Editing Lake Junaluska, North Carolina (section)

==History==
Before [[Indian Removal]] in 1839, all this area was part of the homelands of the [[Cherokee people]]. Today the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]] is based on [[Qualla Boundary]] in North Carolina, the only federally recognized tribe in the state. European Americans colonized most of the former Cherokee territories.

Methodist pastors James Atkins and George R. Stuart believed the [[Southeastern United States]] needed a place comparable to [[Chautauqua Lake|Chautauqua Lake, New York]] and [[Winona Lake, Indiana]]. Atkins contacted Stuart in April 1908 while attending a missionary conference in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]] where Stuart was a pastor. The Southern Assembly, Inc. bought 1,200 acres of land.<ref name=Shearer>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/113370565/?terms=lake%20junaluska&match=1|via=[[newspapers.com]]|title=100 years of soul renewal|last=Shearer|first=John|work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]]|date=2013-06-29|page=B4}}</ref>

On June 25, 1913, the Second General Missionary Conference of the [[Methodist Episcopal Church, South]] convened in the new auditorium built here and named for Stuart. It was beside a new lake being filled after the damming of Richland Creek. As there were only 13 houses and no hotel until 1914, the 4,000 people had to stay elsewhere.

Auditorium Hotel, the first hotel, was built in 1914 across from Stuart Auditorium but burned in 1920.<ref name=Shearer/>

The Junaluska Inn was built in 1917, but it caught fire and burned down the next year. A new hotel in 1921 was built on the same site, eventually to be named for Bishop [[Walter Russell Lambuth]]. Additions were made in 1956 and 1964.

In 1923, a classroom building called [[Shackford Hall]] was constructed at the lake's west end. Both [[Lambuth Inn]] and [[Shackford Hall]] have been listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name=caldwell>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211115559/http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.1777795/k.2D19/A_brief_history_of_Lake_Junaluska.htm|archive-date=2012-02-11|first=Neill|last=Caldwell|title=A Brief History of Lake Junaluska| url=http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.1777795/k.2D19/A_brief_history_of_Lake_Junaluska.htm|access-date=2023-08-05}}</ref><ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

In 1922, a large, lighted [[Christian cross|cross]] was erected at a spot overlooking the lake near Lambuth Inn, the oldest hotel at the lake. In 1994, a new cross was installed. The original, eventually restored, was moved to Mount Shepherd Retreat Center near [[Asheboro, North Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtshepherd.org/info.php?page%3Dcross |title=The Junaluska Cross |access-date=2008-06-17 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515013623/http://www.mtshepherd.org/info.php?page=cross |archivedate=2008-05-15 }}, Retrieved on 2008/06/17.</ref>

The Southeastern Jurisdiction (SEJ) of the United Methodist Church became the owner in 1948.<ref name=caldwell/> Lake Junaluska Assembly Inc., an agency of the SEJ, has been tax-exempt since 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/560547461|title=Lake Junaluska Assembly Inc.|publisher=[[Charity Navigator]]|accessdate=2021-06-20}}</ref> In the 1950s, the [[World Methodist Council]],<ref name=caldwell/> a consultative body linking almost all Methodist denominations worldwide,{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} moved its headquarters to Lake Junaluska.<ref name=caldwell/> In Spring 2021, the World Methodist Council sold its headquarters building, including a museum, to the assembly for $1.25 million. The World Methodist Council moved to offices in nearby [[Waynesville, North Carolina|Waynesville]]. The museum's collection moved to [[Southern Methodist University]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.themountaineer.com/news/benefactors-discuss-significance-of-world-methodist-council-building/article_d30ebaee-cddc-11eb-80dc-6b660834a921.html|title=Benefactors discuss significance of World Methodist Council building|last=Hyatt|first=Vicki|work=[[The Mountaineer]]|date=16 June 2021|accessdate=18 June 2021}}</ref>

