John Matthews arrived in the area as a very young man from the US, and was among the first to settle on the east side of the lake. Unfortunately, the land was too poor for farming since the area straddles the transition to Boreal forest and much of it is light and very rocky. Matthews eventually settled in the early 1930s on the homestead quarter where the Hamlet of Turtle Lake Lodge now sits. Since farming was not sufficient in this area, alternatives were required which would fit with the country there. These included fishing, boat building, carpentry, logging and trapping. Today, the Matthews family is the last of the original homesteaders in the area east of the lake.