The Historic Toxaway Falls

The massive rockface of Toxaway Falls is testament to a spectacular catastrophe.

If you travel on scenic US 64 between Sapphire and Rosman, you can’t miss the spectacular face of Toxaway Falls.

There’s a nice wide shoulder on the dam side to pull over, park, and take a look. Lake Toxaway is on the upper side of the road, spilling over some very colorful bedrock in a 240-foot change drop before the river disappears into Gorges State Park.

That stretch was carved by the escaping torrent of Lake Toxaway’s five billion gallons of water draining in the span of 18 minutes when Toxaway Dam collapsed in 1916.

If you were to follow the course of Toxaway River from that devastated landscape, you’d find an enormous 60-foot-long boulder carried down the flood. About a half mile further down Toxaway River there’s a 60-foot long boulder weighing nearly 900 tons that was moved there by the flood.

Instead of a picture-postcard vision of beauty and tranquility, Lake Toxaway was transformed into 540 acres of drying mud, interspersed with shallow pools clogged with dying fish.

You can park at several spots before and after the waterfall, and there are pedestrian walkways that guarantee you can view the spectacle without worry of being clipped by passing cars.

Naturally, you never want to hike down to the rockface itself, or wade into the flow of water. In fact, that’s a good rule when you’re exploring any of the region’s waterfalls.

by Luke Osteen

HISTORY

Pages 166-171

photo by Susan Renfrophoto by Susan Renfro

The Great

Whitewater Falls

A trip to Whitewater Falls in 1885 was an all-day test of agility and stamina.

From the viewpoint of a geologist, history is not a study of three hundred years back, but three million years back. Such local natural landmarks as Whiteside Mountain were shaped by millions of years of erosion. Left exposed were the tiny streams coming out of sheer rock which became the headwaters of several rivers. In just a few miles, these tiny streams become raging currents spilling over multiple waterfalls.

I ran across a personal recollection by a vacationing New Yorker seeking to find and see the Great Whitewater Falls in the region of southeast Cashiers.

One of Cashiers’ must-see tourists’ destinations, Whitewater Falls is located on the Jackson County/Transylvania County line in North Carolina, near the South Carolina state line.

This New Yorker was visiting in the summer of 1885. He was Professor Charles Linden from Buffalo, who was staying at the Highlands House hotel in Highlands. Access to the falls was possible only by foot in 1885. Professor Linden was a German immigrant and was 54 at the time.

Dr. James Madison Zachary was well-known locally as a dentist. His home was about five miles away, on a road now known as Norton Road between Cashiers and Highlands. Dr. Zachary’s dental equipment was portable, and he would often set up in the corner of the lobby of the Highlands House hotel, usually on Saturdays.

Dr. Zachary told Professor Linden about the over-1,200 foot drop of the cascades of the falls known as the Upper Whitewater Falls. A city-slicker, Professor Linden pleaded with Dr. Zachary to take him

there even though the excursion would be very difficult through the dense forest, with no roads, just overgrown paths to the Falls. Professor Linden arrived by horse-drawn carriage to Dr. Zachary’s home in Norton. They rode on to Dr. Zachary’s childhood home near Rocky Mountain in Cashiers in the early morning. They set out on the trail and reached the Whitewater River by noon that day. Later, Professor Linden writes in the Blue Ridge Enterprise that they “waded along its bank for about a mile.” Dr. Zachary had to patiently wait for the Professor to try his luck “at every possible trout lair on the way.”

They heard the loud roar of the Falls long before they saw the waters take their “mad leaps down” from the top of a cliff. Being surrounded by the canopy of large trees, they finally saw an opening to the blue sky straight ahead. Going another 150 feet or more, the Professor wrote that it was as if the “rocky banks had been rent by a convulsion of nature…” He proclaimed that a “vast panorama of the sunlit plains of South Carolina suddenly burst upon the view,” and that he could distinguish “fields of tobacco and cotton made white by its pods.”

Today, Whitewater Falls is a part of the Nantahala National Forest and visitors can drive to the Falls by way of NC Highway 281. You can walk up a wide trail to several viewing platforms at varying heights. When you go, reflect on the thought that this waterfall has been rushing down that rough cliff for millions of years, long before the time of Professor Linden’s and Dr. Zachary’s adventure.

Now that’s history!

