[gentle guitar music] - Carl Sandburg was a first-generation American, and he was a poet, author, biographer, journalist, song collector, and reflected the voice of America through his words.

- [Deborah] He was from Illinois before moving south later in life.

- Sandburg and Mrs. Sandburg came here in 1945, and it was actually at his wife's prompting.

She wanted greener pastors for the goats and a milder climate.

He said, "Just give me a quiet place where I can write."

And they found this amazing 245-acre estate that offered all of that.

- [Deborah] Lillian was a scholar from Michigan, and although writing was Carl's passion, goats were hers.

- Mrs. Sandburg's background was in Latin and English.

She went to college at a time when most women didn't have that opportunity, and she graduated from the University of Chicago with honors.

While studying, she also liked to explore genetics.

And so that was really her connection to the goats.

- [Deborah] Mrs. Sandburg became a respected expert on dairy goats and grew her prize-winning herd to nearly 200 on the property.

Simultaneously, Carl grew his collection of writing there.

- So Sandburg was 67 years old when he moved here, and he still produced a third of his life works.

He wrote his own life story.

He condensed his six volume biography of Abraham Lincoln, and he collected his entire work of poetry.

- [Deborah] Their property in Flat Rock was never lacking in places of inspiration.

- And one of his favorite places was on the rock up behind the house.

He had an old wooden chair that sat up there, and he said, "It is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself, to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask of himself, who am I?

Where have I been, and where am I going?"

And he loved to write upstairs in the room he called, "My little garret where I dirty paper."

- [Deborah] The house was a 9,000-square-foot country Greek Revival home finished in 1839.

Previous owners added electricity and running water and dubbed it Connemara.

The Sandburgs kept the name, but Lillian would need to add bookcases.

- [Ginger] Yeah, she added lots and lots of bookcases to hold the 14,000 books that were to arrive.

- [Deborah] But after Carl's death, she sold the home to the National Park Service and donated its contents in 1968.

- Visitors to the park have an opportunity to like literally walk back in time.

The home has everything in it that the Sandburgs enjoyed.

So it reflects their life ways.

The thousands of books are still on the shelf.

The letters are still sitting on the desk.

The table is set for dinner.

It looks like they just went out for a walk.

- [Deborah] Assuming they would only feature the work of her husband, Lilian sold off her entire herd of goats.

- Her accomplishments within the dairy goat community were huge.

So the National Park Service was able to trace back the goats that she sold.

They bought them back, brought 'em here to the property, and we have had them ever since.

Come on, girls!

- [Deborah] Today, guests can spend time with the descendants of her famous goats and walk the trails the Sandburgs did, all five miles of them.

- It's gorgeous, yeah.

- Beautiful day and the hiking was great.

- We hike this park probably four or five times a week.

- [Deborah] Carl and Lillian found peace here.

For a brief time, quests can too.

- That's the power of the sense of place is that you are where history happened.

You're walking on the same ground.

You're walking in the same footsteps.

It's not some ambiguous concept that you're reading about.

You are actually there where it happened.

[gentle guitar outro music] - The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site is at 1800 Little River Road in Flat Rock, and it's open Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

For more information, give them a call at [828] 693-4178 or go online to nps.gov/carl.