The allure of Panthertown Valley is timelessWritten by George
Ellison The announcement in November 1989 that the remote
6,300-acre Panthertown Valley tract in Jackson County had passed
into the public domain was welcome news for knowledgeable
outdoor enthusiasts throughout the southeastern United States.
After years of private management, this truly unique region
encompassing the headwaters of the Tuckaseigee River was opened
for use by the general public. Those with a penchant for
exploring backcountry areas have found that Panthertown is their
ticket to paradise. After being sparsely settled in the 19th
century, the extensive tract passed into private hands about the
turn of the century. After World War I, property rights were
acquired by a lumber company that initiated operations in the
1920s. A rail spur connecting the valley with the Southern
Railway system was run from three timber camps operating along
the watershed. Logging operations ceased by the late 1930s, but
traces of the old rail line can still