Eseeola Lodge history
By Bill F. Hensley
Opening for the season isn’t exactly new for the Eseeola Lodge in Linville, one of the nation’s best known and most popular country inns. When the famed resort opens on May 19th, it will be for the 113th time.
The lodge was built in the Linville Valley, in the shadow of Grandfather Mountain, in 1892 and has survived and prospered despite a variety of devastating incidents, including storms, fires, floods and financial problems.
“The resort has a unique history,” said president and general manager John Blackburn who has run the facility for over twenty years. “It reads like a movie plot that is full of intrigue and mystique, with a crisis thrown in now and then.”
Eseeola (an Indian name meaning “river of cliffs”) was the brainchild of Hugh MacRae of Wilmington who longed for a summer home and a playground in the cool, majestic mountains. Other resorts in the area had been successful, so MacRae and a handful of friends started what is now one of North Carolina’s most renowned resorts and summer home community.
During its colorful history, the resort suffered fires that destroyed the original building (1936) and the golf clubhouse (1952); a ravaging flood in 1940 destroyed all railroad lines leading to the resort; and various storms and floods that did extensive damage to the golf course and surrounding area, the last in September of 2004.
There have even been some financial problems along the way that—at the time—seemed insurmountable. But strong leadership by club members and homeowners rescued the property.
The resort persevered through the many crises, absorbing much character and strength along the way.
The first facility was built on a 130-acre tract in Avery County at an elevation of 3712 feet. It had 90 rooms and cost of $22,000. Early guests arrived by horse and buggy and by train and stayed for several weeks at a time.
In 1895 several golf holes and been built along the Linville River, making the course North Carolina’s oldest and most historic. By 1900 there were 14 holes, and in 1910, the Linville Golf Club had a full-time professional and was hosting tournaments. Caddies were paid .15 cents for nine holes and .25 for 18 holes.
Thirty rooms—called the Chestnut Lodge, a stately structure with a Chestnut bark exterior—were added in 1929. When fire razed the original building, the Chestnut Lodge became the main accommodations facility and remains so today. It has nineteen rooms and five suites. There is also a two-bedroom cottage for guest use.
The current inn has been renovated and remodeled on several occasions. It has won numerous awards for excellence.
With golf booming around the state, the club hired legendary Scottish golf course architect Donald Ross—who was living in Pinehurst-- to design and construct a new golf course in 1924. Using mules and drag pans, a spectacular 18-hole layout was carved from the beautiful mountain terrain. The 6300-yard course was opened for play in 1926 and has been the site of a number of prestigious tournaments over the years. It is ranked in the state’s top ten.
Such notable golf professionals as Clayton Heafner and Johnny Bulla worked for the resort, and many of the game’s best amateurs—including hometown heroes Billy Joe Patton and Harvie Ward-- were frequent visitors.
The inn is open from mid-May through October each year. A house speciality is the sumptuous Thursday night seafood buffet, “a culinary delight,” and attracts guests from a hundred or more miles. In addition to golf, the resort—which is on the National Historic Register-- features swimming, tennis, croquet and hiking.
For more information on Eseeola Lodge, log on to www.eseeola.com or call 1-800-742-6717.
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