By 1905, tennis was gaining popularity on the island over hunting. Robert Pruyn, chairman of the committee on golf and sports, said, "For two years, tennis has been the most popular outdoor sport," and requested additional courts to be . . . — — Map (db m115118) HM
Enslaved workers often relied on music to make their tasks more bearable. African musical instruments they were familiar with were mostly banned. Drums were banned because slave owners were afraid they would be used to communicate and possibly lead . . . — — Map (db m168802) HM
Keeping the peace
as well as providing superior service was a difficult task. These two skills and countless other responsibilities were entrusted to the Club superintendent. Men such as J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer and Henry Hyde knew . . . — — Map (db m115112) HM
This burying ground contains the bodies of several members of the du Bignon family, descendants of Le Sieur Christophe Poulain de la Houssaye du Bignon, native of Saint-Malo in Brittany. One of four Frenchmen, former residents of Sapelo Island, . . . — — Map (db m17509) HM
Chartered by the State of Georgia to be trustworthy stewards of the island, the Jekyll Island Authority has been very active in the preservation of the National Historic Landmark District. The rehabilitation of Crane Cottage and Cherokee in . . . — — Map (db m115119) HM
Mr. Lincoln says we are free. We can live our own lives. God bless Mr. Lincoln. In 1863, as a strategy to end the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that "all persons held as slaves, . . . — — Map (db m168805) HM
Constructed in 1896, this structure housed the steamplant that provided heat in the Sans Souci apartments. The actual components were housed in a concrete basement and the steam passed through underground piping. This photograph was taken from the . . . — — Map (db m164474) HM
On October 23, 1958, a coal mining disaster in Springhill, Nova Scotia trapped 174 men underground. The coverage of this disaster was the first international event to be broadcast live on television.
In the hope of harnessing the media . . . — — Map (db m115128) HM
The beautiful Queen Anne cottage Solterra burned to the ground in 1914. The only thing remaining as the sun set on March 9, 1914, was a brick chimney and a small outbuilding — the Dovecote. The Dovecote became a multipurpose building after . . . — — Map (db m164494) HM
On March 6, 1948, Jekyll Island opened as a state park for the citizens of Georgia. However, the new public seashore was not available to everyone, at first. Because of segregation, African Americans could not visit many areas of Jekyll Island, . . . — — Map (db m115135) HM
I was given clothes and food and sold to a white man. His family called me Lucius Williams. I was no longer called Umwalla. When a slave ship docked, the enslaved were washed and oiled to make them look healthier. They were then sold at . . . — — Map (db m168800) HM
Around 409 captive men, women, and children were illegally smuggled aboard the Wanderer for sale in the United States. A large number of Wanderer Survivors are not named on this list, because we do not have enough information about . . . — — Map (db m168783) HM
Tabby was the building material for walls, floors, and roofs widely used throughout coastal Georgia during the Military and Plantation Eras. It was composed of equal parts of sand, lime, oyster shell and water mixed into a mortar and poured into . . . — — Map (db m17578) HM
My parents named me Umwalla. I was 10 when strangers took me away in ropes to be sold. I never saw my family again. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was the largest forced migration of people in world history. For 350 years slave . . . — — Map (db m168794) HM
With a family of eight Charles Stewart Maurice quickly decided accommodations of the Club House would not suffice. In 1890 he built Hollybourne, with plenty of large open, informal spaces, a home away from home during their winter stays here . . . — — Map (db m115056) HM
Edwin Gould purchased Chichota cottage within 5 days of his first visit to Jekyll Island in December of 1900. He quickly began modifying the cottage for his family’s arrival in March. Edwin made a commitment to the Island, purchasing several . . . — — Map (db m72663) HM
The Beach Pavilion in front of you opened on September 25, 1955 to great fanfare, as St. Andrews Beach became the first public beach in Georgia to welcome African Americans. Celebrations included a motorcade, dedication ceremony, and music by the . . . — — Map (db m115137) HM
This is the site of the Jekyll Island Club Boat House where the 100 foot steamer The Jekyll Island was stored during the off season. (The Club season was usually from after New Years until before Easter).
There was no Jekyll Creek . . . — — Map (db m17462) HM
The gateway to Jekyll Island, the Club Wharf provided a perfect location for members to gather and socialize upon arrival, or to say long goodbyes after a pleasant winter season. The only way that a person was allowed onto Jekyll Island from 1886 . . . — — Map (db m214889) HM
They came by water. Long before the present-day causeway was built, the only way to reach Jekyll Island was by boat. Large steam-powered vessels from the North, such as the Mallory Steamship Line, delivered Club staff and sundry personal items . . . — — Map (db m227718) HM
The Executive Committee hired architect Charles Alexander to design the Clubhouse. He designed the building in a Queen Anne style that complemented the natural beauty of the island and emphasized the rustic simplicity that the Jekyll Island Club . . . — — Map (db m115117) HM
From 1959 to 1966, the Dolphin Club Lounge provided lively entertainment for visitors to the historically black St. Andrews Beach.
Juke joints like this one once stretched across the southeastern United States. On remote Jekyll Island, the . . . — — Map (db m115141) HM
The St. Andrews Beach Corporation formed in early 1956 to build a motel and restaurant here on Jekyll Island's once segregated South End. The company included many successful black business owners from Brunswick. In partnership with the Jekyll . . . — — Map (db m115139) HM
On the Move
When first constructed in 1890, Furness Cottage stood as a lone sentry in the southern portion of the Club compound.
The growing popularity of cottage construction led to its first move, off of Riverview Drive.
. . . — — Map (db m115114) HM
The Czar of Jekyll Island
What to do when you require privacy from the overflowing crowds of guests at the Clubhouse, but want to take advantage of its world-class French chef, new billiards wing, and the cheerful fireplace of the main . . . — — Map (db m155904) HM
The Skeet House is not in its original location, but stands as a symbol of the core philosophy that the Jekyll Island Club was founded upon – outdoor recreation.
The Skeet House, along with the Skeet and Trap Range, was constructed in . . . — — Map (db m234943) HM
Within sight and sound of St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island was ideal for entertaining Spanish visitors to the settlement at Frederica. Major William Horton, resident of the island, received the guests while Oglethorpe on St. Simons, with cannon . . . — — Map (db m17281) HM
were planted October, 1976, during our Bicentennial Celebration by the Jekyll Island Garden Club in commemoration of the Thirteen Original Colonies — — Map (db m227663) HM
Early in the morning, early in the century, it happened: Solterra caught fire. Built by charter member Frederick Baker in 1890, the house was an emblem of the nineteenth century: proper, discrete, upright. The old century seemed to be going . . . — — Map (db m72668) HM
At the Jekyll Island Club's peak of activity there were many more support structures and cottages than you see today. Some buildings were destroyed by natural events, while others fell into disrepair and were demolished - and much of the story of . . . — — Map (db m164519) HM
A Warm Welcome
Walter Jennings, a former Standard Oil director, built Villa Ospo, as a winter getaway for his family in 1927.
Walter and his wife, Jean, were very involved with the Jekyll Island Club and often greeted newcomers and . . . — — Map (db m155954) HM
Great Dunes Park is named for the historic Great Dunes Golf Course, designed by Walter Travis. Travis was considered the most successful amateur golfer in the United States during the 1900s and 1910s. The golf course was an 18-hole course placed . . . — — Map (db m115154) HM
Great Dunes Park is named for the historic Great Dunes Gulf Course, designed by Walter Travis. Travis was considered the most successful amateur golfer in the United States during the 1900s and 1910s. The golf course was an 18-hole course built . . . — — Map (db m157008) HM
Needwood Baptist Church was organized in 1866 on nearby Broadfield Plantation as Broadfield Baptist Church of the Zion Baptist Association. This structure, built in the 1870s, was redesigned in 1885 when the church moved its congregation here. Its . . . — — Map (db m13575) HM
In 1803 Igbo captives (also Ibo or Ebo) from West Africa revolted while on a slave ship in Dunbar Creek. It is believed that at least ten Igbo drowned, choosing death over enslavement. The Gullah Geechee, descendants of enslaved West Africans along . . . — — Map (db m234894) HM
The skirmish at Bloody Marsh was more than a battle.
