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© 2001
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ECU Field Station for Coastal Studies at Mattamuskeet: History |
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Town of New Holland |
Road grader being pulled by a crawler tractor during road construction for the town of New Holland.
Early 1910s.
Downtown New Holland, circa 1920.
New Holland Inn shortly after construction was completed, circa 1915.
The entire 50,000 acre lake bed was incorporated
as Mattamuskeet Township, and the plans called for the development of four
towns within that area. First to be developed was a town called
"New Holland" on an 850-acre site next to the pumping plant. In 1916, Harlan
P. Kelsey, noted landscape architect from Salem, Massachusetts, laid out
the town plan for New Holland and plans for the entire lakebed. The most
prominent building in the town was the New Holland Inn, built in 1915 by
New Holland Farms, Inc. The town of New Holland was a modern community
with conveniences ahead of nearby Hyde County neighbors.
By the early 1920s, around 125 people were
living in New Holland. The homes had running water, indoor plumbing, electric
lights, and telephones. The well-maintained New Holland Inn had blue-gray
furnishings with Dutch designs. There was one general store, a large boarding
house, a railroad depot, a barber shop, an automotive garage, and a post
office. There were parties at the Inn each weekend and residents often
held private parties in their homes. The lakebed owners never developed
the other three towns.
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