For the past several years, three partners—the Historic Toxaway Foundation, the developers of Longcliff Village, and North American Land Trust (NALT)—have been meeting to consider the future use of 44 acres of the Longcliff parcel that is preserved through a dedicated conservation easement. 

Our community is fortunate to have many rigorous hiking trails for the avid outdoors enthusiast. In contrast, the Broadleaf Preserve is a convenient walking destination with gentle topography and easy access that makes it the perfect venue for families of all ages, as well as schools and educational non-profits.

Nineteen non-profits, Brevard College and Transylvania County schools have visited the Broadleaf Preserve and believe the Preserve and the proposed improvements can be used as an important part of their agency programming.

If the easement remains private property, access would be limited to property owners of the Longcliff Village, and none of the other planned improvements would be completed. Community and non-profit access would not be permitted.

Planned improvements include:

 • Over three miles of new walking trails with elevated boardwalks in environmentally sensitive areas

 • Outdoor classrooms/pavilions for educational programs and family outings

 • A pollinator meadow habitat

 • A viewing platform at Upper Bearwallow Falls

 • Cultural, historical, and educational signage

 • Picnic tables and benches

 • Parking for up to 80 cars and 3 buses

 • A public composting toilet  

We want to keep you informed and hear your feedback.

Watch for our new website landing page, launching soon!

When HTF Board Member John Nichols purchased a property on Island Point Road some years ago, he learned from a Lake Toxaway realtor that the home there had once been owned by American astronaut Al Worden.

Intrigued, John learned that Worden was the command module pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission which orbited the moon 74 times in the summer of 1971. 

During the mission, he spent three days alone in the command module while his fellow astronauts Jim Irwin and Dave Scott explored the moon's surface below.

Much of the available info about the mission was interesting, but John was disappointed to learn there were very few high-quality pictures to be found online—despite learning that Worden had taken many photographs of the lunar landscape and views from space as a part of his Apollo 15 duties.



According to John: "Fast forward several years to an estate sale in Charlotte, NC, where I came across some old film containers that I guessed contained

images of the development of the city’s Myers Park. I purchased them, and in what I can only describe as a highly unusual coincidence, discovered instead that the 70mm film images were from the Apollo missions, including photos taken by Al Worden himself!"

One day John hopes to develop a collection of these images for display. In the meantime, you can view a smaller collection of photos signed by Al Worden at the Grand Olde Station restaurant in Lake Toxaway, as well as many other historical items of interest.

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