It was a clash of cultures - each vying for control of
what is now the southeastern United States.
Soldiers from Hispanic colonies in the New World
fought under the Spanish banner, with the . . . — — Map (db m63869) HM
On October 21, 1735, John and Charles Wesley and General James Oglethorpe (founder of the colony of Georgia) and eighty-four other passengers sailed from England on the ship "The Simmonds". After a hundred and fourteen days they sailed into the . . . — — Map (db m12549) HM
A Mission By The SeaIn 1949, the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church purchased 43.53 acres of the Hamilton Plantation from the Sea Island Company for a Christian conference center. They named "Epworth" after the Wesleys' English . . . — — Map (db m174375) HM
“Two coins were found on the floor. One was a British penny dated 1755, and the other was a United States cent dated 1798.” Archeological Report
The life span of Frederica was brief. Most of the ruins you see represent . . . — — Map (db m70227) HM
We are resolved not to suffer
defeat - we will rather die like
Leonidas and his Spartans - if we
can but protect Georgia and
Carolina and the rest of the Americans
from desolation Oglethorpe
Erected on the battlefield . . . — — Map (db m63868) HM
During the late morning of July 7, 1742 Georgia Rangers guarding the military road approach to the town of Frederica sighted a force of over 100 Spanish soldiers and their Indian allies. James Edward
Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia, quickly . . . — — Map (db m11634) HM
"The town is divided into several ? streets along ? sides are planted orange trees… London Magazine 1745
Imagine a typical day here on Broad Street in the early 1740s. Women worked in fenced gardens. Children played in the streets. . . . — — Map (db m70223) HM
In 1793 John Couper, with his partner James Hamilton, purchased Cannon's Point in northeastern St. Simons Island. In addition to the production of cotton, Couper experimented with citrus trees, grapes, date palms from Persia, mulberry trees for . . . — — Map (db m30167) HM
In 1736 Captain Gascoigne of the
British Sloop-of War Hawk, established
here at Gascoigne Bluff the base for
the naval defense of the Colony of
Georgia. The Spaniards landed here
in the invasion of 1742.
In 1794 Live Oak timbers were . . . — — Map (db m13414) HM
These houses were slave cabins on the Gascoigne Bluff section of Hamilton Plantation which was developed in 1793 by James Hamilton into one of the largest estates on St. Simons Island.
Eventually this Gascoigne Bluff area was given to Glynn . . . — — Map (db m11810) HM
Here are buried former Rectors of Christ Church and their families, the families of early settlers and of plantation days, officers of the British Army, and soldiers of every war in which our country fought. The oldest tombstone is dated 1803 but . . . — — Map (db m12346) HM
This congregation was established as a mission of the Church of England in February, 1736. The Rev. Charles Wesley, ordained priest of that Church, conducted the first services in the chapel within the walls of Fort Frederica. The Rev. John . . . — — Map (db m17449) HM
In 1804, John Couper of Cannon's Point Plantation sold 4 acres of land, known as Couper's Point, to the U.S. Government for the sum of $1.00. This is the site where the first St. Simons Lighthouse, built by James Gould, was located. — — Map (db m14041) HM
The first fortification built by the British on the South End of St. Simons Island was erected near this site in April, 1736, by soldiers of the South Carolina Independent Company under the command of Lieutenant Philip Delegal. Before coming to . . . — — Map (db m12167) HM
From the site of the Battle of Bloody Marsh to the intersection with Ocean Boulevard, this road is part of the Military Road, sometimes called The King’s High Road, which was built by Frederica settlers in 1738 to connect Fort Frederica and Fort . . . — — Map (db m12473) HM
The Spanish established several
missions along Georgia's coastal sea
islands. Two missions were located on
St. Simons Island, called " Isla De
Guadalquini" by the Spanish: Santo
Domingo de Asajo (Guale) and San
Buenaventura de . . . — — Map (db m13431) HM
Epworth by the SeaJohn and Charles Wesley were born in a parsonage with thatched roof and solidly built walls in Epworth, England. This home was destroyed by fire when John was six years old. All the family were able to escape except John. From . . . — — Map (db m12560) HM
On this island in 1736 and 1737 lived and labored John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, Benjamin Ingham and Charles Delamotte. Leaders in the evangelical revival and founders of The Methodist Church.
