Kanuga Conference Center
| Kanuga Conference Center | |
| Conference Center, Summer Camp, and Hosting Facility | |
| Official name: Kanuga Conferences, Inc. | |
| Name origin: Cherokee | |
| Nickname: Kanuga | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | North Carolina |
| Municipality | Hendersonville |
| Coordinates | 35°15′43″N 82°31′16″W / 35.26194°N 82.52111°WCoordinates: 35°15′43″N 82°31′16″W / 35.26194°N 82.52111°W |
| Area | 2.1875 sq mi (6 km2) |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Owner | Non-profit corporation of the same name ceded in 1972 from The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina, and The Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina |
| Leader | The Reverend Michael R. Sullivan, President |
| Timezone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal code | 28793 |
| Area code | 828 |
| Website: http://www.kanuga.org | |
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Kanuga Lake Historic District
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| Nearest city | Hendersonville, North Carolina |
| Area | 100 acres (40 ha) |
| Built | 1909 |
| Architect | Nolen, John; Smith, Richard Sharp, et al. |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/craftsman |
| NRHP Reference # | 95001056 |
| Added to NRHP | August 31, 1995 |
Kanuga Conference Center (Cherokee: ᎧᏄᎦ) is affiliated with the Episcopal Church, USA and the Anglican Communion. It is located on 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) near Hendersonville, North Carolina, with scenic Kanuga Lake at its center. Yearly, more than 35,000 guests utilize the facilities, which include the Conference Center, Camp Kanuga (for Boys and Girls), Camp Bob, and the Mountain Trail Outdoor School.
The word Kanuga is of Cherokee origin referring to both a former place of a Cherokee settlement in South Carolina and to a Cherokee tool resembling a short comb with seven teeth used in preparation of players in a Cherokee ritual stick ball game. The description 'gathering place' also came to be associated with the term, which led to its selection as the name of a new vacation colony in 1909.
Kanuga began in 1909 as "Kanuga Lake Club," the dream of George Stephens, a Charlotte banker, real estate developer, and newspaper publisher. Kanuga Lake Club was designed to be a place for families from the "low country" of South Carolina and North Carolina to take vacation. Stephens employed John Nolan as his planner, and Richard Sharp Smith as his architect.
After 950 acres (3.8 km2) were purchased, a dam was built over Mud Creek, creating a lake (much larger than the current Lake Kanuga). Thirty-nine cottages, an inn with dining rooms, and a lakeside pavilion were built, usable only during the summer months. Utilizing his successful businesses, American Trust Company (now Bank of America and his newspapers, the Charlotte Observer, and the Asheville Citizen, Stephens attracted people to Kanuga.
In 1916, tragedy struck. After heavy rains, the dam to Lake Kanuga broke, sending water through Hendersonville and Asheville. Modern innovations such as the automobile also made single destination vacation sites increasingly obsolete. Subsequently, Kanuga went broke and was closed. A new dam that shortened the lake to its present size would eventually be built, but over the following 12 years four attempts at reorganizing the facility ended with four bankruptcies.
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