Lake James is a large reservoir in the mountains of Western North Carolina which straddles the border between Burke and McDowell Counties.

The flooding of the lake claimed a portion of the small farming community of Fonta Flora, which was spread between the fertile river valley and the surrounding low hills.

[9] Most of the non-developed area around Lake James is owned by Crescent Communities, a real estate developer founded in the 1960s and formerly a subsidiary of Duke Energy.

[10] In 1999, several bald eagles were found nesting in trees on the northeastern shore of Lake James, stopping housing development in their vicinity.

[14] Meetings of many of the Lake James area's housing associations are held at nearby Saint Paul's Episcopal Church.

The trail, which received its historic designation from President Jimmy Carter in 1980, commemorates the march of the "Overmountain Men," a patriot militia who defeated the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain during the Revolutionary War.

The new section of the trail runs through the 1780 community, which is named after the year the militia marched through the Lake James area.