A Mansion in the Mountains: The Story of Moses and Bertha Cone and Their Blowing Rock Manor

by Philip T. Noblitt

This book tells the engrossing story of Moses and Bertha Cone, builders of the stunning Flat Top Manor in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Wilma Dykeman, a noted author of Appalachian books, said, "The most surprising fact about The Story of Moses and Bertha Cone and their Blowing Rock Manor is that it has waited so long to be told...This historic dwelling and the grandeur of its diminished but still significant natural setting once belonged to a family whose emergence reflects much of our national history. To suggest the scope of Cone family roots in America began with the arrival in 1846 of a seventeen-year-old German immigrant in backwoods of Virginia and his rise from a peddler to a successful merchant in Baltimore. His son, Moses Cone, became one of the country's leading textile manufacturers, Southern philanthropist, and builder of Flat Top Manor. Two of his daughters were intimate friends of Gertrude Stein and French painters of the period." Catheri! ne W. Bishir, author of North Carolina Architecture, said, "With a keen sense of the people and their times, Noblitt offers intriguing glimpses into the Cone family operation of textile mills and villages, the social life and manners in the mansion, the workmen who ran the estate grounds and orchards, and, not least, the adventures of Moses' art collecting sisters, Claribel and Etta Cone and their friendships in Paris with Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso and Henri Mattise. This is a great story, well told."

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[John Findlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

We just finished staying in Blowing Rock, NC, for a month, and did several hikes at the Moses Cone Park, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is a beautiful place to hike with 25 miles of carriage trails, two lakes, and two mountains, as well as the Moses Cone mansion. Some fellow hikers suggested buying this book in the giftshop at the mansion, and I am glad I did. I really knew nothing about Moses Cone and his wife Bertha, but they were much more important than I realized. The Cone mills in Greensboro, of which there were 3, produced the denim that was used in Levi jeans, and Moses Cone and his brother became wealthy. He built his mansion in Blowing Rock in a similar vein to the Biltmore Estate built by George Vanderbilt at the same time period in Asheville, but the Cone Mansion was less grand and built in a colonial style. For me, the magnificence of the estate is in the carriage roads and the scenery, more so than the house, although I have not had a tour of the house. It was fun to read about the estate AFTER having hiked many of the carriage roads and seeing both Bass Lake and Trout Lake. I suspect we will visit this estate again as the hiking is wonderful for those who no longer like to crawl over boulders repeatedly, as many of the other trails in the area require. If you are visiting Blowing Rock, you should buy this book.

[Jackie Coltrain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dense at times but a very thorough account of the Cone Family and their mountain manor.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting history of the Cone family and their estate at Blowing Rock, NC.

It's a shame that the manor house and grounds weren't preserved like when Moses and Bertha lived there.

[Liz Schimmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done Mr. Noblitt! Thank you for pursuing this written endeavor of beauty and education. This is the first of this type of book I have reviewed as to history and significance. It was very well presented as to how it came to be, what he influences were, and ultimately what happened to it after the Cone’s passed away. It takes you through the Cones’ lives, their tremendous contributions to what was good and right; however, after their deaths, it showed what happens to even the best intentions to carry on the heritage. Chapters 8 and 9 were very telling from the aspect of how finances and government involvement can impact the true preservation of of a grand country home. What is in the Manor now is not what is not indicative to how the Cone’s had decorated it which is a little disappointing but unless there are funds and someone to harness the vision of keeping it all in tact, all will take a toll as in most things in life. This is a very well-written book and the next time I go back to Moses Cone Park, I will certainly be remembering the many things in this book that I learned which will greater instill the love I already have for the Park with the knowledge of what it was previously and where certain things were on the property. I will definitely be reading more historically accurate books about parks and the like. Thank you!

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative book on Moses Cone, his family and manor in Blowing Rock NC. When I visited the mansion at Moses Cone Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway it was such a disappointment. There is a Craft store inside the mansion which seems to be a terrible way to preserve this beautiful historic place. Also, there is nothing and no one to describe the history behind why and how Moses Cone came to build the magnificent mansion. No tours, no one that works there knows much of anything about them and there are no plans to restore the home or grounds which is truly a shame. I was glad to have read this book that goes into interesting detail about Moses Cone, his wife, family, his large estate and how he came to build it, how it was run as a farm complete with numerous apple orchards, cattle, sheep and later a dairy farm (none of which have been preserved). Thanks to the author for bringing these facts into a single book. Hopefully one day the estate will be restored, furnished and informational tours will be given (similar to Biltmore). It is a shame that the park service runs a craft store in their former formal parlor for all these years.

[Priscilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but not particularly well written. Needs a good editor. As someone who visits Blowing Rock frequently, I was happy to learn about the origins of the house and the couple who built it. On my next visit, I will look at the rooms differently and imagine the family who furnished and inhapbited them so lovingly.

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but still very much a graduate thesis, barely edited for commercial publication. Even a local-interest history book needs more narrative cohesion than this.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating ladies.. fascinating lives.