Holland Lake Lodge: A brief history

In response to an increase in the recreational use of national forests in the early 20th century, Congress passed the 1915 Term Occupancy Act, which allowed permits for private use and development of forest lands. The growing interest in outdoor recreation and conservation also triggered the popularity of dude ranching and guided pack trips in the western United States.

By 1920, early-day settlers, Roria "Babe" and Eva Wilhelm, moved to Swan Valley after trading a house they owned in Butte for Harry Halpin's homestead located near Barber Creek west of Holland Lake. Babe, along with his sister, Ada, and husband David "Art" White, envisioned operating a resort on the shores of Holland Lake. In 1924, they applied for a special use permit from the Forest Service.

Tragedy struck that same year when the White's son, Vivian, and other students at Rumble Creek School were playing outdoors throwing the cattails at each other. Somehow, Vivian inhaled the cottony cattail fibers. As reported in a Missoulian news article, the cattail fluff lodged in his throat and windpipe and he suffocated on Oct. 10, 1924.

Mourning the loss of their only child, the Whites managed to forge ahead with plans to build the resort. They received word from the Forest Service that their special use permit was approved, as reported in a Missoula Sentinel news article dated Jan. 22, 1925.

The Mountain View Hotel was built with lumber from Babe's steam-powered sawmill and sided with half-logs to give the log appearance. They also built a boat house, a garage and several cabins. One of the cabins just north of the lodge became the White's residence (present-day gift shop). The hotel later became known as the Holland Lake Lodge.

When the lodge first opened on July 4, 1925, the Wilhelms offered trail rides, fishing and hunting trips and guiding services to dudes who were guests at the lodge. "The Whites operated the lodge and the Wilhelms did the packing," Babe's son, Lester "Dobb" Wilhelm recalled in an interview with Mildren Chaffin in 1988.

Among the vacationers traveling to the lodge each summer, was a group known as the Keewaydins, sons and daughters of wealthy East Coast families.

When the Whites and Wilhelm sold the resort to Paul Judge in the spring of 1930, arrangements had already been made for a six-week stay of 50 Keewaydins. "In 1930, the Great Depression was just starting. Instead of 50 girls, we had 38 for the summer," wrote Judge in his account about Holland Lake Lodge. "We took a long pack trip up over Gordon Pass to Big Prairie and on out to Ovando and on to Helmville to the Kelly Ranch, where we exchanged the girls for boys for two weeks."

Judge and his wife Frances operated the resort for three seasons. "Each year the depression became more severe. There were fewer and fewer Kewayden (sic) girls, and our regular guests became few and far between," Judge wrote. "So we just couldn't hack it financially and make the payments. As a result, in the late fall of 1932, we had to turn the lodge back to the owners."

The proprietorship of the lodge reverted once again to the Whites. Babe opted out of the partnership in 1937. After D. A. White died in 1946, Ada White sold to Mr. and Mrs. Louis Jensen and C. J. and Donella McCann.

Sadly, the renovated and refurbished lodge burned to the ground the next year on July 2, 1947. The owners, resort employees and Forest Service workers fought the blaze. Using water pumps, they were able to save the buildings nearby, although the fire charred some of the logs of the owner's cabin.

Though just a youngster when he lived at the resort with his parents, John Jenson witnessed the fire. "We had a generator for electricity and wood stoves in both the lodge and house," he recalled in a letter written in 2004. "We believe it was a spark from the (wood) stove that started the fire."

Construction of a new log lodge began in 1947 and was completed in 1948 when the McCanns had sole ownership of the resort.

Subsequent owners of the lodge included Arnold "Barney" Woodhouse, Roland and Dorothy Trampe, Charles and Lillian Peters, Richard and Marion Nelson and Leslie and Joann Frazier. With each owner came improvements to the property including cabins, outbuildings and fences.

In 1979, the Fraziers sold to Howard Uhl and Richard "Dick" Schaeffer. They were the first proprietors to open the lodge year-round after winterizing the lodge and three of the cabins.

Along with Dick's wife, Carole, and Howard's wife, Loris, they each pitched in to cook meals for the guests. Perhaps the most popular menu item was the Gut Bomb, a half-pound burger on a seven-inch bun topped with ham, bacon, a fried egg, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and a special sauce. According to local lore, a young man once ate three Gut Bombs in one sitting.

In the late 1980s to early 1990s, Holland Lake Lodge hosted a dog sled race called the Race to the Lake.

In 1997, Robert Nagell and John Wohlfeil became owners of the property. Nagell passed the controlling interest in the special use permit to John's son, Christian Wohlfeil in 2002. After the death of his father that same year, Christian purchased the resort.

Christian has owned the Holland Lake Lodge for 22 years, longer than any previous owners. For many years, Christian hosted an open house each spring offering free appetizers and drinks to local clientele. Under his management, the lodge became a popular wedding venue. Countless couples have tied the knot on the lawn of Holland Lake Lodge.

In 2022, the Utah-based ski corporation POWDR proposed to purchase, expand and develop the lodge property. After vigorous opposition from the public, the Flathead National Forest rejected POWDR's proposal.

Recently in October 2024, Eric Jacobsen, a private equity investor, announced that he secured a contract to purchase the property.

During the past century, visitors to the Holland Lake Lodge have witnessed many changes to the property. One thing that remains constant is the value the community has placed on the unspoiled beauty, wildlife and solitude the lake and surrounding public lands offer.