Flat Rock’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 6 old photos of Flat Rock. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusFlat Rock is a census-designated place (CDP) in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. The name "Flat Rock" stems from the community's granite quarry. The granite quarry is the largest open-face granite quarry in the world, and has been mined continuously since 1889 by the North Carolina Granite Corporation.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,556 to 1,326 (-15%). Half of its homes were built before 1965.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Flat Rock yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Flat Rock’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Flat Rock’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo3 archive items have no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewSt. John's in the Wilderness, 1900: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Flat Rock, decade by decade
1970s
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as St. John's in the Wilderness (1900) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.