Our History

The Vision Nearly a Century Ago
Timber Lake was founded in 1926 by Colonel Edley Craighill and Fred Showalter through the vehicle of Timber Lake Corporation, as a “summer getaway” for the more affluent in Lynchburg. The body of water that became Timber Lake was formed by erecting an earthen dam at the south end of a low-lying area of bedrock surrounded by gentle hills. Trees were cut in the lake bed and the lake filled naturally with rainwater, spring water, and flow from the creeks at the head of the three longest fingers of the lake.

In 1945, Peaks View Corporation took over ownership of the remaining unsold lots and the maintenance of the lake itself (then named Timberlake). The interests of Peaks View Corporation were deeded to Timberlake Homeowners’ Association in May 1990.

There are approximately 174 waterfront and 111 non-waterfront lots around the 60-acre lake. Some property owners have multiple adjoining parcels, often with one single home structure. While some vacation homes remain, over the years the majority of homes have become year-round residences. As of July 2019, total assessed property values in the Timberlake community exceed $ 41 M.

Timberlake Dam
On June 22, 1995, after torrential rains, the earthen dam gave way, virtually emptying the lake and costing the lives of two people, Carter Martin and Doris Stanley. In order to rebuild the dam and dredge the lake, the Homeowners’ Association (THA) took out a federal SBA loan. The burden of the loan was distributed among the community property owners based on their relative property value, with most of the homeowners contributing their fair share of the expense. The SBA loan was retired in 2011.

The current impounding structure known as the Timberlake Dam is classified as a high hazard dam by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). It is inspected annually by credentialed civil engineers and has maintained to those standards since 1997.

Regular and scheduled maintenance is performed and logged with the Virginia DCR in compliance with their regulations. An approved Emergency Action Plan to protect the lake, watershed, fish and wildlife environment, and property in the Timberlake district of Campbell County has been written and rehearsed with the various county and state agencies responsible for public safety.

.

Natural Beauty and Clean Ecosystem
The lake is fed by underground springs and three fresh water creeks: Brown’s Creek, Waterlick Creek, and Buffalo Creek. Buffalo Creek originates several miles north of Timberlake in the City of Lynchburg, flows to Timberlake and for several miles south through Campbell County in the Robert E. Lee Soil & Water Conservation District and in to the Buffalo Creek Watershed.

Water quality is important to the residents of Timberlake. Our citizen volunteer committee has been collecting samples for E.coli testing at sites around the lake continuously for ten years. With the help of grants from Virginia DCR, the monitoring was expanded to include not only E coli, as was monitored in the past, but other coliforms; pH, Nitrates, Total Phosphorus, and Dissolved Oxygen. Scientific analysis and tracking is done by a VELAP certified lab in Culpeper, Virginia.

With the help of grants from Virginia DCR, the monitoring was expanded to include not only E coli, as was monitored in the past, but other coliforms; pH, Nitrates, Total Phosphorus, and Dissolved Oxygen. Scientific analysis and tracking is done by a VELAP-certified lab in Culpeper, Virginia. All tests to date have indicated that the water quality in the lake is within safe standards for both recreational activities and aquatic life.