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This awesome inn features a great location along the Cheboygan River and Mullet Lake.
From the website:
A favorite haunt of Mullett Lakers is the picturesque Hackmatack Inn, located just north of where Mullett Lake empties into the Cheboygan River. It’s an unique experience to travel by boat, dock at the Hackmatack, and then enjoy one of those excellent Hackmatack meals. And it IS one of the best restaurants in the North Country. In the beginning, Hackmatack was operated as a fishing lodge by Mr. Watson Beebe.
In 1910 he married and gained a very capable coworker. The Hackmatack became such a popular place because of its host Watson Beebe. He was a good fisherman & entertainer. He could play the piano, lead group singing, and tell great North Country stories. And occasionally, Mr. Beebe would bring in outside bands.
Don Bigelow of the Bigelow carpet people brought his band to the Hackmatack in the early Thirties. The boys lived at the Hackmatack and played three times a week there. They also played once each at the Mullett Lake Country Club, and at Topinabee Hotel. The Don Bigelow Orchestra was composed of Don Bigelow, leader & saxophones; Frank Morris, drums; Dick Whetstone, piano; Weart Kelley, saxophones; and Fritz Tice, saxophones. All but Tice were from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Tice was from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1928, Morris, Whetstone, & Tice entered their sophomore year at Penn State.
Most of the original building was lost by fire, and a new modern log cabin building was completed in 1925. There were several cottages built, surrounding the new inn. And there were sleeping rooms in the upstairs area. In the early 1900s, fishing was excellent. Stories say that a Native American helped choose the location where the Hackmatack was constructed because of the superb fishing out front. It was common for fishermen who were fishing for bass at the mouth of the Cheboygan River to stop for lunch at the Hackmatack Inn. Those who were staying at the inn would know when lunch was ready from the ringing of a large bell at the fourth story of the Hackmatack, otherwise known as the bell tower.
After Mrs. Beebe passed away, about 1942, the Inn was closed a few years. After the war, a Mr. Sudriette of Akron, Ohio bought and operated the Hackmatack. After Mr. Sudriette came Jim and Doris Land. Mr. Land spent nearly $100,000 to modernize the Inn. He installed a modern, up-to-date kitchen, added the bar and lounge as it is today, and fixed things up nicely. In 1966 the Hackmatack was purchased by Mr. & Mrs. Roy M. Perry, Jr.(Roy & Clarice). Roy was chief chef and Clarice was the hostess.