FLOYD SIMMONS CAMP

Floyd Simmons, the Edgewater Club

Simmon’s yacht–The Flying Dolphin (used to ferry guests and personal trips, as well)

THE EDGEWATER CLUB:  1935-1937

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(excerpted and adapted from The Carteret County Historical Society Quarterly—On the Bluffs and Five Stories High—Jan.-June, 2022—Steve Anderson as author)—photos are from the CCHS Photograph Collection

Floyd Simmons, a road contractor from Charlotte who had coached at Davison College and held the athletic director position at UNC-CH began guiding well-to-do friends on hunting, fishing and boating outings in Carteret County.  

In addition to outings on Bogue Sound, Ocracoke, Portsmouth Island, Hatteras, New River and Morehead City, Simmons purchased land, had architectural drawings done in New York, and erected a “hunting lodge” under the shadow of the Cape Lookout lighthouse.  Organizing a syndicate of businessmen in the state, he was able to quickly evolve the endeavor into the Edgewater Club Incorporated.  The group acquired the Morehead Villa  (constructed in 1923) as their main clubhouse on the mainland.  This was a pay-to-play venture inviting only privileged, white male friends to participate.  There were work-arounds for some women, however.

Members benefited from 4 weeks a year of the wide range of activities and expeditions led by Simmons.  If they preferred, they could enjoy the more Spartan life of his remote Cape Lookout Lodge or Beacon Island hunting camp off Ocracoke—engaged in hunting or fishing.  

The photo contrasts with the blueprints for the lodge proposed to “lie under the shadow of the lighthouse”

In 1937, as the clubs membership declined, Simmons cashed out of his club and it transitioned into one failed venture after another. 

Post card depicting the “Morehead Biltmore”Blue print for the  construction of the cabin “in the shadow” of the lighthouse at Cape Lookout.

This is the cabin used for up to two weeks duration at the Cape.

Floyd Simmons at the Morehead  site—Edgewater Club—with a hen turkey harvested at an inland site available to guests.

Below, a sketch outlines available outings. Simmons also owned the Beacon Island Lodge in Pamlico Sound of of Portsmouth and  Ocracoke.

In the 1920s, Floyd Simmons serves as a hunting guide in Portsmouth (based in the Gilgo house), at Beacon island, Ocracoke, Hatteras and other sites.  The Flying Dolphin, his schooner, facilitated  many of his outings.