Kanuga Lake Historic District
Why it's listed
Kanuga Lake Historic District is a wooded conference center and former summer resort of about 100 acres near Hendersonville, North Carolina. George Stephens founded the Kanuga Lake Club here around 1908 as a cooperative retreat for prominent Charlotte businessmen and professionals, with a clubhouse, a lake and thirty-nine one-story cottages. Architect Richard Sharp Smith designed the cottages to five plans, and landscape architect John Nolen is documented as having worked on the physical layout. The cottages, covered in wood shingles or board and batten and painted forest green with white trim, still stand in rows radiating from the central inn site. After the club failed, Episcopal interests acquired the property in 1929 and turned it to religious programs and camps. Later additions include the Chapel of the Transfiguration, a 1960s inn by architect Betram King, and a lakeside pavilion. Woodlands, stone walls, old roads and walkways preserve the original setting.
Significance in brief: The nomination points to the survival of thirty-nine early twentieth-century cottages designed by Richard Sharp Smith, set in a landscape plan linked to planner John Nolen. It also stresses the preserved relationship of cottages, lake, roads and walkways to the 1911 and 1913 plans. The Charlotte-based membership of the club and later Episcopal conference use add to its importance.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 95001056, listed August 31, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, area surrounding Kanuga Lake, Hendersonville |
|---|---|
| County | Henderson County |
| Listed | August 31, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95001056 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Richard Sharp Smith (cottages); John Nolen (landscape architect/city planner); Jr. Betram King (Kanuga Lake Inn) |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Community Planning and Development, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | All thirty-nine original cottages survive in use, and the property continues as a conference center, camp and retreat with the inn, chapels and lake pavilion in use. |
| Acreage | 100 |
| Coordinates | 35.26111, -82.51986 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 95001056.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6365657
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.