Famous Visitors

The New Holland Inn and Mattamuskeet Lodge attracted hunters and tourists from 1916 to 1974. From 1926-33, the New Holland Corporation marketed the drained lake property as a private hunting Refuge. They provided package plans, including lodging and meals at the New Holland Inn, hunting permits, hunting guides with live decoys, and assistance in saving the game they killed. Governors, senators, doctors, lawyers, and business leaders from throughout the eastern United States and Canada came to stay at the inn and hunt in the lakebed. 

From 1937 to 1974, Mattamuskeet Lodge provided similar accommodations and programs for hunters and fishermen. During this periond, it has served as the center of hospitality for Hyde County, and all types of people have shared this hospitality and been enchanted by the beauty of the region and the majestic Lodge. 

One famous visitor was the well-known nature writer, Rachel Carson, who stayed at the Lodge just after World War II while preparing a booklet called, "Mattamuskeet: A National Wildlife Refuge." The Refuge left a deep and lasting impression on Carson; her letters to friends published after her death in 1964 recalled "the constant, haunting music of the geese" and the thrill of watching the flocks rise up at sunrise to forage in the nearby fields during the day.

Rachel Carson, 1951.  Photograph by Brooks  Studio.

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