A May
8, 1903 Sylvan Valley News article titled, “A Visit to Lake Toxaway” provides a
vivid picture of scenery, both natural and man-made, surrounding Transylvania’s
Toxaway Inn in the early 20^th century.

Visitors
typically arrived by train at Toxaway station and took a carriage to the lake
and Inn.  The author describes the short
journey, “You make a turn in the road and Lake Toxaway bursts into view; you
behold a panorama unequalled in America. 
You see before you a lake, crystal clear, having a circumference of over
15 miles with low, rolling shores, sand covered beaches and primal forest
extending to its very edge. To one who does not know the lake appears natural
and as old as the surrounding hills—the dam is inconspicuous.” Those “hills” include
Cold Mountain and Mount Toxaway.

Mountains surround Lake Toxaway.  Note the launch on the lake in front of the lake in front of the Inn and the boathouse to the far right.

The
article includes a detailed description of the earthen dam constructed between
two hills on either side of the river shortly before it plunges over the falls.
 The dam was designed by Mr. Kitchen, a leading
civil engineer from the University of Illinois. 
Capt. Thomas S. Boswell, also a civil engineer, was the personal
superintendent for the crew of local day laborers. 

The
initial step was to clear the dam site to the bedrock and blast a trench six
feet wide and four feet deep the entire length. 
Stone and top-grade cement was used to fill the trench as the central
foundation.  It was topped with an eight
foot wall of the same materials.  Above
and on each side of this a puddled clay core made the dam water-tight and added
strength.

Finally,
huge boulders weighing between 500 and 4,000 pounds each were used to construct a retaining wall along the lower side of the dam. 
The article states, “The upper side is also covered in like manner with
huge boulders, and for ten feet (3 feet under and 7 feet above the water line)
has a facing of heavy oak planks to prevent any wash from waves.  The dam rises 9 feet above high water mark
and is 60 feet thick at the water line.  At
the bottom it is 280 feet thick.”

Guests stroll along the causeway to the Lake Toxaway boathouse.

The resulting
640-acre lake was a mile wide and three miles long.  It held more than five billion gallons of fresh
mountain water from the Toxaway River and its tributaries.  Several types of boats—from row boats, canvas
canoes and sail boats to naphtha (steam) and electric launches—were available
for pleasure seekers to enjoy a day on Lake Toxaway.

Photographs
and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina
Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular library
hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional
photographs. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact Marcy at [email protected]
or 828-884-1820.