Residents Save The Horsepasture River

The 18-mile-long Horsepasture River begins in Jackson County, flows through Transylvania County, and empties into Lake Jocassee in South Carolina.  The rugged river drops 1700 feet on a stretch of approximately four miles from Drift Falls to Lake Jocassee. 

In 1984 Carrasan Power Company gained preliminary approval to construct a water turbine powered electrical plant on the river.  A grass-roots campaign led to the organization of Friends of the Horsepasture.  Through their efforts the project was stopped and in 1985 North Carolina designated four-and-one-half miles of the Horsepasture River as a state Natural and Scenic River.  In 1986 it received National Wild and Scenic River status.   

Bill Thomas was the driving force in the creation of Friends of the Horsepasture and the battle to save and preserve the river.  Thomas amassed a collection of hundreds of correspondence, documents, and newspaper articles pertaining to the group’s work.  In 2016 he donated this material to the North Carolina Room at the Transylvania County Library as documentation of the importance of preserving areas like the Horsepasture River.  Also included in the Horsepasture River Preservation collection is the Carrasan Power Company’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission application and related documents.

Rainbow Falls in the third of the five major falls
on the Horsepature River.

In his 1998 booklet, The North Carolina Sierra Club’s Guide to the Jocassee Gorges: The Horsepasture-Bearwallow-Toxaway Region Thomas stated, “It is our hope that this national-park-caliber area will be preserved and managed for the protection of its wildness, its rare plants and animals, its scenic beauty, and for the enjoyment and inspiration of future generations.”

Today Drift Falls, Turtleback Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Stairway Falls are all located in the Pisgah National Forest.  At Stairway Falls the property transfers to Toxaway Game Land, owned and managed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.  Windy Falls is the only major Horsepasture River fall within the Toxaway Game Lands although there are numerous others including Bear Rock Falls, Rooster Tail Falls, Sidepocket Falls, and Standing Up Falls.  While the Horsepasture River is outside of Gorges State Park, access to many of the waterfalls is through its trail system.

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 828-884-1820.