They left an imperishable record of . . . — — Map (db m129260) HM
”Gone to Carolina” Town Census 1743 Samuel Perkins, a coachmaker, arrived at Frederica with the first settlers. He built two good houses in town, one of them on this foundation. Outside town he cleared and fenced five acres, . . . — — Map (db m168384) HM
In 1736, on this historic site, Fort Frederica was constructed by the early settlers of the Colony of Georgia under General James Edward Oglethorpe. It was the strongest fortification built by Great Britain on American soil and its purpose was to . . . — — Map (db m18909) HM
On this site Fort St. Simons was built by
English troops under command of General
James Edward Oglethorpe in 1738. It guarded
the entrance to the Frederica River through
which ships must pass to reach Fort Frederica.
With nearby Delegal's . . . — — Map (db m81904) HM
British settlement on St. Simons Island dates from 1736 when General James Edward Oglethorpe established the fortified town of Frederica seven miles northwest of today's lighthouse. Fort Frederica served as a defense against the Spanish in Florida . . . — — Map (db m106265) HM
On this site Fort St. Simons was built by English troops under command of General James Edward Oglethorpe in 1738. It guarded the entrance to the Frederica River through which ships must pass to reach Fort Frederica with nearby Delegal's Fort. It . . . — — Map (db m236873) HM
" Frederica is situated on the Island of
St. Simons, in the middle of an Indian
field where our people found 30 or 40
acres cleared by them."
Francis Moore
1736
A Voyage to Georgia
The first British settlers landed . . . — — Map (db m18823) HM
John Calwell, the candlemaker, " had
built lately a large house of three storied
high which was looked on to be the best
in town, with storehouses, etc. for carrying
on the trade..."
Journal of William Stephens
June 25, 1745 During . . . — — Map (db m18906) HM
”We have built us a little room with some boards that we sawed, and built us a chimney in it with clay.” Joseph Cannon, Age 15 Letter to England November 1736 The first settler on this lot was Daniel Cannon, a carpenter. . . . — — Map (db m168382) HM
”Frederica was once a pretty little town, as appears by the ruins, having been burned down some years since.” Colonel S. Elbert May 1777 The house that stood on these ruins was a two-story duplex with tabby walls, and elegant . . . — — Map (db m168380) HM
The Fort at Frederica has ”four bastions, a ditch palisaded, and a covered way [outer moat] defended by fifteen pieces of cannon.” Samuel Augspourguer Frederica engineer 1739 Cannon protected Frederica’s river approaches from . . . — — Map (db m168387) HM
" Some houses are built entirely of brick, some
of brick and wood, some few of tappy-work; but
most of the meaner sort of wood only."
London Magazine 1745 When Frederica was established in 1736, each
freeholder was given a lot 60 foot . . . — — Map (db m18905) HM
Mary Musgrove Matthews " has always
been in great esteen with the General,... for
being half Indian by extract, she had a very
great influence upon many of them, particulary
the Creek Nation...."
William Stephens
February 22, 1740 . . . — — Map (db m18908) HM
”They were pleased to appoint me to be Keeper of the Stores.” Francis Moore 1736 A Voyage to Georgia Francis Moore, like other Frederica settlers, wore many hats. He served as General Oglethorpe's secretary, town . . . — — Map (db m168389) HM
" The inhabitants of the town went
out on the 25th [September 1738] with
the General and cut a road through
the woods down to the soldiers fort..."
