Wonder Beneath the Water: Attakulla Lodge

Before Lake Jocassee, there was the Jocassee Valley, originally home to part of the Cherokee Nation, and later to a community with summer homes, hotels, a girls’ camp, a general store, and even a small bowling alley (its pins had to be reset by hand). Prior to flooding the Valley in the early 1970s, Duke Power dismantled or moved manmade structures. But one that remained is the Attakulla Lodge. The owner refused to sell the 20 acres on which the lodge stood, thereby preventing its demolition. (The owner eventually sold the property… after the lake was flooded.)

Built in the late 1800s and originally opened for business in 1904, this three-story bed and breakfast was only 20 yards from the Whitewater River and housed around 30 guests during summers. Later, it even included a landing strip for small airplanes. The lodge was named for Cherokee Chief Attakullakulla.

Now, highly skilled technical divers can descend some 300 feet to where the lodge sits at the bottom of the lake. Although tipped to one side, it is largely intact, as its masonry chimney, which was anchored in the ground and rose through all three floors, provided support that helped the structure withstand Jocassee's waters. The lack of oxygen and frigid temperatures have helped slow decomposition, allowing this memory of the Jocassee Valley to remain.