Nature's Playground

The Smithsonian traveling exhibit, Hometown Teams, is now up at the Library.  As part of the Museum on Main Street program the goal is to bring the Smithsonian to small towns across America and to connect local history and resources with the communities across the nation.  While the exhibit is here Picturing the Past will be featuring stories of how sports have shaped Transylvania County.

Tennis at the Franklin Hotel in Brevard.

Although the exhibit features traditional sports and their impact on American culture it purposefully does not define sports.  In Transylvania County recreational sports and activities have played an important role since the late 1800s.   Early advertisements and tourism brochures urged city dwellers to enjoy the outdoor life in “Nature’s Playground.” 

Thousands of visitors came for clean mountain air and water and the cool summer climate.  They took full advantage of the leisurely lifestyle and recreational activities offered at exclusive mountain resorts and homey boarding houses where the emphasis was on health and relaxation. 

Fairfield Inn on Lake Fairfield was actually in Jackson County but visitors travelled through Brevard and Transylvania County to reach the resort.  Fairfield offered swimming, boating, fishing and horseback riding.  The last standing of the famed resorts, Fairfield Inn burned in 1986.

Sapphire Inn on Lake Sapphire provided boating, fishing and horseback riding for its guests.  The Sapphire Inn was destroyed by fire on July 25, 1906.

A day on Lake Toxaway.

The most developed of the mountain resorts in terms of recreational offerings was Toxaway Inn on Lake Toxaway.  In addition to boating, fishing, horseback riding and swimming, Toxaway Inn had a golf course and tennis courts.  The Toxaway Inn closed after the dam burst on August 13, 1916 draining Lake Toxaway.

Although Toxaway Inn was torn down in 1947, Lake Toxaway was revived by Reginald Heinitsh, Sr. in the early 1960s.  Today Lake Toxaway offers boating, fishing, swimming, golf, tennis and croquet to residents and visitors.

With the creation of the Pisgah National Forest in 1916 thousands of acres in Transylvania County truly did become a natural playground for those with less financial means as well as the wealthy.  In 1938 the Pisgah Forest Highway (Hwy 276) was built and construction on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Mount Pisgah to Beech Gap began in 1939 expanding access to recreational opportunities throughout the Pisgah National Forest.

Enjoying a bike outing.

Today Transylvania County’s natural playground provides an outdoor gym for residents and visitors in its forests, rivers and parks. Bracken Preserve, DuPont State Recreational Forest, Gorges State Park, Pisgah and Nantahala National Forest and the French Broad River and its tributaries offer mountain and road biking, boating, canoeing, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, rock climbing and swimming.

Transylvania County truly is a place for both competitive and recreational sports.  Next week Picturing the Past will feature sports at Rosman High School.

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 marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.