St. Simons Island, Georgia coast

Another day spent sightseeing on one of Georgia's coastal islands. Fun - fun! Actually we went over there on two different days. The first day was spent checking out Ft. Frederica which turned out to be mostly story. It is little more than ruins now. They had laid out ground markers to depict the ruins of an 18th century British Fort and Town within land that was used to guard Georgia's southern frontier. At it's peak there were some seventy houses at Frederica. It is best remembered for the battle with the Spanish won by the British, thus preventing the Spanish invasion of Georgia. I found the little white Christ's Church of Frederica built in the 1800's to be more interesting because of the cemetery around it with interesting headstones . The name we saw most often on large family plots was Stevens. We also noticed a street on the Island named Stevens. However, there were many, many other names from both the Island and Brunswick on the mainland. I'm sure you genealogy people would have appreciated it.

John and Charles Wesley, two brothers from England, were known to have preached under the limbs of the large oak tree near the church. They were considered the fathers of Methodism in America. We were not able to go into the church as it was being prepared for a wedding that day.

The reason for the second trip to the Island was to go up into the lighthouse. It was not open the first day because of the fog hanging over south Georgia causing the steps to be too wet to be safe. It was 129 steps to the top . So we got our exercise that day! These are pictures of the views from the top . We later walked out on the pier and took pictures from that direction of the shore also. The house connected to the lighthouse was interestingly furnished to depict the time era when the light house was rebuilt, but we were not permitted to take pictures in it. However, in the museum going into the lighthouse we saw this interesting secretary and I did take a picture as it is different from any that I have seen before. I liked the way the front of what appeared to be a leg swung open and displayed a set of three drawers. Fancy hiding, huh?

There are businesses, normal shopping and fast food areas, Inns , museums ,

and condominiums all around this area. We enjoyed going into the little gift shops also leading to the pier. There was a restaurant, Barbara Jean's, known for the crab cakes, She Crab Soup, and Chocolate Stuff. I looked her up on the Internet and she has restaurants in seven locations in GA, FL, and SC. She also has cookbooks out and sells her specialties wholesale. We want to go back there before we leave the area!

Gary got his Georgia fishing license near the pier so he will have something more to do with his time while here. Then maybe I will get some scrapbooking done. All I have been doing with my extra time is the blog and reading. But then I am not complaining!

We spent more time driving the streets and checking out the housing. We were surprised at how many tiny houses were in horrible disrepair and I should have taken a picture of one. It made us want to buy and fix them up. Just a little TLC! I imagine that zoning restrictions would be prohibitive. We did take a photo of one that is for sale by owner for just $400,000 ! I suppose they think that it is worth it because of the corner lot???

Many or I should probably say, most of the homes are for vacation rentals . So we were thinking it would also be nice to buy one just across the dune from the beach with more than one unit so we would have a permanent vacation location and a rental. ??

And then there were more single family homes that were even much more expensive. The one that I would have like to go through, took five photos from the car to get all of it on film . It reminds me of Quaker Lane back home.

Then we went back to our motorhome and this was our view from our front window through the rain! Yes, that is a sofa on top of the picnic table and it has been there since before we got here on December 13th. But then there are many motorhomes and fifth wheels that come in and out every day heading farther south! But the campgrounds in the south have permanents living here year around because of the mild weather.

Stay safe and hope to see you again soon.

JEKYLL Island, Georgia coast

This has by far, been the most difficult Blog to write. But to satisfy the curiosity of my sister, I had to include all of the pictures so that she can thus visit this island of the famous, to know that it really is not much different from many other communities in our great country. The history is really the most interesting part of it. After returning to Georgia from Ohio, we drove through what had been the original gateway to cross the causeway with marshland on both sides, to get to Jekyll Island . It was developed to be a privately owned hunting retreat for 53 charter members who were wealthy and powerful men like Pullitzer, Vanderbilt and Morgan. And later it become a settlement of vacation homes for their families. We began our own auto tour along the heavy wooded roadways dense with Spanish moss. We stopped at the sand dunes to walk the beach and watch the sea gulls and waves . Our stop at the Tour Museum of the Island, where we saw a carriage preparing to provide a ride for a bridal party, was where we made arrangements to take a trolly ride for a narated tour of the original historic district. The Island Museum consists of 33 structures in the historic district. I wanted to give you the pictures of the main structures in this Museum district and the names of important people and events that put this island down in history. A parcel of the island was purchased by John DuBignon who built his cottage in 1884. He had purchased the entire island by 1885 Then with the help of his brother-in-law, Newton Finney, he sold the island to the newly formed Jekyll Island Club for $125,000. In 1896 his cottage was moved and is the oldest intact structure on the island at this time. We stopped to go through the interior of the DuBignon house where the kitchen was in a seperate building to prevent the cooking from heating the main house and in case of fire. If there was a fire in the kitchen, the breezeway could be torn down easily and quickly to prevent the fire from spreading to the main house. Many of the cottages were built without kitchens as the meals were usually taken in the Jekyll Island Club House. The clubhouse was a three and four story building with servant quarters, dining rooms and parlors and 60 guest rooms, built in 1886 in Queen Anne style with a circular tower . When space became a problem as the resort gained in popularity, an annex was added in 1901 containing eight apartments on the first and second floors and the fourth floor for the servants. This was all designed for comfort and not as a showcase of their wealth. The dining room was added in 1917.

