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The
original Inlet Inn, built in the 1850’s by the owners of a dry
goods store in Beaufort, was first a private residence known as
the Lowenberg House.
It was admired for having one of the best views on the east
coast.
In
the early 1900’s the home was sold to the Morris family who used
it as a summer home.
After a couple years the Morris’s turned the home into a
boarding house and named it The Morris House.
In
1911, the house was sold to Congressman Charles Abernathy who
greatly expanded its size with rambling additions and named it the
New Inlet Inn.
There was a ball room on the second floor and music was
provided by a small orchestra comprised of the four children of
the inn operator, Mrs. Worth, and two other local Beaufort boys.
There was even a dance instructor. Fresh water was pumped to the
Inn by windmills.
At
this time a beautiful swimming beach was right at the front steps
of the Inn and a very popular half-mile long boardwalk, extending
from the 500 block of Front Street to Gordon Street, passed in
front of the Inn.
Dredging of Taylor’s Creek and the resulting unsightly
piles of sand on the south side of the channel combined with the
Depression following World War One lead to the closing of the Inn
in the early Twenties.
Several comebacks were attempted but never very
successfully.
Eventually the beach in front of the Inn was filled and
Front Street was extended and paved.
Finally,
in 1967 at the age of 110, most of the building was torn down to
make way for construction of the BB&T bank building just east
of the current Inlet Inn. One wing of the original Inlet Inn was
salvaged and now sets at the edge of the parking lot of the
current Inlet Inn and again is used as a private residence.
The
current Inlet Inn was built in 1985.
In the spring of 2004 the Inn was purchased by Larry and
Debby Jones, who now operate it as a family business.
And still today, the Inlet Inn enjoys one of the best
locations and best views on the east coast.
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