Lake Toxaway

Lake Toxaway is the largest privately held lake in North Carolina. The lake, developed by the Lake Toxaway Company, is man-made and covers 640acre 60ft, and the shoreline is 14mi. Water sources for the lake include multiple free flowing mountain streams with the Toxaway River being the main source. The lake flows out onto Toxaway Falls and then continues down the Toxaway River.The main road through the Lake Toxaway area is U.S. Highway 64, a typical mountain road, winding with tight turns. Lake Toxaway history encompasses two distinct periods of time. The first era began in 1890 and ended when the earthen dam collapsed in 1916. The second era began when the Lake Toxaway Company purchased the land and rebuilt the lake in 1960.First EraIn 1890, E.H. Jennings came to Transylvania County, North Carolina from Pennsylvania and established several businesses, one of which was the Toxaway Company. Lake Toxaway was filled originally in 1902 by E. H. Jennings, who visited what is now Lake Toxaway in the 1890s and saw that the area held great potential. The area became known as the "Switzerland of America" and encompassed several fabulous resorts created by Jennings such as the Fairfield Inn, The Sapphire Inn, the Lodge, the Franklin Hotel and the Toxaway Inn. The resorts could not have been developed if Southern Railway had not built a rail system from Asheville, which, incidentally, was the steepest railroad system in the United States. The arrival of the railroad coincided with the creation of the Lake and the opening of the Toxaway Inn in 1903. The Lake and the Inn were magnificent achievements for their time. Lake Toxaway was the first artificial lake built in the Appalachian Mountains, the earthen dam was 500ft long, 60ft high and 20ft wide at the top.