters. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR 

TREATMENT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS operates under a 

General Management Plan completed in 

late 2003. The GMP calls for the park to 

become an international focal point for 

learning about Carl Sandburg. It calls for 

“rehabilitating one or more historic 

structures near the main house or barn for 

interpretive program areas.”13 

The Chicken House/Wash House was 

identified as having good potential for 

restoration/rehabilitation and for 

incorporation of interpretive media 

displays; however, as noted above, 

accessibility for interior interpretation 

would be difficult and would compromise 

the integrity of building and site. 

The National Park Service Cultural 

Resources Management Guideline (DO – 

28) requires planning for the protection of 

cultural resources on park property. 

In addition, Section 106 of the National 

Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) 

mandates that federal agencies, including 

the National Park Service, take into account 

 

13 Record of Decision: General Management Plan 

and Final Environmental Impact Statement for Carl 

Sandburg Home National Historic Site, p. 5. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part II. Treatment and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page II-4 

the effects of their actions on properties 

listed or eligible for listing in the National 

Register of Historic Places and give the 

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation a 

reasonable opportunity to comment. 

Treatment of the building and site are to be 

guided by The Secretary of Interior’s 

Standards for Historic Preservation Projects, 

the Americans with Disability Act, and the 

International Building Code. Threats to 

public life, safety, and welfare are to be 

addressed; however, because this is an 

historic building, alternatives to full 

legislative and code compliance are 

recommended where compliance would 

needlessly compromise the integrity of the 

historic building. 

ALTERNATIVES FOR 

TREATMENT 

In addition to the Recommended Ultimate 

Treatment discussed in Section II.B above, 

three other alternatives for the Chicken 

House/Wash House are discussed below. 

Alternative #1: Restore the exterior and 

south half of the first-floor interior, and 

preserve the north half and the upperlevel interior. The first-floor interiors 

can be interpreted by way of providing 

visual but not physical access by the 

public, while the upper story remains 

closed to the public and used for storage. 

This approach would have the following 

advantages: 

• Restores and preserves the building to 

the Sandburg era consistent with the 

mission of the park, which is to continue 

the legacy of Carl Sandburg’s works and 

preserve Sandburg’s last home; 

• Preserves existing character-defining 

interior and exterior elements of the 

building’s principal era of significance, 

the Sandburg era; 

• Preserves existing character-defining 

interior and exterior elements from the 

Smyth and Memminger eras of 

occupancy, which allows an 

interpretation of the estate on a broader 

historical scale; 

• Expands current interpretation 

opportunities to include the first-floor 

interiors, and; 

• Provides at the upper-floor level much 

needed storage space close to the Main 

House. 

There would be disadvantages to this 

approach as well: 

• Does not take full advantage of the 

potentially available interpretation 

opportunities for all three periods of 

significance by allowing only visual 

access to the first-floor interiors; 

• Requires additional research, primarily 

oral histories with family, friends, and 

others who might have visited the 

property during the Sandburg 

occupancy, to understand better how 

the south half of the building at first 

floor, the chicken coop, was treated and 

functioned, and; 

• Loses easily accessible storage space 

close to the Main House. 

Alternative #2: Restore the exterior, 

rehabilitate both halves of the first-floor 

interior for interpretive displays, and 

preserve the upper-level interior for 

storage. 

This approach would have the following 

advantages: 

• Restores the building exterior to the 

Sandburg era consistent with the 

mission of the park, which is to continue 

the legacy of Carl Sandburg’s works and 

preserve Sandburg’s last home; 

• Preserves existing character-defining 

interior and exterior elements of the 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part II. Treatment and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page II-5 

building’s principal era of significance, 

the Sandburg era; 

• Preserves existing character-defining 

interior and exterior elements from the 

Smyth and Memminger eras of 

occupancy, which allows for 

interpretation of the estate on a broader 

historical scale; 

• Provides at the upper-floor level much 

needed storage space close to the Main 

House, and; 

• Creates an additional “interpretive 

venue” for visitors by “...rehabilitating 

one or more historic structures near the 

main house” as dictated by the General 

Management Plan (GMP). 

There would be disadvantages to this 

approach as well: 

• Does not take full advantage of the 

available interpretation opportunities 

for all three periods of significance 

presented by the historic building fabric 

itself of the first-floor interiors; 

• Requires significant upgrades of 

electrical service and added modern 

lighting to properly illuminate exhibits, 

the installation and operation of which 

negatively impacts the historic building 

fabric by additional cutting for 

installation and additional lighting levels 

and associated heat for operation; 

• Raises the potential for fire by increasing 

the electricity needs well beyond the 

minimal service needs of the Sandburg 

occupancy; 

• Requires installation of a ramp or lift 

and entrance deck at entry points for 

accessibility by the handicapped; 

• Creates additional wear-and-tear to 

significant building fabric by increasing 

occupancy; 

• Creates additional maintenance costs to 

respond to the additional wear-andtear; 

• Loses easily accessible storage space 

close to the Main House, and; 

• Does not provide in the small cramped 

spaces a “high quality interpretive 

venue” as dictated in the GMP. 

Alternative #3: Restore the exterior of 

the Chicken House/Wash House and 

preserve the interior spaces for NPS 

storage, inaccessible by the public. 