In 1886 a noted architect was hired to subdivide the grounds and create 50 lots for future cottages. The lots were arranged so any cottage built would be no further than one fourth mile from the Club House.

One of the first buildings on the tour was the Faith Chapel of the village, built in 1911. The exterior is almost entirely of shingle construction as are many of the original vacation homes. The interior of this chapel is also shingle.

Cottage describes a large or small vacation home built for comfort and were unpretentious, representing only a small part of the owners overall wealth. They were designed in a variety of architectural styles including shingle. Jekyll has the finest collection of shingle style structures in the south.

In 1897 when the clubhouse did not have sufficient space for all of the members, the Sans Souci Apartments were built. It is four stories with six apartments, without kitchens, on the second and third floors and the fourth floor was the servants quarters. The original owners of these apartments were J. P. Morgan, financier; William Rockefeller of the Standard Oil Company; William P Anderson of the American Cotton Oil Company; Joseph Stickney of Stickney, Conynham and Company; and Henry B Hyde of Equitable Life Assurance Company. Thus known as the power house. Henry Hyde was known as the Czar of Jekyll for his demanding approach to running the Club's affairs. He also personally approved the Sans Souci apartment's occupants, rejecting those with children and those with mistresses alike.

Members found that they were unable to truly escape from their responsibilities in the outside world even on Jekyll. The world would come to Jekyll, and the quiet little island soon found it's way into history. Some of the significant events that would shape the world we live in today were started on Jekyll. The first transcontinental telephone call was placed here within the Clubhouse, as was the development of the Federal Reserve Act shortly after the Panic of 1907.

White employees held most of the skilled jobs and enjoyed the island's amusements of golfing, bicycling, and swimming. Nearly all were provided housing in servants quarters inside the cottages or in the clubhouse. They also went to parties and dances on the island. Private cottages were built only for the high-ranking employees like the boat captain or the golf pros.

The Furness Cottage built in 1890 for the Furness family was later purchased by Joseph Pulitzer in 1896 when it was relocated and used to house his staff. In 1930 the Goodyear family bought it, had it moved to it's present location and donated it to the Jekyll Island Club to be used as an infirmary for the island in memory of Josephine Looney Goodyear.

These are pictures of the largest, most expensive, L-shaped Italian style residence on the island built for Richard Teller Crane, Jr. Crane was the owner of a manufacturing business in New York which made plumbing products. Sound familiar Salem people?

The Crane Cottage (?) tour begins with the front and ends with an inner courtyard .

The Goodyear Cottage which now houses an art gallery and gift shop

Cherokee Cottage

The Villa Marianna, built in 1928 by Frank Gould, was the last cottage built for a member and was named for his daughter.

Villa Ospo Cottage, built by the first member to have his own motor car on the island. Thus he had an attached garage.

Indian Mound Cottage built in 1892 for Gordon McKay. It was bought by William Rockefeller in 1904 and is presently under restoration.

Mistletoe Cottage

Moss Cottage shingle style built in 1896 by William Struthers, where we toured the first floor. It has a game room with shingle walls and exposed beams.

After the Club closed in 1947, the Club House served as a state-operated hotel when the island changed from private ownership. It was again restored in 1986.

The Horton house built of tabby, was the first house built on this island before the island became a wealthy man's resort. It is not a part of the club members village.

There are many new villas resorts that have been added to the east coast side of the island in recent years after it became a part of the state of Georgia. There are newer residences on the island also on the main roads and on side streets which all dead end near the dunes on the east coast. This house is for sale and we thought that we might like to settle down in it when we tire of traveling. Don't hold your breath! It is very close to the Atlantic coast and after checking on the internet, we found that it is a six bedroom, three and a half bath home that we could have for just $737,500.