TOXAWAY !

From Little Panthertail Mountain Marjorie Rose Owen writes, setting down her stories of a place called Toxaway. 'When I was growing up near Brevard I was fascinated with Lake Toxaway, or Toxaway; there was no lake then. The place of my ancestors, it seemed larger than life, older than time. It still does. Writing is my way of sharing that child's sense of wonder regarding this area.

'Today however, I am a small time entrepreneur. A real estate broker for many years, I continue to maintain a home office. Mostly however, I help my husband Jack with Toxaway Falls Stand, the little open air store next to Toxaway Falls that he has run for so many years. We also own and operate Panther Ridge RV Park and Campground up on the mountain above our home. And we still have Henroot Farm, our egg business. In a more creative vein, I will mention that I am very grateful to God for enabling me during a recent time of great personal loss due to the separate deaths of four close family members, to complete and publish both a small book and a vocal CD. To expand upon some of these topics and to help you become better acquainted with the home of my heart, let us continue our journey into Toxaway Country.'

Modern Toxaway or Lake Toxaway encompasses the area immediately adjacent to Lake Toxaway plus the nearby properties, those generally served by the Lake Toxaway Post Office and the Fire Department. However, a study of local history reveals that Toxaway has not always been Toxaway. The first settlers of this area are listed in the early census records as residents of Hogback Valley. Furthermore, some years later the nearby town of Rosman was first incorporated as the town of Toxaway; prior to that Toxaway was the name of a Cherokee town in the Eastatoee section of upper South Carolina. Then there is Old Toxaway, a settlement southwest of Rosman....

Toxaway is a name we find repeated throughout a whole region covering sections of Pickens and Oconee counties in upstate South Carolina; then extending through the Auger Hole-Jocassee Gorges-Old Toxaway-Rosman area, and as far north as the Gloucester section of Transylvania County in North Carolina. For more about the fascinating Country of Toxaway, choose the Toxaway Country Depot link or click on the Side Trip story links interspersed throughout this site. You can reach the topic that interests you via the links below.

Links: