[4] In 1925, the Morse family created Carolina Mountain Power Company and funded the construction of a dam on the Broad River (through a mortgage) which produced the lake after which the town is named.

In modern times, the town continues to sell electricity to Duke Energy, although profits from the dam now come second to maintaining a fixed water level year-round.

In 1963, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted the legislation that authorized the Town of Lake Lure to issue revenue bonds for the purpose of acquiring the assets from Stroud.

[3] On September 27, 2024, the town, along with the neighboring village of Chimney Rock, suffered catastrophic damage from flooding caused by Tropical Storm Helene, including the destruction of the historic Lake Lure Flowering Bridge and the attached Rainbow Bridge.

[5] The amount of rainfall from the storm prompted the issuance of a flash flood emergency by the National Weather Service and evacuation orders from local authorities due to water overtopping the dam and the risk of the structure failing.

[7][8] Recreation and tourism have become crucial to the town's economy; challenges to this industry have included the Party Rock wildfire[9][10] and the COVID-19 pandemic.

[12] Lake Lure was a primary filming location for Dirty Dancing, and hosts an annual festival event honoring the movie.

[20] On September 27, 2024, the bridge was severely damaged and the gardens mostly destroyed due to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Helene; as of December 2024, clean-up and assessment are in progress.

The Lake Lure area has been used several times as a filming location, beginning with Thunder Road (1958).

Other movies that include scenes filmed in or near Lake Lure are: A Breed Apart (1984), Firestarter (1984), Dirty Dancing (1987), My Fellow Americans (1996), and Careful What You Wish For (2015).