To Protect and Preserve: Historic Flat Rock's Legacy to Keep, Part 1, Flat Rock's History The first hour of the Award-winning Historical Documentary Film, To Protect and Preserve: Historic Flat Rock's Legacy to Keep, Part 1, Flat Rock's History, will be screened at Pack Memorial Library on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. The event is free to the public.
The film begins in the land of the Cherokee, revealing their way of life and attitudes toward stewarding the land, water sources and trading. The story continues with the Early Explorers, First Settlers, Charlestonian Rice Planters, Enslaved and Freedmen, impacting transgenerational descendant lives to this day. Interviews include Historian and Author Alexia Helsley, Cherokee Scholar Tom Belt, descendants of the first families, a slave descendant, and preservationists and residents, showcasing a wealth of stories and history specific to Flat Rock. The archivally rich film includes photos, maps, blueprints, literature, and art from diverse repositories. Buncombe County Special Collections at Pack Memorial Library has contributed a trove of archival photos from its African American and Flat Rock Collections. Designed to educate and inspire all ages and demographics, the film unveils its unique and hidden history as a small American village established in the early 1800s in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Flat Rock is the largest historic district in our state. Historic Flat Rock, Inc. was founded in 1968 as a non-profit volunteer organization of community residents, preservationists and conservationists who protect the Flat Rock Historic District. Its mission is to “Protect and Preserve” houses, churches, woodlands, and open spaces as well as promoting its cultural history through education.
The filmmakers of One Life, One Legacy Films made discoveries in the archives of St. John in the Wilderness Church in Flat Rock that led them to uncover transgenerational connections to living descendants that they could actually bring to the screen. Wanda Horne, a 5th generation black woman, whose parents were the first enslaved couple married in 1855 at St. John-in-the-Wilderness, tells stories of growing up in East Flat Rock with her extended family. Her Aunt Blanche was a pivotal part of their family and was employed by a white family headed by Dr. D.I.C King. King is a descendant of Judge Mitchell King who was a slave owner in Flat Rock, as well as known for giving the land to settle Hendersonville. Dr. King was the physician for all of the Williams family and the new generation of their children. His son, Rick, tells of how Blanche was their nanny, their cook, “their everything”, and how she and his mother would build things together. This one story of black and white connections enriches our understanding, serving as the catalyst in connecting families to our universal histories within our community from generation to generation. There are countless hidden stories yet to be uncovered and threaded together to enlighten us all. Filmmakers Patricia Bradley and Michelle Mullen wish to encourage others to bring their community’s and family’s important histories to life, which help us understand our past and present stories.
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