Gentleman's Magazine
January 1739 In front of you lies the trace of the . . . — — Map (db m18911) HM
This brick rectangle marks the site of the North Storehouse. It was a three-story brick and timber structure with a flat, tarred roof. Ship’s cargoes of food, tools, weapons, and other provisions vital to the colony were stored here. Frederica’s . . . — — Map (db m168388) HM
”There are two bastion towers of two stories each in the hollow of the bastions, defended on the outside with thick earthworks, and capable of lodging great numbers of soldiers.” London Magazine October 23, 1747 An earthwork . . . — — Map (db m168392) HM
This remnant is all
that time has spared of the
citadel of the town of Frederica
built by
General Oglethorpe
A.D. 1736
As an outpost against
The Spanish in Florida — — Map (db m18919) HM
" This Frederica is a very strange place; it
was once a town - the town, the metropolis of
the island."
Francis Anne Kemble
Visitor to Frederica
1839 Here, in unknown graves more than two centuries old,
lie many of the early . . . — — Map (db m18907) HM
Concerning the town doctor, Thomas Jones wrote in 1741, "He had not administered one dose of physic to any poor person, but refused unless paid…” This ruin represents two houses which may have shared a common wall, much like English . . . — — Map (db m168385) HM
"There are barracks in the town on
the north side, ninety feet square, built of tappy,
covered by cypress shingles; and a handsome
tower over the gateway...."
London Magazine
October 23, 1747 At the time of the Spanish attack in . . . — — Map (db m18917) HM
"In the morning, Mr. Oglethorpe began
to mark out a fort with four bastions, and
taught the men how to dig the ditch, and
raise and turf the rampart."
Francis Moore
1736
A Voyage to Georgia General Oglethorpe chose this . . . — — Map (db m18915) HM
”All sentrys are to be vigilant on their post; neither are they to sing, smoke tobacco, nor suffer any noise to be made near them.” Treatise of Military Discipline 1749 ”The Kings Magazine,” as it is known today, was . . . — — Map (db m168386) HM
”They make as fine an appearance upon the parade as any regiment in the King’s Service.” London Magazine 1745 This large, open area near the barracks was the parade ground. Some of the soldiers lived in huts along its edges. . . . — — Map (db m168391) HM
Throughout the ages Gascoigne Bluff has been the gateway to St. Simons Island. An Indian village was located here. Capt. James Gascoigne of HM Sloop-of-war, HAWK, which convoyed the Frederica settlers on their voyage across the Atlantic in 1736, . . . — — Map (db m12229) HM
Throughout the ages Gascoigne Bluff has been the gateway to St. Simons Island. An Indian village was located here. Capt. James Gascoigne of HM Sloop-of-was, HAWK, which convoyed the Frederica settlers on their voyage across the Atlantic in 1736, . . . — — Map (db m13415) HM
Here in 1736, Oglethorpe settled a group of German Lutherans, known as Salzburgers, and their settlement was called the German Village. These Salzburgers made their living by planting, fishing, and selling their products to the Frederica settlers. . . . — — Map (db m12389) HM
In 1800 James Hamilton, with his partner John Couper, purchased land at Gascoigne Bluff. Under Hamilton’s stewardship, Hamilton Plantation became one of the major St. Simons producers of long-staple cotton. After Hamilton moved to Philadelphia, . . . — — Map (db m19084) HM
In 1774 Major Pierce Butler of South Carolina purchased Hampton Point in northwestern St. Simons Island, and by the 1790s Hampton was developed into the island's largest cotton plantation in land and slave population. Signer of the Constitution and . . . — — Map (db m51975) HM
Capt. Raymond Demere, a native of France, served many years in the British army at Gibraltar before coming to Georgia in 1738 as an officer in Oglethorpe's Regiment. His home, Harrington Hall, was located at this site.
