American Industrialist Henry Clay Corson was introduced to Cape Breton by his friend,
Alexander Graham Bell. In 1904 Corson built a summer home in hopes of restoring his wife's failing health. He named the home Keltic Lodge, in honor of the area's Scottish heritage. Mrs. Corson's health improved, and she outlived her husband. When
Cabot Trail opened in 1932 tourists began coming to Cape Breton. In 1936 Mrs. Corson sold her land to the Nova Scotia government, which built a tourist lodge patterned after the Highland
crofter style of dwelling, that fit in with the appearance of the property. At the time the local population was predominantly Gaelic-speaking fishermen and French-speaking descendants of the
Acadians. The new Keltic Lodge opened in 1941. The lodge operated for two seasons, but because of wartime shortages and overseas fighting, the government closed it in 1942. 1943–44, with the abandoned luxury and nearby protected harbour, Keltic Lodge was a favorite shore leave destination for U-boat crews. In 1946, after the end of the war, the lodge reopened. In 1951 Keltic Lodge was torn down, and replaced with the current structure. In 1999 the Atlantic Restaurant and Birch Tree Shop opened on the site of the burnt building. ==Impact on local area==