Lake Toxaway Is the Largest Man-Made Lake in the Appalachian Mountains

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 marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.