Moses Cone

More than 200 guests attended The Denim Ball on Thursday, Sept. 15, at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park in Blowing Rock, N.C. The event surpassed its previous fundraising record, garnering $240,000 in support for continuing improvements at Moses and Bertha Cone’s former 3,500-acre estate.

Mother Nature was gracious and parted the rain clouds just in time for the third annual Denim Ball on Friday evening at Chetola Resort. The event raised $115,000 for repairs and improvements at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park thanks to an outpouring of support from individuals, sponsors, local businesses, and the community. More than 230 people attended to celebrate the remaking of history at the estate located at milepost 294 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we are highlighting the life and work of Bertha Cone. Moses H. Cone Memorial Park in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, may bear the name of its philanthropist and conservationist founder, but after his untimely death a mere 10 years after the estate’s completion, his widow, Bertha, took up managing its 3,500 acres for nearly 40 years afterward.

Each spring, Flat Top Manor at Moses H. Cone Memorial Park is one of the first sites on the Blue Ridge Parkway to open, thanks to the fine folks who run the Parkway Craft Center. Right now, there is plenty of behind-the-scenes activity at the home in preparation for opening day on March 30.

We've got exciting news! Moses H. Cone Memorial Park has been named a 2016 Centennial Challenge project. That means the Foundation, with your help, is getting a running start on a multiyear fundraising effort to repair and rehab the historical estate in the High Country of North Carolina. The Centennial Challenge program, designed to address needs in all National Parks, will provide financial support to update the fire suppression system at Flat Top Manor. We're raising $411,000 for the project with a match of nearly $300,000 from Congress. But this important project is just the start.

The Foundation launched its multiyear fund-raising initiative for Moses H. Cone Memorial Park in conjunction with Lees-McRae College Summer Theatre’s performances of The Denim King in Banner Elk, North Carolina. At the reception hosted by Kristen and Janet Cone, guests enjoyed delicious bites and drinks and learned about preservation plans for this estate on the National Register of Historic Places.