Lying within the city limits of Hendersonville, N.C. is Brookland – one of Flat Rock’s earliest summer retreats. According to Buncombe County records, Frederick Rutledge, a rice planter of Hampton Plantation on the South Santee River between Georgetown and Charleston, bought from Samuel McCarson on October 29, 1829, 277 acres in the Flat Rock settlement which later constituted the estate of Brookland.    Seeking a summer retreat, Rutledge and his brother-in-law, Daniel Blake, traveled to the wilderness of Western North Carolina with the idea of promoting Flat Rock as a summer resort for South Carolina’s aristocracy. Charles Baring, Judge Mitchell King, and Frederick Rutledge were the first Charlestonians to purchase land in Flat Rock.  

Frederick Rutledge studied medicine at The University of Dublin and later married his cousin, Henrietta Middleton Rutledge.  The couple had six children.  At Brookland, he built a small frame house now encompassed in the guest house adjacent to the main house.   When his young wife died, Rutledge was so distraught that he spent successive summers with his Blake relatives at the Meadows in nearby Fletcher.  He never remarried.  In 1835 he sold Brookland to Scottish-Charlestonian architect, Charles Edmundston who designed the Greek Revival-style Brookland. 

In 1977 Debby and Eugene Staton bought Brookland with ten acres of what was once a two-thousand-acre estate.   From the beginning, the two devoted their time to restoring Brookland to its original construction as well as conducting ongoing genealogical research of the home’s previous owners.  Given their passion for local history and the estate’s preservation, they also collected memorabilia and furniture pertaining to the historic property including the original deeds and key to the house.   

Among the caretakers for Brookland was John F. McGraw, Gene Staton’s great-grandfather.  His grandmother, Jannie Lee Gurley, was raised on the property in the 1920s and 1930s; and Gene Staton’s parents resided on the Brookland estate when their son was born.   “Granny walked down the driveway and set out on the present-day Spartanburg Highway to school in East Flat Rock, recalls Debby Staton.   From the time we purchased Brookland, Gene and I felt that we were now its caretakers.   For this reason, we worked endlessly to have Brookland placed on The National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and designated as a local Historic Landmark in 2014.  We also collaborated with Historic Flat Rock, Inc. to place a preservation agreement on the house and what remains of one of Flat Rock’s earliest estates and the only one now located within the current city limits of Hendersonville.  We wanted to make sure the remaining acres would never be developed,” Debby continued.     

In their drawing room, the Statons display portraits of Brookland’s antecedent summer residents.  The first, Frederick Rutledge who in 1829 built the small frame house believed to be within the present guesthouse was followed by Charles and Mary Edmonston who built the large house in 1836. Emundston insisted that the house be built of local virgin lumber sawn at the Oleetah Falls sawmill near the Little Hungry River and hauled by ox cart to the house daily.  The house is a two-story, double-pile building of frame construction, with a one-story, one-bay late nineteenth-century extension on the east side elevation.  Later when work was being done on the house in 1892, a board was uncovered bearing the inscription, “Charles Edmunston, architect 1836.”  In 1841, Edmonston sold the property to the British consul of Savannah, Edmund Molyneux and his wife, Eliza Herriott Johnston for $5,000.  Molyneux renovated the house, creating an English garden and working as an amateur farmer.  He and his wife spent the “sickly season” about six months(May to October) there until the outbreak of the Civil War when he was forced to return to England.   Molyneux died in 1864 in Europe and Brookland was abandoned. 

Brookland’s fourth owners were Major Theodore G. Barker and his wife, Louisa King, a daughter of Judge Mitchell King who was a founder of Flat Rock.  Major Barker, a Charleston attorney and Confederate veteran,  purchased the house and 400 acres in 1882 and acquired additional acreage through acquisition and inheritance; becoming the largest landowner in the county. At the time he bought Brookland, it had been seriously neglected and extensive work was needed on most of the land and the house.  Barker made numerous changes to the house, including the various Colonial Revival embellishments and the application of pebbledash to the exterior walls. He was also the first in the county to have running water which he achieved by raising the roof and installing a cistern in the attic.   Barker constructed the first dairy farm in the county and imported Devon cattle improving both the milk and meat production of local stock. He gave a generous right of way to the railroad for expanding the line into Hendersonville with a flag station built near the intersection of Brookland’s main drive and the railroad tracks.  Guests at Brookland were dropped off at the front door making the house an unofficial passenger depot. Barker named the entire estate Brookland Manor. 

Upon his death in 1917, Barker left Brookland to his wife, Louisa P. Barker.  According to Major Barker’s will, executors were allowed to sell off all or part of the estate as needed and this is what happened.   On November 1, 1918, approximately 161 acres, including the house were sold to Julia Ball Ficken and her husband Henry Horlbeck Ficken of Charleston.   In addition to the 161 acres, the Fickens acquired adjoining farmland and continued a small farming operation.  The Fickens changed the name of the house from Brookland Manor to Brookland House.  The name was later shortened to Brookland.  During the Ficken’s ownership, Gene Staton’s grandfather served as the caretaker.  His grandmother’s butter was a favorite of Mr. Ficken’s and she made butter every week to send on the train from Brookland to Charleston for him.   Heirs of the Fickens sold the property in 1869 with a portion becoming Brookland Manor, a subdivision surrounding Brookland on all sides. 

