The Toxaway Inn – Part Two: The Aftermath

Lake Toxaway dam after breaking. Note the figures on top for scale.

In July 1916 what is locally known as the Great Asheville Flood occurred. Back-to-back hurricanes kept the area under a steady stream of rain for ten days. The French Broad River crested at 17 feet above flood stage. The flood subsided, but then heavy rains continued and taxed the already weakened dam of Lake Toxaway into early- to mid-August. On August 13, 1916, the Toxaway dam burst releasing the 540-acre lake. A total of 5,376,548,571 gallons of water flooded through the gorge into miles of South Carolina lowlands below. Farms, forests, and residences were all decimated by the aftermath. Litigation against the landowner went on for months, and even then, many were never compensated for the damage.

The dry bed of Lake Toxaway after the dam burst in 1916.

The dry lake pictured is a stark contrast to the idyllic resort once enjoyed by so many. With the lake gone, the inn’s stream of guests dried up as quickly as the lake itself. The Toxaway Inn sat vacant until a group of investors in 1926 bought the Inn and property for $1.5 million (equivalent to $23.2 million in 2021). Much more was spent in trying to revitalize the inn, but before it could be put into service again, the Great Depression hit and the inn sat idle once more. The property was eventually sold for $20,000 in 1947 (equivalent to $300,000 in 2021).

The new owner, S.L. DeArmond of Knoxville, TN, chose to strip the inn bare of all valuable furnishings and sell them for salvage. Electrical wiring, hardwood flooring, plumbing, bath fixtures, timbers, and water pipes were sold en masse to the public. After the salvage sale, the inn was razed to the ground and was no more. Like our very own Titanic of Transylvania, the Toxaway Inn’s grandeur and following decay and destruction instills a sense of awe made more poignant by the contrast.

Modern-day Lake Toxaway

Lake Toxaway had new life once more in the early 1960s when Reginald Heinitsh revitalized the area by purchasing 8,900 acres to create a vacation retreat. During the reconstruction of the dam and refilling of the lake, a couple of unusual remnants of the past were uncovered. The first: the rotting hull of a steamboat, once used to carry guests on pleasure jaunts about the lake. The engine and canopy had long before been removed and sold; the boat itself was seen as valueless and left to the elements. The second remnant (now removed): A 60-foot deep hole filled with scrap iron was discovered with a pipe leading from the bottom of the hole beneath the former dam and out into the waters below. It would seem this was the source of the “mineral waters” once advertised as a benefit of the resort. Although the Lake Toxaway Inn lives on only through its legacy and artifacts, the lake it overlooked has been restored to its previous glory and once again draws those seeking an escape.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Gardner. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.