This approach would have the following 

advantages: 

• Restores and preserves the building 

consistent with the mission of the park, 

which is to continue the legacy of Carl 

Sandburg’s works and preserve 

Sandburg’s last home; 

• Restores existing character-defining 

exterior elements of the building’s 

principal era of significance, the 

Sandburg era; 

• Preserves existing character-defining 

interior elements of the building’s 

principal era of significance, the 

Sandburg era; 

• Preserves existing character-defining 

interior and exterior elements from the 

Smyth and Memminger eras of 

occupancy as well; 

• Does not require additional research or 

modification to the building for 

implementation; 

• Provides easily accessible storage space 

close to the Main House, and; 

• Requires the least cost for 

implementation of the various options. 

There would be disadvantages to this 

approach as well: 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Part II. Treatment and Use 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page II-6 

• Does not take advantage of the 

opportunities presented by the interior 

spaces to interpret important aspects of 

the Sandburg occupancy, the principal 

period of significance; 

 • Does not take advantage of the 

opportunities presented by the interior 

spaces to interpret important aspects of 

the two secondary occupancies, and; 

• Does not fuel the oral history research 

effort that would be necessary to 

interpret the interior spaces more 

completely, the sources for which are 

rapidly diminishing in number. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

The Recommended Ultimate Treatment for 

the Chicken House/Wash House includes 

the restoration of the exterior and 

preservation of the interior to its Sandburgera appearance; the north half of the firstfloor interior would allow visual, but not 

physical, access by the public; the south half 

of the main-floor interior and the upper 

level would be preserved to continue their 

use as non-accessible storage areas. 

In so doing, the mission of the park is 

furthered by allowing for interpretation of 

the exterior of the building and at least part 

of the interior. In addition, major features 

from both the Smyth and Memminger areas 

are preserved. 

Specific Recommendations 

To achieve the Recommended Ultimate 

Treatment the following actions should be 

taken: 

• Remove stored items in the north room; 

• Reposition the ladder on the north 

elevation exterior to be aligned with the 

west window casing, as per period 

photographs;

• Disconnect but retain for interpretation 

the early electrical service components; 

install and discretely locate away from 

visual observation new electrical service 

for minimal lighting, if any, and security; 

• Install eye-and-hook or other device to 

secure in an open position the east 

exterior door to the north rooms; install 

interior gate or transparent shield to 

prevent physical entry into the interior 

rooms; 

• Seek additional oral histories from 

friends, relatives, and local citizens who 

might have visited the property to clarify 

various physical characteristics and the 

uses of the interior spaces during the 

Sandburg as well as other periods. 

Physical characteristics of special 

interest include the times of installation 

of the modern screen doors on the east 

elevation doorways, dividing wall in the 

north room, closet in the north room, 

shelves in the south room and the 

removal of the dividing wall in the south 

half of the main-floor space; 

• Seek additional oral histories from past 

and/or present NPS personnel to clarify 

the scope of repairs and modifications 

made during after acquisition of the 

property; 

• Conduct analyses of historic paints and 

finishes specifically of the interior while 

those coatings are still relatively intact; 

selectively search exterior at joints of 

adjacent materials for remnants of early 

paints and finishes (the exterior having 

been stripped in the lead abatement 

effort of 2001).
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC References 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page R-i 

REFERENCES 

Bailey, Louise Howe. From “Rock Hill” to 

“Connemara”: The Story Before Carl 

Sandburg. National Park Service, 

1980. 

C.G. Memminger Papers (#502) 1803-1915, 

Southern Historical Collection, 

University of North Carolina at 

Chapel Hill.

Hart, Susan. Carl Sandburg Home National 

Historic Site Cultural Landscape 

Report. Atlanta, GA: NPS-SERO, 

Division of Cultural Resources, 1993. 

Jones, Tommy. Carl Sandburg Home 

National Historic Site: Connemara 

Main House Historic Structure Report. 

National Park Service, 2005. 

Jones, Tommy. Carl Sandburg Home 

National Historic Site: The Swedish 

House Historic Structure Report. NPS, 

2005. 

Patton, Sadie Smathers. Flat Rock: Little 

Charleston of the Mountains. Hickory, 

NC: Sadie Smathers Patton, 1961. 

Pence, Heather Russo. Carl Sandburg Home 

National Historic Site: Archeological 

Overview and Assessment. Tallahassee, 

FL: Southeast Archeological 

Center/National Park Service, 1998. 

Steichen, Paula. “Hyacinths and Biscuits; 

The Life and Works of Carl 

Sandburg,” Handbook 117: Carl 

Sandburg Home. Washington, DC: 

NPS, Division of Publications, 1982. 

Steichen, Paula. My Connemara. New 

York: Harcourt Brace & World, Inc., 

1969. 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC References 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page R-2 
CHICKEN HOUSE/WASH HOUSE HISTORIC STRUCTURE REPORT 

Carl Sandburg Home NHS, Flat Rock, NC Appendix A 

2007 • JOSEPH K. OPPERMANN – ARCHITECT, P.A. • Page A-1 

APPENDIX: 

2007 As-found Drawings 

1. First Floor Plan 

2. Second Floor Plan 

3. East Elevation 

4. North Elevation 

5. West Elevation 

6. South Elevation 

7. Muntin and Casing Details 

8. Casing Details 

9. Typical Door Details 

10. Shelf Details 











As the nation’s principal conservation agency, the 

Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of 

our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. 

This includes fostering sound use of our land and water 

resources; protecting our fish, wildlife, and biological 

diversity; preserving the environmental and cultural values 

of our national parks and historical places; and providing 

for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The 

department assesses our energy and mineral resources and 

works to ensure that their development is in the best 

interests of all our people by encouraging stewardship and 

citizen participation in their care. The department also has 

a major responsibility for American Indian reservation 

communities and for people who live in island territories 

under U.S. administration. 

NPS D-47 November 2007