1940s - 1954
TatEm Surf and sky club
Four Points by Sheraton
Four Points by Sheraton
Tatem Wofford from Palm Beach operated the Tatem Surf Club, a beach, swim and water ski club in Florida. (Pictured above. The club was located on Collins Avenue, this structure today is part of the Four Points by Sheraton.)
Mr. Wofford envisioned a similar resort in the mountains of Western North Carolina and acquired the Sapphire Valley property in 1946.
Four Points by Sheraton
Four Points by Sheraton
Four Points by Sheraton
Tatem Sky Club was born and the plans included an air strip, ice rink, and new cabins built around the valley.
There are many stories about how the Tatem Sky Club developed and how the old Fairfield Inn was used – one story alleges that the Sky Club was actually a ‘gentlemen’s’ club, but the details may very well be lost to history.
Tatem Sky Club
The tatEm sky club air field
The airfield used by the Tatem Sky Club was later used as the driving range for the Sapphire Valley Inn and Country Club. Even during the early days of the Sapphire Valley Inn and Country Club many planes buzzed the range to clear the strip for landing.
In this image, guest arrive by plane and are taken over the to the Sapphire Valley Inn, aka Fairfield Inn.
Only after some pine trees got a little too tall did a small plane clip the trees and wound up belly up on the 18th green. No one was hurt but the air field was closed.