===Conference and Retreat Center===

Lake Junaluska Assembly Inc. received financial support from the United Methodist Church for nearly 100 years, but that support ended and the Assembly became more of a business.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/item/21137-transformation-continues-at-lake-junaluska|title=Transformation continues at Lake Junaluska|last=Vaillancourt|first=Cory|work=[[Smoky Mountain News]]|date=2017-11-08|accessdate=2021-06-20}}</ref> The Lake Junaluska Assembly Board of Directors, in addition to acting as the "de facto government", owns the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, the lake and the dam, and recreational facilities. The board voted in March 2013 to ask for [[Waynesville, North Carolina|Waynesville]] to [[Municipal annexation|annex]] the community.<ref name="100 years">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/113379086/|via=newspapers.com|title=Here's to 100 more years for Lake Junaluska|work=Asheville Citizen-Times|date=2013-07-08|page=A7}}</ref>

The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center hosts events for the United Methodist Church, [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]], [[The Salvation Army]], Church of the Brethren, and other organizations. Several musical events are hosted in Stuart Auditorium, including [[Folkmoot USA]] programs and Appalachian [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] concerts. The Smoky Mountain Folk Festival is held here. The facilities are intended to be used for the renewal of "body, mind and spirit".

The Terrace  Hotel and the Lambuth Inn, the community's primary accommodations, were extensively renovated in 2015 and 2018.<ref>Report of the Lake Junaluska Assembly Inc to the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church 2018</ref> The Corneille Bryan Native Garden contains  many plants once abundant in the region but now rare.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ourstate.com/corneille-bryan-native-garden/|title=Natural Haven|work=ourstate.com|access-date=2023-08-05}}</ref>
[[Image:Memorial Chapel, Lake Junaluska, NC.jpg|thumb|left|Memorial Chapel]]

The Conference and Retreat Center is governed by an active, diverse 32-member Board of Trustees. Some 68% of the Board members are property owners in the Lake Junaluska community. The board provides strategic direction, and budget approval for the Conference and Retreat Center, the Lake Junaluska Public Works, residential fees, and utility (water and sewer) rates. The Executive Director, who has day-to-day management responsibility, reports to the board of Trustees. The board approves changes to the rules and regulations of the community.<ref name="2015Report">Report of the Lake Junaluska Assembly Inc to the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church 2015</ref>

The amenities of Lake Junaluska include lodging, meeting facilities, dining (food service), trails, gardens, meditation areas, golf, and other recreation opportunities. The maintenance of the public areas around the lake and the dam, which is inspected annually, are funded primarily through charitable giving and proceeds from lodging guests. There is periodic removal of sediment that has been carried into the lake from Richland Creek. All property within the boundaries of the Assembly, approximately {{convert|5.8|sqmi}}, has deed covenant restrictions that give the Board of Trustees the right to enforce regulations and the first right of refusal on all property sales.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lakejunaluskacommunity.org/apw-services|title = APW Services &#124; Lake Junaluska Assembly Public Works}}</ref>

Work began in 2022 on a $2.5 million renovation of the former [[World Methodist Council]] headquarters, which Lake Junaluska purchased for $1.25 million along with an adjacent building in 2021. The former headquarters was named the Warren Center for Mike and Anne Warren, who gave $625,000 toward the purchase and $1.1 million for the renovation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.themountaineer.com/news/making-the-grade-lake-junaluska-continues-multi-million-dollar-upgrades-with-new-event-venue/article_ecc2a510-8026-11ed-b479-5f2161f80fa5.html|title=Making the grade: Lake Junaluska continues multi-million dollar upgrades with new event venue|last=Johnson|first=Becky|work=The Mountaineer|date=22 December 2022}}</ref> In June 2024 the first event was held in the building that will be used for weddings and community events.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.themountaineer.com/news/chamber-bids-its-president-a-fond-farewell/article_ec0e6a4c-3479-11ef-8362-cb6ae2911b1a.html|title=Chamber bids its president a fond farewell|last=Hyatt|first=Vicky|work=The Mountaineer|date=28 June 2024}}</ref>