The Cone Manor — Attraction in Blowing Rock

We arrived at the Moses Cone Manor mid-morning on a Thursday to find a tour schedule for Friday thru Sunday posted on the staircase. I approached the woman at the desk about daily tours, to which she curtly replied the only one for that day had began at 11:00 am. This was not posted nor found via Internet or otherwise and contrary to all published material. Fortunately, she was not wearing a ranger uniform, but presumably, a volunteer. Her empty glance quickly returned to the something much more important on the desktop than my obviously annoying question. Thus, we were reduced to simply "touring" the first floor. Those open to the public consisted of five rooms, one for two video presentations of the Cones and associated history of the mansion, the central hall, two gift shops, and a gallery. One can decode original room usage from architectural diagrams posted on a side hall wall along with hints of the second floor (in case you also miss the tour). All the crafts in the gallery were truly unique, beautiful works and had those small price tags attached to them. The pricing of artwork eludes me, but I was left pondering just how many multi-millionaires are likely to travel down the Blue Ridge Parkway to this particular gallery. Even the cleverly painted watermelon seed earings were out of the income range of New York fund managers. I will note however, we have now switched to seeded melons, of course, saving the seeds. Also signed up for art classes. Sitting on the front porch and conversing with wonderfully delightful North Carolinians, we viewed a small portion of the lake through a shoreline overgrown with trees. Somehow, allowing the once groomed manor grounds to return to native woods seemed off. But so did turning the stable building into rest rooms, though admittedly convenient. The $125/person (maximum of seven) carriage rides certainly don't start there nowadays. Learning more about the life, accomplishments, and temperaments of Moses and Bertha Cone, along with other family members, we have little doubt over how they would feel about their beloved Manor and...

We drove the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time and made a list from the guidebook of each of the places we wanted to stop. The Moses Cone Manor was at the top of my list. I love history and have an interest in textiles, thus the scheduled stop at the Manor to learn more about Moses Cone.

Unfortunately, we were very disappointed as soon as we stepped into the Manor. It turns out that the house is a gift shop for regional artists. We asked about taking a tour of the house and we were told "No". We looked around the first floor of the house and discovered that a video would play which would tell the story of the Moses Cone house and family. When we asked to view the video, the lady in charge again said "No". She was not interested in accommodating anyone other than those who were there to buy something.

Granted, we were there about an hour before closing time, and we don't know how long the video would have lasted. Maybe there wasn't enough time to view it? (We later learned that it was only a 7 minute video.) But we weren't the only ones disappointed. Several other visitors came in behind us, only to be told that they couldn't tour the house or see the video either.

I probably should have researched the site thoroughly before putting it in my visit-list. Even though the Moses Cone Manor was donated to the National Park Service, it appears that the house is not easily accessed for tours. It made the visit very unpleasant since the employees were so unaccommodating. We were made to feel very unwelcome in a place that I really looked forward to seeing.

We did meet a very nice Park ranger, outside the Manor, by the carriage house. He was very friendly and gave us general information about the property and surrounding area on the Parkway. At least we met one nice...

Moses Cone Manor is a beautiful old estate that sits up high on the mountain just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is located at Mile Marker 294, not far South of the Boone/Blowing Rock entrance to the Parkway. The house, which is now part of the National Park system, was the Summer home of a textile magnate from Greensboro. The Manor itself houses a craft center which displays art from the local area on the first floor. But you should plan ahead and book the tour of the upper floors of the house, which is really the best part of this attraction. Get there a little early as parking can be tight, with many people ending up parking along the access road. You can rock on the front porch and enjoy the views while taking in the cool mountain air or browse in the craft shop while you wait to begin the tour. The park also has great trails for those looking to hike or horseback ride (Note, however, that bikes are not allowed). The lowest trail goes around Bass Lake (which can be accessed from the town of Blowing Rock) and is beautiful in the Spring/Summer/Fall. Right adjacent to the house is a short nature trail with many different trees labeled, or with a bit more effort you can hike slightly over 3 miles along the graveled carriage trails up to Flat Top Tower, a lookout the Cones had built to admire a 360º view of the mountains. Just down from the House are the Stables which have been converted into restrooms. There are plenty of places to stop and have a picnic if your so inclined. My son described it as a Poor Man’s Biltmore, but unlike the Biltmore Estate, the best part about this attraction is...