In 1968, the property (ten acres) was sold to J. Marion Ross, MD and his wife, Ann B. Ross, the author of the “Miss Julia” series of books.  They were the first year-round residents of Brookland and “Williamsburged” the house including heavy draperies and wall-to-wall carpet for warmth.  “It was not the feeling of a Flat Rock summer house,” said Debby Staton.    

When the Statons purchased the house, they resolved to restore it to its original mien.  “One of the first things we wanted to do was to clean the carpet until we could remove it, recalls Debby Staton.  We moved the second-floor bedroom mattresses to the dining room on the first floor for the two of us and our three children to sleep while the upstairs carpets were cleaned.  Awaking the next morning the children were covered in flea bites.  We called Southern Agriculture to help us rid the house of fleas.   It wasn’t long before we started to pull up all the carpets.  Gene and I did it ourselves – one nail at a time.  As we exposed the original flooring it made me think of all the people who had walked the floors of this house.”  

“Restoration of the kitchen included removing the old paneling on the walls.  “There was a fire in the kitchen in the 1920’s.  When we took the paneling off, the boards and beams were charred,” recalled Debby.   The Statons removed the pebbledash on the exterior of the main house and guest house to bring back the original siding of these buildings.  The deteriorated roof was replaced with Duraslate and the aluminum gutters were replaced with copper ones.    

When Henderson County’s boundaries were drawn in 1838, Judge Mitchel King was the largest landowner within them.  As there was neither a town nor county seat, he donated fifty acres to be used for a town site, and thus Hendersonville began.  Originally, Flat Rock had no boundaries until it was incorporated as a city in 1995.    Brookland and the surrounding neighborhood were in “no man’s land” before the City of Hendersonville annexed the subdivision in 1994.    

The Statons have created a grand home and showplace that some may call a museum.  A historic gem deeply within a heavily wooded ten-acre oasis, once inside the wooded cloister, the surrounding neighborhood of 1950s vintage homes disappears.  

Ladies Aid Society

On September 24th, The Ladies Aid Society of Flat Rock will hold its annual Silver Tea at Brookland; a rare and unique opportunity to see this beautiful home and to contribute to the society’s philanthropic endeavors.   Founded in 1880 by a group of public-spirited women, the Ladies Aid Society of Flat Rock is one of the oldest if not the oldest philanthropic organization in western North Carolina. Established by 13 prominent Charleston residents who spent their summers in Flat Rock, the group met at Ravenswood, the home of Mrs. John Grimke Drayton to form the society for the purpose of helping people in need.  Now, 144 years later, their vision and mission is being carried on by another generation of compassionate women working to make life easier for the less fortunate in Henderson County.

The Ladies Aid Society was originally established to provide care and support for local families who served as caretakers, gardeners, and household staff for Flat Rock’s summer estates. The members of the Society were concerned about the health and safety of those families who lived year-round in Henderson County.  Pooling their resources, the ladies provided needy families with food, clothing, firewood, and other supplies necessary for their well-being during the hard winter months in the mountains of North Carolina.  It also covered medical bills and purchases at local grocery stores for the elderly, frail, and families hit by disaster. 

Operating under the ministry banner of St. John in the Wilderness, the members held teas, bazaars, bridge parties and other events to fund their charitable giving.  For many years, the Society staffed a medical loan closet at St. John making available free-of-charge needed medical items.  From 1980 to 2016, the Society operated the Flat Rock Book Exchange on the bottom floor of the Old Post Office on Greenville Highway.  It closed when Historic Flat Rock created a museum of local history.

By 2004 the Ladies Aid Society expanded to include members of many denominations and it was determined that the Society would be better served as a stand-alone 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.    Comprised of long-term and seasonal residents, the focus of the LAS has always been to support the smaller, local charities that make a difference in Henderson County.  The group accepts applications from community organizations and votes annually on recipients of grants.   

In 2023, the Ladies Aid Society of Flat Rock provided financial support to:

Children & Family Resource Center
Council on Aging
Flat Rock Backpack Program
Four Seasons Angel Fund
Free Clinics
Hendersonville Rescue Mission
Open Arms Pregnancy Center
Safelight
St. Gerard House
True Ridge

To learn more about the Ladies Aid Society of Flat Rock visit their website www.ladiesaidsociety.org or contact them at lasfr1880@gmail.com. For those interested in attending the Silver Tea at Brookland, please RSVP to lasfr1880@gmail.com by Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

Resources:

Flat Rock, the Little Charleston of the Mountains - Sadie Smathers Patton

From the Banks of The Oklawaha Vol.1  - Frank L. FitzSimons

Hendersonville and Flat Rock, an Intimate Tour – Terry Ruscin

Glimpses of Henderson County North Carolina – Terry Ruscin

St. John in the Wilderness – Louise Bailey

National Register of Historic Places, Henderson County – Brookland

The Brookland Landmark Designation Report 

Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society

The Hendersonville Lightning – Bill Moss, Editor – November 2013

Missy Craver Izard was born and raised in Charleston, S.C. and resides in Flat Rock, N.C.    A retired Summer Camp Director and art teacher, Missy is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, journalist, community leader, and the recipient of several awards including the White House Champions of Change.