Stories

Each of our blog features stands alone as a story of its own, and some of the collected stories create a chronological series. If you prefer to read all of the stories on a particular subject, see the blog series information below.

“Out of shared telling and remembering grow identity, connection, and pride, binding people to a place and to one another.”

— Tom Rankin, folklorist


INDIVIDUAL BLOGS

1960s Lake Toxaway NC refilling the lake

The Return of Lake Toxaway: Refilling the Lake and Building Roads

With the dam construction complete, Lake Toxaway Company employees, many of them locals, got to work on the lakebed clearing trees in advance of the refilling water and/or around the lake on road construction projects.
Lake Toxaway NC dam and lake construction, 1960s

The Return of Lake Toxaway: Clearing the Lakebed and Rebuilding the Dam

Rebuilding Lake Toxaway presented many challenges - initially many of the same ones that the Toxaway Company faced at the turn of the century.
Donny Boyd and Reg Heinitsh Sr., Lake Toxaway NC 1960s

The Revival of Lake Toxaway

Darnell "Donny" Boyd and Reginald Heinitsh Sr. are generally considered the catalysts for the revival of present-day Lake Toxaway. Here's how they got started.
Caretaker Toxaway Inn, Tolvin Miller

The Lost Years Of Lake Toxaway

After the Lake Toxaway dam burst in the flood of 1916, the property sat abandoned for many years, with only caretaker Tolvin Miller and his family nearby.
PARI scope

The Learning Center at PARI: Science In Our Backyard

The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) has a fascinating history - and it's right in our own Historic Toxaway backyard!
damburst-400x400

The Lake Toxaway Dam Burst

The torrential rains of the summer of 1916 proved to be too much for the Lake Toxaway dam. When it failed, it sent 5B gallons of water over the falls toward the South Carolina border.
Turn of the century wedding

Financial Foibles in the Sapphire Country

For a number of financial reasons, the resorts in the Sapphire Country changed management leases frequently in the years following the opening of the Toxaway Inn.
Lake Toxaway Dam to Dam Swim

A Labor Day Tradition: The Lake Toxaway Dam to Dam Swim

A random idea tossed among friends was the humble beginning of the Lake Toxaway Dam to Dam Swim, a Labor Day tradition since 1994.
Toxaway NC train depot

Early Success At The Toxaway Inn

With early success, the Toxaway Company investments in the Sapphire Country resorts seemed well-founded. The region—and specifically the Toxaway Inn— was “the” place to see and be seen!
Toxaway Inn, Lake Toxaway NC

Opening Day at the Toxaway Inn

Finally — the grand Toxaway Inn opens in the beautiful Sapphire Country, and it's all that the guests of the Toxaway Company could hope for.
Toxaway Inn view from above

The Building of Lake Toxaway and the Toxaway Inn

To great accolades, and despite obstacles, the enormous Toxaway Inn project was complete enough to open toward the late part of the 1903 summer season. 
Postcard, the Franklin Hotel, Brevard NC

The Franklin Hotel: Gateway to the Sapphire Country

The Franklin Hotel was built in Brevard by the Toxaway Company as a gateway stop for their guests to the Sapphire Country, and in repayment to Brevardians for investment help to build a railway between the two.

BLOG SERIES

Turn of the Century Toxaway

Postcard, Toxaway Inn, Lake Toxaway NC

The Toxaway Company and the Great Resort Era
The Fairfield Inn: Then and Now
The Sapphire Inn & Cottages: Then & Now
The Lodge At Mount Toxaway: Then & Now
The Franklin Hotel: Gateway to the Sapphire Country
The Building of Lake Toxaway and the Toxaway Inn
Opening Day at the Toxaway Inn
Early Success at the Toxaway Inn
Financial Foibles in the Sapphire Country
The Lake Toxaway Dam Burst
The Lost Years of Lake Toxaway

RELATED
Life & Work of Early Area Photographers
A 1900s Transylvania County Home: R.H. Scadin

The ’60s Rebirth of Lake Toxaway

Boyd and Heinitsh

The Revival of Lake Toxaway
The Return of Lake Toxaway: Part 1
     Clearing the Lakebed and Rebuilding the Dam
The Return of Lake Toxaway: Part 2
     Refilling the Lake and Building Roads
The Return of Lake Toxaway: Boyd and Heinitsh
The Return of Lake Toxaway: A Video Documentary

RELATED
Neighborhoods: Burlingame

The History of the Greystone Inn

Moltz Mansion

A Biography of Lucy Camp Armstrong Moltz – Part 1
A Biography of Lucy Camp Armstrong Moltz – Part 2
Local Historian Showcases Lucy Camp Armstrong Moltz
The Evolution of The Moltz Mansion
The Birth Of The Greystone Inn
The Greystone Inn: The Lovelace Years
Re-Imagining The Greystone Inn

RELATED
A European Grand Tour Diary (3-part series)
A Greystone Inn Extended Family Story (4-part series)


WHAT A TIME…

And don’t forget to check out our What A Time… stories in issues of The Quill Newsletters—featuring smaller historical bits you might also find of interest!