Actors often tell stories of the “big break” that altered the course of their lives and careers. Stories typically involve one last casting call before giving up on their dream, or a chance meeting while struggling to make ends meet as a waiter at a local bistro. For Flat Rock Playhouse Vagabond legend, Scott Treadway, his big moment transpired in a place familiar to anyone that’s ever been to the Playhouse - during the organized chaos of Playhouse parking.

The site of the Markley Blacksmith Shop was of such significance that Historic Flat Rock, Inc. erected a marker in 2013 commemorating the location on West Blue Ridge Road where the shop once stood. The legacy of the small blacksmith shop started by John Markley endures and is recounted here through extracts of various accounts and articles written about the Markley family through the years.

Little Rainbow Row is now such a common phrase in the local lexicon, it is easy to assume that the colorful moniker applied to the village business district has always been a part of the historic tapestry of Flat Rock. In reality, however, the brightly painted buildings that define Little Rainbow Row are a relatively new addition to the Village’s already colorful 216-year history.

As a child, Flat Rock resident Denise Cumbee Long heard from her father that she was a descendant of Scottish ancestors bearing the surname MacCumbee which later was shortened and altered to her maiden name of Cumbee. Intrigued by the family lore, Denise decided to trace her roots back to her Scottish ancestors. Her path to Scotland, however, took a very unexpected turn southward as Denise ultimately traced her paternal ancestry not to Scotland but to West Africa in the 1600s.

She recently shared her surprising story with the Genealogy Society at Flat Rock …

In December of 2003, Howard Molton was delivering a Christmas gift at WTZQ when he ran into local radio legend, Frank “Hollywood” Jones. At that time, Hollywood was manager of the Skyland Arts Cinema in Downtown Hendersonville and Howard told him how much he and his wife Barbara loved the cinema. He casually added that he would enjoy doing something like that someday. Hollywood suggested he call the owner and inquire about the possibility of buying the theater.

Intrigued, Howard made the call. Three weeks later, he and Barbara were the new owners of Skyland Arts Cinema - and about to embark on an adventure full of many unexpected twists and turns that has spanned nearly two decades.

Visitors to Flat Rock Playhouse arrive expecting to be entertained by some of the most professional theater and musical productions offered anywhere in the Southeast. What they don’t expect, however, is to see professional landscaping and the series of beautiful gardens that adorn the expansive Playhouse campus.