Later generations of . . . — — Map (db m14670) HM
The present lighthouse was
commissioned by the U.S.
Government in 1867 to be
built adjacent to the site of
the 1810 tower. The 104' tower
and keeper's dwelling were
designed by the noted
architect Charles Clusky.
Clusky and . . . — — Map (db m13486) HM
[Left panel]
Constructed in 1880 by Norman Dodge, repaired in 1897 after a hurricane damaged it, the Chapel was designed by architect G.W. Laine of Atlanta. It was originally known as Union Church and later connsecrated [sic] as St. James . . . — — Map (db m12552) HM
In February of 1984, an expedition launched from
St. Simons Island discovered the calving grounds of
the North Atlantic Right Whale. Female whales
give birth in nearby coastal waters during the winter
months; But the young calves and . . . — — Map (db m55024) HM
Spain maintained missions along this coast for more than a century. Beginning in 1568 Jesuit and, later, Franciscan missionaries labored to Christianize the Indians and cultivated in the mission gardens figs, peaches, oranges and other plants . . . — — Map (db m12430) HM
Patrick Houstoun wrote in January 1741 that he was "...now settled in Frederica, being lately married to Capt. Dunbar's sister who hath a lot in Frederica which is now mine...." Priscilla Dunbar, the original settler on this lot, came to . . . — — Map (db m168383) HM
In circa 1740, James Oglethorpe established a watch house west of here on the bank of the Frederica River. In 1745, Edward Kimber described this site as a place "from whence they can see Vessels a great Way to the Northward" and it served as a . . . — — Map (db m73889) HM
In 1804 William Page purchased land on St. Simons Sound and named it Retreat. With later purchases, Retreat became one of the preeminent plantations on St. Simons Island for the production of long-staple cotton. In 1827 the Pages' only child, Anna . . . — — Map (db m125106) HM
Reverends John & Charles Wesley
“About 3:30 in the afternoon I first set foot on St. Simons Island and immediately my spirits revived.” Charles Wesley, March 9, 1736.
Ordained ministers of the Anglican Church, . . . — — Map (db m58588) HM
After midnight on April 8, 1942, the German submarine U-123 was in position off the St. Simons Island sea buoy. Minutes later it chased and torpedoed two tankers, the Oklahoma and Esso Baton Rouge, killing twenty-two crew members. Survivors were . . . — — Map (db m15609) HM
“The soldiers have the privilege of cutting timber and building houses for their families, which many have done, and thrive very well.” London Magazine 1747
The first settler on this lot was John LeValley, Jr., a . . . — — Map (db m70226) HM
This was the plantation of Archibald Sinclair, tything man of the town of Frederica. In 1765 it was granted to Donald Forbes as bounty land for his services in Oglethorpe's regiment. Forbes sold to Gen. Lachlan McIntosh of Revolutionary War fame, . . . — — Map (db m12509) HM
This tabby slave cabin of Retreat Plantation, now the Sea Island Golf Course, was one of eight cabins that stood in this area, known as New Field. The slaves who lived here tilled the Sea Island cotton fields nearby. Each of these cabins was 48 x . . . — — Map (db m125102) HM
From March 9 - May 12, 1738, Charles Wesley, secretary to James Oglethorpe, was Anglican cleric to the founders of Fort Frederica. His stern discipline earned disfavor among the colonists and Oglethorpe. John Wesley, religious leaders of the . . . — — Map (db m12155) HM
St. Simons park was the site of a Mocama Indian village of approximately 100-200 people. The inhabitants used marine resources, agriculture, square wattle and daub houses, stamped and incised Irene style ceramics, and burial mounds characteristic . . . — — Map (db m12262) HM
The settlers of St Simon’s Island in the 1700s used an unusual building material—oyster shells. The colonists found piles of them when they arrived here, discards from long-ago feasts of the local Guale and Mocama Indians. These mounds of shells, . . . — — Map (db m70176) HM