Lake Glenville is the highest lake east of the Mississippi, with an elevation of 3,494 feet. Lake Glenville has 26 miles of shoreline and covers approximately 1,500 acres. With several waterfalls along its shoreline, Lake Glenville is fed by five tributaries plus dozens of creeks and streams.

From as early as 1827, the area that came to be known as Glenville, North Carolina, had been a town located in Hamburg Township of Jackson County along the banks of the Tuckasegee River. Prior to its incorporation in 1891, the community was named Hamburg and established its Post Office there in 1856.

The town was renamed Glenville in 1891. During World War II (1940 and 1941) the Nantahala Power & Light Company, then owned by ALCOA Company, constructed a dam on the Tuckasegee River to supply electricity to make aluminum for the war effort. While filling the new lake the town was flooded, submerging all the schools, homes, businesses and farmlands up to a depth of 300 feet and forming what has come to be known as Lake Glenville.

Lake Glenville is located eight miles from Cashiers, North Carolina. Its official name is “Lake Glenville” although it is still listed on many maps as “Thorpe Reservoir”. The lake is home to many upscale residents and serves as a second community to many who travel to this pristine spot every year to enjoy the pleasant climate and superb lifestyle afforded by both the lake and surrounding mountains.

Lake Glenville has become one of the most exciting and desirable locations in the area. The summers are usually cool and winters generally mild. The Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains as a backdrop, life here is one most people only dream about – combining the quiet village life with convenient access to urban centers such as Asheville, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia and Greenville, South Carolina.