The High Hampton InnHistoric District is a historic estate, resort, and national historic district nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina, in the Cashiers Valley in Jackson County, North Carolina. Originally the summer home of the prosperous Hampton family of South Carolina, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Wealthy planter Wade Hampton II purchased in Cashiers Valley as an escape from the summer heat, humidity, and malaria of the Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina region. The property became a favorite hunting preserve for the Hampton family and their friends. Young Wade Hampton III learned to ride horses at High Hampton, a skill that served him well as a leading Confederate cavalry commander during the American Civil War. In the 1880s, the property passed into the hands of Hampton II's three daughters. They sold it in 1890 to their nieceCaroline Hampton and her new husband, Dr. William Halsted, a prominent surgeon. Halsted purchased several adjoining farms and pieces of property, eventually expanding his holdings to more than. The Halsteds both died in 1922. A North Carolina businessman, E. Lyndon McKee, and his wife, Gertrude, purchased the estate two years later. In 1933, the property was renovated and adapted as the present High Hampton Inn, which opened for business. McKee's descendants still own and operate the resort today, which includes a golf course, spa, recreational area, and restaurant. The High Hampton Inn Historic District encompasses 15 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site. They include the High Hampton Inn, a 2 1/2-story, "L"-shaped, gable roofedRustic style structure sheathed in chestnut bark siding. It was designed by locally prominent architect Erle Stillwell and features a one-story, hip roofed wraparound porch with an extended Porte-cochère. Other contributing resources include the Lake Cottage, Hampton Cottage, Halsted Cottage, Chimney Top Cottage, Rock Mountain Cottage, Mayapple Cottage, Lodge Cottage, Appletree Cottage, Caroline Cottage, Lewis Cottage, Thorpe Cottage, Wade Hampton Smokehouse, Supply Building, Stable, and the Recreational Landscape. The current High Hampton Inn and Country Club consists of.
