Most visitors know Moses Cone as the name of the beautiful Memorial Park beside the Blue Ridge Parkway. Most know very little about Moses H. Cone, the man who is the park's namesake.

Moses H. Cone was a man who made his immense fortune in the textile industry in the late 1800s. The company he created with his brother, Ceasar Cone, established in 1891, was called the Cone Export and Commission Company. The Cone Brothers Company focus at the turn of the century was on consolidating their assembly line. The Cone brothers moved their headquarters in 1894 from New York to Greensboro, North Carolina, where cotton fields, warehouses, and trains were all close at hand.

Inside this beautiful mansion is a unique Gift Shop featuring arts and crafts made by local Western North Carolina artists. For more information on art and culture of the Appalachian Mountains visit: appalachian-treasures.com

The increasing pace of commerce in Greensboro conflicted with the peaceful and natural existence desired by Moses and his wife, Bertha Cone. So, handing the presidency of Cone Export to his brother, Moses Cone and his wife, Bertha, purchased a huge 3,500 acres of land north of Blowing Rock, N.C. and settled there. Their new estate included Flat Top Mountain and Rich Mountain.

Blowing Rock, N.C., was, at that time, already becoming a resort town, which Cone sought to promote and develop through his own private contributions. Cone and his wife had no children, and philanthropic work kept them busy and content.

Cone donated generously to the public schools in Blowing Rock, N.C., quadrupling any monetary donations that the schools received. His generous contributions to the State Teacher's College, which would later become Appalachian State University, were instrumental in promoting higher education in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Cone wanted to be a good steward of his estate. For every tree that was cut down, Cone planted another. He also planted extensive pine forests and hemlocks, and had a passion for orchid cultivation.

In 1908, Moses Cone died at the young age of 51. His wife lived on the estate for another 39 years. Both are buried on a hill across the street from the manor, and their tombstones can be viewed by visitors.

At the time of her death, Bertha's will donated the Moses Cone Memorial Park to the Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, N.C. Later, in 1950, the Moses Cone Memorial Park was donated to the U.S. Government and has since been meticulously maintained.

The Moses Cone House Estate is open to the public for walking, hiking and mountain biking. There are stables on the property, along with 27 miles of carriage trails.

Craftsman's Trail is a 20-mile loop around the estate, which the Cones are said to have walked together every morning. A visitor might spend a nice leisurely afternoon wandering around the estate which encompasses vast fields and forests. A bass and a trout lake, both built by Mose Cone, are also on the estate. Flat Top Manor is the large, white house where the Cones use to live. It is beautiful and well preserved.

~Anthony Benjamin~