{"nrhp_refnum":"88000689","name":"Backus, E. M., Lodge","other_names":["Camp Toxaway","Canaan Land"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Cold Mountain Gap Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lake Toxaway","county":"Jackson County","state":"NC","lat":35.16067400600005,"lon":-82.99737321035795,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-06-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A district of eight buildings around a small lake on Cold Mountain Gap near Lake Toxaway, in Jackson County (partly in Transylvania County), North Carolina. It centers on a chestnut-log hunting lodge built about 1908 for Edward M. Backus.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the lodge is one of the best surviving examples of Adirondack-style resort architecture in western North Carolina (Criterion C). It is also tied to the recreational development of the region by out-of-state industrialists between 1890 and 1910 (Criterion A). The site kept its recreational character as a girls' camp and later a religious retreat.","narrative":"Backus Lodge is a group of eight buildings on about 21 acres at 4,000 feet on Cold Mountain Gap, near Lake Toxaway, North Carolina. Around 1908 Chicago industrialist Edward M. Backus built a 1 1/2 story hunting lodge of unpeeled chestnut logs, with a log stable and caretaker's cottage, beside a small lake formed by damming the Toxaway River headwaters. The logs were hauled by ox-drawn wagons and raised using earth mounds. In 1922 the property became Camp Toxaway, an exclusive girls' camp, and the Davis family added a second story to the stable and cottage, plus a guest house, barn and family cottage. After the camp closed in 1935, the site later served as Canaan Land, a religious and educational retreat, from 1955 into the 1980s. It is considered one of the finest smaller surviving examples of Adirondack-style rustic architecture in western North Carolina and reflects the region's early resort history. It remains in seasonal private use.","period_of_significance":"1908-1935","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Adirondack style of resort architecture (rustic log)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used as a private residence and seasonal retreat; the barn is described as deteriorating, and the buildings have been refurbished with electricity added in 1986.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.469201-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/7209/47720940/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/88000689.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000689/a21b5b6f58-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000689/a21b5b6f58-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Warren LeMay","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:E._M._Backus_Lodge_Canaan_Land.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Warren LeMay</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:E._M._Backus_Lodge_Canaan_Land.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720940","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._M._Backus_Lodge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19460336"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/jackson-county/backus-e-m-lodge-88000689/"}