Restoration work continues on Flat Top Manor at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park thanks to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation/BRPF

Each year, more than 250,000 visitors make a stop at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, North Carolina. They stroll the nearly 25 miles of carriage trails on the 3,500-acre estate, travel back in time with a ranger-led tour of Flat Top Manor, or simply sit on the porch and enjoy the view of Bass Lake in the distance below.

Every trip to the park links back to the hospitality of denim magnate Moses H. Cone himself, who insisted the public could come enjoy the bucolic grounds of the country retreat he began creating in late 1800s. Cone developed the property as a gentleman’s country estate. He was not only a successful entrepreneur, he was an inquisitive gentleman farmer who experimented with agriculture. Beginning in 1897, he carefully created an impressive country retreat featuring carriage trails, lakes, apple orchards, fields, and forests. His vision was influenced by a great regard for the natural landscape.

Before his untimely death in 1908, he constructed Flat Top Manor as the centerpiece of this idyllic mountain estate. After his passing, his wife, Bertha, operated the estate for nearly 39 years, adhering to his original concept.

The 3,500-acre estate became part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in 1949. Moses H. Cone Memorial Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, but with ever declining federal funding the parkway has not been able to maintain the property in a fashion deserving of this valued historical site.

The landscape and Flat Top Manor are in serious disrepair, the iconic stonewalls are crumbling, and there are few interpretive materials to tell the story of the estate. That’s why, in 2016, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation set out to raise $3 million to meet the most pressing needs of this unique place.

Support for the renovation and preservation efforts are already making a visible impact. Last year, the estate buzzed with activity as the manor underwent repairs, including the installation of a new roof and balustrade, and a crew with the American Conservation Experience cleared the carriage trails of overgrown vegetation.

Though the work had begun, the Foundation still must raise $1 million to reach its goal and secure the future of the park. To learn more about this fascinating place and how to help, visit brpfoundation.org.