There is no opening date for Carl Sandburg Home yet.

Esteban Parra
| USA TODAY NETWORK

Carl Sandburg House National Historic Site officials provided an update Thursday, explaining what needs to be done before the park can reopen.

The park was closed after Tropical Storm Helen damaged the 270-acre site in late September, damaging parking lots, trails, bridges, culverts and sewer lines. The hurricane did not cause serious damage to the park’s historic buildings or museum facilities.

“Since the failure of the Front Lake Dam in August 2022, the Front Lake Trail has become the primary hiking route into the park for our 150,000 annual visitors,” Polly Angelakis, park superintendent, said in a press release. “Hurricane Helen destroyed two small bridges on this trail and eroded adjacent banks, making the trail impassable. The park is working with contractors to resolve these issues.”

Park officials do not know when the park will reopen.

Located in Hendersonville, this site was the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and novelist Carl Sandburg, whose collections of short stories chronicled the plight, struggles, joys and hopes of the American people.

His wife Lillian raised goats there.

Goats and other livestock passed through Helen safely, park officials said. Until Carl Sandburg Lane was cleared of downed trees, park employees had to make their way through the park to feed and care for the animals.

Officials said crews are working to remove downed trees, repair trails, drains and washouts, and repair and replace fences.

“In addition, a culvert along the shuttle route into the park was severely cut,” Angelakis said. “It needs to be repaired before the shuttle can continue on its normal route. We are doing these repairs.”

Esteban Parra is a guest reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware. Parra is helping Citizen Times reporters cover the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helen. Send tips or story ideas to [email protected].