The Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina is about to turn the buildings and property it bought at Lake Logan into a spiritual and environmental showcase. By doing that, it is also going to provide somewhat of an economic and cultural boon for the county, something along the lines of a mini Lake Junaluska. The diocese was one of the players who stepped in to help save the area around Lake Logan from development. After a protracted battle, the land was indeed saved from typical development. The church bought 300 acres around the lake, and the rest of the property now belongs to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, the U.S. Forest Service and the Boy Scouts of America.
Covenants protect the property from ever being developed commercially.
The Episcopal Church, however, wants to renovate the existing buildings, construct a few new facilities, and turn its Lake Logan Episcopal Center into a retreat, environmental education center and youth camp. In the coming decades, we suspect there will be other improvements. But even with its grand visions and plans, the diocese has promised to keep the land surrounding the lake as it is pristine and undeveloped. When Lake Junaluska Assembly was a dream of the United Methodist Church nearly 100 years ago, there were probably few who realized how it would influence Haywood County. Many Methodists who came to the lake, either as adults or children, ended up making their home here.