From this overlook on the southwest rim of the Panthertown watershed a series of extensive rock outcrops that rise from 200 to 300 feet above the valley can be observed. An article titled “Saving Panthertown Valley” by Vic Venters appeared in the May 1991 issue of “Wildlife in North Carolina.”Ī short walk down the roadway and around the first bend leads to Salt Rock, one of the most delightful views in the southern highlands. Horton in a chapter titled “Physical and Natural Aspects” contributed to “The History of Jackson County” (1987). Geological Survey quadrants, available at numerous outfitters in the Highlands/Cashiers area.Īn excellent description of Panthertown Valley is provided by James H. Also consult the “Big Ridge” and “Lake Toxaway” U.S. At 2.1 miles, turn right onto Breedlove Road and proceed 3.3 miles to the gated trailhead. 64 and proceed 1.8 miles before turning left onto Cedar Creek Road. The most direct and scenic route to Panthertown Valley is to turn east at the crossroads in Cashiers onto U.S. Commercial timber production is unlikely as the tract is being managed under a Forest Service 4-C classification. Panthertown Valley is curently administered by the Highlands Ranger District of the Nantahala National Forest. Forest Service for approximately that amount. The company required but 800 or so acres for the line right-of-way and sold the remainder of the tract for $7,875,000 to the North Carolina Nature Conservancy, which in turn promptly signed the deed over to the U.S. After extensive hearings on the local and state levels, Duke Power was cleared for the Nantahala Power purchase and the right to run the transmission line across the valley. purchased the tract from the insurance company for a 230-kilovolt transmission line it wanted to run from a generating facility at Jocassee, S.C., to its proposed subsidiary, Nantahala Power and Light Company, for connection at a substation located in the Tuckaseigee River watershed. Through the years a few tracts on the edge of Panthertown were sold and various development possibilities considered - including a lake that would have inundated Panthertown Valley - but little development actually occurred other than minimal road improvements and ornamental tree plantings. In the early 1960s, the tract was purchased by a land investment corporation associated with a South Carolina-based insurance company. Logging operations ceased by the late 1930s, but traces of the old rail line can still be located, especially where it crossed over rock outcrops in Panthertown Creek in the uppermost portion of the watershed. A rail spur connecting the valley with the Southern Railway system was run from three timber camps operating along the watershed. After World War I, property rights were acquired by a lumber company that initiated operations in the 1920s. Those with a penchant for exploring backcountry areas have found that Panthertown is their ticket to paradise.Īfter being sparsely settled in the 19th century, the extensive tract passed into private hands about the turn of the century. After years of private management, this truly unique region encompassing the headwaters of the Tuckaseigee River was opened for use by the general public. The announcement in November 1989 that the remote 6,300-acre Panthertown Valley tract in Jackson County had passed into the public domain was welcome news for knowledgeable outdoor enthusiasts throughout the southeastern United States.
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