The Carl Sandburg Home

 

As a poet and biographer, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) won three Pulitzer prizes. He won two for poetry, and one for history (Abraham Lincoln: The War Years.)

He and his wife Paula chose to escape the Chicago climate by moving to Hendersonville, North Carolina. In 1945, they bought the home they would remain in for the rest of his life. Here, Mr. Sandburg could devote himself to his writing, and Paula could pursue her many interests, especially raising goats on the farm.

There was nothing pretentious about their home. It housed 12,000 books and current issues of numerous issues of newspapers and publications.

Paula kept meticulous files profiling the pedigree of her hundreds of goats. It was a working home, designed around each of their pursuits.

Carl Sandburg died on July 22, 1967 in the company of his wife in her bedroom. His last word was reported to be "Paula." The next year, Paula sold the home as a National Historic site under the condition that the furnishings would remain exactly as they were. Even a cigar butt remains in the ashtray. The United States Department of the Interior has designated roughly 15 goats as a historic herd, descendants of Paula's goats.