Revered for its emerald waters and abundant recreational opportunities, South Carolina’s Lake Jocassee was rich in history before the dam was built in 1973. Before the lake was created, the area was called Jocassee Valley. Cherokee legend states, “The first part of the name ‘Jocassee Gorges’ comes from tragic, star-crossed lovers. Jocassee was a beautiful Cherokee girl who fell in love with a boy from an enemy tribe, the Eastatoees, known as the Green Birds, who lived on the other side of the river that separated them. Legend says she found the boy, named Nagoochee, injured in the woods and healed him of his injuries. While she took care of him, they fell in love. Later, however, Jocassee’s brother killed Nagoochee in battle and brought his head to her.
The grief-stricken young woman walked into the river in shock but did not sink or drown. Instead, she walked on the water to meet his ghost.
Duke Energy flooded the valley in 1973 to create the lake – dozens of homes, hotels, camps, and towns were lost during construction. The name Jocassee means “Place of the Lost One.” The river valleys were home to the lower towns of the Cherokee Nation; the site of Jocassee Town now lies 300 feet beneath the lake’s surface, near the beginning of the Keowee River.
As a note of trivia, Mount Carmel Baptist Church Cemetery served as the setting for a scene in the 1972 film Deliverance, starring Burt Reynolds, which was produced before the lake was flooded. The site is now covered by 130 feet of water.
“Jocassee was one of several Cherokee ‘Lower Towns’ in what is now S.C. It was located about 2 miles east on the Jocassee River and in the Vale of Jocassee, near the modern Jocassee Dam. Like other Cherokee Lower Towns, the town was abandoned and resettled several times from 1750 to 1900.”
Although most artificial structures were demolished before the lake was flooded, divers discovered the remains of Attakulla Lodge that were left intact. The lodge was named after Cherokee Chief Attakullakulla (“Little Carpenter”). He was the father of the famed Princess Jocassee.
Today, Lake Jocassee is a popular 9,000-acre, 385-foot-deep reservoir in northwest South Carolina. It has been described as “Heaven on Earth.”
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.
Image By: John G. Clark Jr.