For more information see GlenvilleCashiersHistory.com.

by Carol M. Bryson, Historian and Author of Glenville and Cashiers from the Records, GlenvilleCashiersHistory.com

Scallywags & Heroes

Raider George W. Kirk was feared and revered by many, yet his actions struck close to home here on the Plateau.

Hero to some, scoundrel to many, George W. Kirk deserted the Confederacy and enlisted in the Union Army.

He and his followers patrolled the North Carolina/ Tennessee border, serving as guides for Unionist mountaineers and escaped POWs, often providing safe houses for refugees. He stirred the pot by recruiting men to be on-call guerrillas and leaders – in other words, raiders.

In 1863 he was made colonel at age 25. The following year he was promoted to major. One wonders if his falling out with the South was because officers disapproved of his tactics. Whatever the reason, the North took the stand: What goes on in the mountains stays in the mountains.

While his Tennessee compatriots cheered his raids, North Carolinians feared his ruthless tactics. Kirk’s intent was to gather intelligence and steal horses, but he crossed the line in more ways than one. He used human shields in battle and gave his men confiscated spoils of war. He was known to attack men in church on at least one occasion.

Yet, it should be noted that he was following Union orders – mostly.

Kirk and his cohorts were to return to the mountains of North Carolina, gather an army of straggling soldiers, citizens, Cherokee – whomever they could recruit. Once Kirk had a couple hundred men, he was to mount those soldiers on private or captured steeds, thus creating the Third Regiment of North Carolina Mounted Infantry. The raiders’ orders: To “descend upon the rebels and destroy stores and means of transportation.”

They hit close to home: Cashiers Valley, Whiteside Cove, and Horse Cove.

Colonel John Alley of Rutherford County, North Carolina, settled at the base of Whiteside after serving and being wounded in a Mexican altercation. When Kirk’s rapscallions roared through the area they found Colonel Alley at home. One of Kirk’s soldiers recognized him as a man who’d saved his life in the Mexican War. Reciprocally, Alley’s life was spared, but the soldier who spoke on his behalf was murdered by Kirks’ renegade robbers and murderers. Alley’s brother-in-law was also murdered … in front of his wife and children.

After the war and his reign of terror came to an end, he got a job as policeman, oddly enough, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

To learn more about history’s champions and scallywags, take a fascinating trek through Ran Shaffner’s Heart of the Blue Ridge. Or explore local history by visiting: highlandshistory.com or emailing hhs@highlandshistory.com.

by Donna Rhodes

Village Heritage Award

The Cashiers Historical Society is recognizing the person or business that has contributed to the unique timeless spirit that animates the community.

Cashiers Historical Society’s mission is preserving the heritage of Cashiers Valley through education, stewardship, and advocacy.

The society strives to recognize Cashiers’ history through publications, awards, events, and projects. One such award is the Village Heritage Award, given annually to a building, old or new, which has been built or repurposed in keeping with the “Old Village” feel of Cashiers.

This award can also be awarded to members of the community that go above and beyond to preserve the history of the Cashiers Valley, so it’s not limited to just a historic building.

Area residents nominate new or newly-remodeled businesses whose architecture enhances the village feel of Cashiers, or individuals who have worked diligently to preserve our history and authenticity.

Additionally, according to the Historical Society’s guidelines, the nominated business or individual must contribute to the vitality of the community, and/or be of service to the community. Additional criteria for buildings which must be met include attractive landscaping with native materials, moderate lighting to enhance the night sky visibility, and the property must be situated within the boundaries specified by the Historical Society.

Past winners include Hotel Cashiers, as well as Dovecote Porch & Garden, Cashiers-Glenville Recreation Center, Cornucopia Restaurant, Cashiers Community Center, Village Green, Laurelwood Mountain Inn, Alexander’s Gardens, the Van Epp House, Zonnie Sheik Cottage, The Old Cashiers Post Office, Fiddlehead Designs, Mountain Laurel Shoppes, Grace Anglican Church, and Tommy’s Coffee Shop.

Committee members John Barrow, Chairman, and CHS Historian Jane Nardy have been hard at work reviewing this year’s nominees. Additional nominees will be accepted through October.

For more information, visit cashiershistoricalsociety.org or stop by and visit them at their business office located in the Dowden Pavilion on the Zachary-Tolbert grounds at 1940 Highway 107 South. You may also call them at (828) 743-7710.