Wynward Pointe

Located on the western shores of Lake Keowee’s northeastern half (fed by the Keowee River), and only ten minutes from Seneca, Wynward Pointe features 117 home sites. This community has expansive views across the lake with amazing mountain views. The large sites are mostly hardwoods with gentle slopes.

History

Oconee County, located in the northwest corner of South Carolina on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, takes its name from a Cherokee word meaning "land beside the water." The county was formed in 1868 from Pickens District, and the county seat is Walhalla. This area was home to the Cherokees, but the Indians gave up their lands in treaties signed in 1777 and 1816.

After the American Revolution, settlers from other parts of the state began moving in, including the Germans from Charleston who founded the town of Walhalla in 1850. In 1856, work began on a tunnel for the Blue Ridge Railroad that would have linked Charleston with Knoxville, Tennessee, but the Civil War ended that project; the unfinished Stumphouse Tunnel can still be seen today.

Several Revolutionary War heroes moved to present day Oconee County after the war, including Andrew Pickens (1739-1817), Robert Anderson (1741-1813), and Benjamin Cleveland (1738-1806).

Lake Keowee

Lake Keowee now covers Keowee Town, site of the capital of the Lower Cherokee Nation. Keowee, meaning "Place of the Mulberries," was visited by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto when he came through the area in 1540. Since 1971, Lake Keowee's 18,500 acres of water and 300 miles of shoreline have been a valuable source of energy and recreation in northwestern South Carolina. Keowee was the first lake developed as part of Duke Power's Keowee-Toxaway Complex. The complex includes the Oconee Nuclear Station and the Keowee, Jocassee and Bad Creek hydroelectric stations.

Full pond elevation at Lake Keowee is 800 feet. The lake provides a dependable water supply for Greenville and Seneca, South Carolina.

Duke Power has partnered with South Carolina for the establishment of the 1,000 acre Keowee-Toxaway State Park. Campers can also enjoy the county-managed 155-acre Mile Creek Park, the 40-acre South Cove Park, and 44-acre High Falls Park (all leased from Duke Power). Another 373 acres along Eastotoe Creek have been turned over to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources for management as a natural area.

The foregoing information on Lake Keowee is provided by SCIway and Duke Energy.