In 1890, E.H. Jennings came to Transylvania County, North Carolina from Pennsylvania and established several businesses, one of which was the Toxaway Company.

Within the inn were many modern conveniences: central heat, electrical engineering, private indoor plumbing, long-distance telephones, and elevators.

Guests were served in a dining room adorned with imported crystal and dinnerware, sterling silver and fine linens.

Amenities included a ballroom with a large orchestra for dancing, a billiard parlor, bowling alley, bar, gazebo for outdoor concerts, boating, swimming, fishing, golf, tennis, horseback riding and hunting.

Frequent guests included Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, the Vanderbilt family, John D. Rockefeller, James Buchanan Duke, R. J. Reynolds and Thomas Edison.

Lake Toxaway has a subtropical highland climate (Cfb) with warm summers and moderately cold winters.

The Lake Toxaway Country Club includes a Kris Spence 18 hole, par 71 golf course and it was completed in 2008.

A Tom Fazio Learning Center is also located on the property and is part of the Lake Toxaway Country Club.

[4] A Phase II Lake Club improvement will be completed in 2020 and will include a pool, outside Grille with dining pavilion, and activities building.

In 1913, Lucy Camp Armstrong, assisted by eleven servants, pitched a tent with a hardwood floor on the knoll of a short, oak dotted peninsula jutting into Lake Toxaway.

Mrs. Armstrong's six-level residence completed in 1915 replicated the architectural details of a Swiss mountain cottage; casement windows, flower boxes, balconies embellished with small triangular cutouts.

Between 1915 and 1932, a generous kitchen, freestanding library, stables, and a swimming pool were added, converting the home into a year-round residence.

Following an extensive renovation, the mansion and the Lakeside Cottage were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the inn opened its doors on July 15, 1985.