Coastal Georgia - Sea Islands & Savannah

[giradman]

I'm surprised that so little remains of the fort and town. We're the remains salvaged for building material?

Just to add another consideration - much archeological research has gone into both Frederica & Old Brunswick Town - floor plans have been found and occupants identified; so a restoration of buildings would certainly be of interest (and certainly have been done elsewhere), but assume a budget issue - don't know? Dave

 

[giradman]

Sea Island - The Cloister - a 5 Star Resort!

Sea Island lies just east of St. Simons Island and is reached by a causeway and bridge (see first two images below - the circled area on the satellite view is the main building the the Cloister Resort) - The Cloister Resort is an extensive complex w/ many accommodations (see the description pic); several images of the lobby and two bedrooms are shown. Many swimming options available, inside/outside pools, a spa pool, and of course the Atlantic Ocean where rooms/condos can be rented (or owned). Numerous outside activities are also available, such as 'life-size' chess, golf, boat rides from the dock, and many other options.

NOW, the bad news! First, Sea Island is private and gated, so the only entry is as a guest of the Cloister Resort or as an owner of property there; second, the prices are as expected outrageous - Susan & I stayed there twice (a while back), and the cost has really escalated, e.g. 3 nights at our Westin Hotel on Jekyll Island equalled 1 night in a 'medium' priced room at the Cloister - OUCH! But, if you want to splurge, worth the price - and the food is outstanding.

There are three golf courses which are part of the Cloister property, a number on adjacent St. Simons Island - see description and just one view of the beautiful Seaside Course on St. Simons - the PGA tour visits here also (second quote below). Dave

The Cloister is Sea Island's central experience, encompassing the full spectrum of resort amenities and activities. Accommodations at The Cloister have received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Forbes Five-Star award. At the heart of The Cloister is the main building, Sea Island's Mediterranean-masterpiece, inspired by the original 1928 Cloister building. This renowned architectural icon extends into lush, captivating gardens, while rising boldly at river's edge. From a bird's-eye view, The Cloister encompasses a sprawling range of buildings and amenities, including the Sea Island Yacht Club, The Cloister Spa, and The Cloister Beach Club. Fine dining is an essential part of The Cloister experience. Four dining establishments are housed within The Cloister area, including the renowned Georgian Room – Georgia's only Forbes Five-star restaurant.

Hosted by Davis Love III, The RSM Classic is an official PGA TOUR golf tournament held on Seaside and Plantation courses at Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island, Georgia. The RSM Classic tournament will be entering its sixth year in 2015. The 2015 tournament will be held November 16-22. Just like the previous four events, the upcoming 2015 tournament promises to be a fantastic display for spectators and players alike as they experience the area's rich history, culture, and extraordinary hospitality. New to the tournament, the PGA TOUR has decided to count the fall series tournaments toward the FedEx Cup standings.

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[giradman]

Okefenokee Swamp & Wildlife Refuge

The Okefenokee Swamp is a fascinating visit which we did not do again on this trip - maybe next time in the area, but highly recommended - some information quoted below from the link given. The northern part of the swamp is about an hour and a half drive (see map) to the Okefenokee Swamp Park near Waycross, GA. Numerous activities are available w/ 'gator watching' a highlight - a boat ride (or canoeing/kayaking) is a must - the cypress trees, their 'knees' and other flora are beautiful; the water that is not covered w/ vegetation is quite tannic and still make reflections that appear like the boat is going through a tunnel - highly recommended!

Pics below pretty much self-explanatory - the alligator eating a turtle is a cool pic - on my last travelogue to the Tampa Bay area, we spent a day at Myakka River State Park and saw a lot of alligators; according to the guide on the boat tour there, turtles made up the majority of the gator's diets. Dave

The Great Okefenokee Swamp is one of North America’s most unspoiled, fascinating and precious natural areas. It is the largest, intact, un-fragmented, freshwater and black water wilderness swamp in North America. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is an awesomely vast expanse of wilderness southern swamp covering approximately 700 square miles and located mostly in the southeast corner of Georgia, U.S.A.

The Okefenokee is crisscrossed by over 120 miles of paddle and motor boat water trails. It is a major destination for wetlands nature lovers paddlers and boaters. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge offers a good number of wonderfully easy to sometimes extremely challenging day use paddle only water trails. Also enjoy numerous excitingly fun to navigate dual use paddle or motor boat water trails all set up for the public to access without an overnight permit or fee requirement. A very controlled and limited number of overnight wilderness paddle trail fee permits for overnight camping paddlers are issued through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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[giradman]

Rice Culture - Carolina & Georgia Coast

After our 4 nights on Jekyll Island, we headed north toward Savannah for an additional 2 nights and about an hour closer to home - on the way (just an hour drive), we stopped at yet another two historic sites, the first a rice plantation, so just a little introduction in this post.

For South Carolina and Georgia, the rice culture was the most important commercial commodity for well over a century and generated fortunes and a southern 'aristocracy' dependent on slavery - most slaves were from the African west coast where rice cultivation was part of their life style, so adapting to the southern coastal climate (e.g. resistance to malaria) and able to clear the marsh land and construct rice fields and water trunks to flood the fields w/ fresh water was critical.

Below just a few quotes on this historic topic w/ links given - also a handful of pics, including a map of the South Carolina coastal rice areas extending up tidal rivers and marshes - we've visited many rice plantations from North Carolina near Wilmington to Georgia (next post) - one of the best introductions is the boat ride in Brookgreen Gardens, discussed in my travelogue on Myrtle Beach from last year. Dave

Rice, Georgia's first staple crop, was the most important commercial agricultural commodity in the Lowcountry from the middle of the eighteenth century until the early twentieth century. Rice arrived in America with European and African migrants as part of the so-called Columbian Exchange of plants, animals, and germs. Over time, profits from the production and sale of the cereal formed the basis of many great fortunes in coastal Georgia.

The heart of the United States rice industry lay in the South Atlantic region from the early eighteenth century until the late nineteenth century. After South Carolina, Georgia was the leading producer in this region. Beginning in the 1880s, the center of the U.S. rice industry shifted to the "Old Southwest"—Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas—and later to California as well. Commercial rice production in Georgia and other parts of the South Atlantic region collapsed completely in the first decade of the twentieth century. Nonetheless, its legacy on the landscape and people of coastal portions of South Carolina and Georgia, and to a lesser extent southeastern North Carolina and northeastern Florida, has been profound (Source).

By the 1690s, planters who had settled in the southern parts of the Carolina colony (present-day South Carolina) found they had the right climate and geography for growing rice. Some of these planters then decided to make rice their major agricultural crop. But few of them, if any, knew anything about raising rice. They needed people who did know. So, they purchased enslaved persons directly from West Africa, where the natives had been raising rice for several hundred years.

These African natives knew how to prepare fields and how to grow, harvest, and use rice. The planters who purchased these people hoped their new slaves could also grow the crop in the New World. Indeed, by the 1720s, rice had become South Carolina’s most profitable export, and before long, South Carolina planters started moving northward to the swampy shores of the lower Cape Fear River valley in North Carolina.

In spite of the large amounts of money needed to transform swamplands into rice fields, North Carolina’s rice crops also became very profitable. These profits, in fact, grew to be second only to the area’s plentiful harvests of naval stores — tar, pitch, and turpentine (Source).

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[giradman]

Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation - Rice, Dairy, & State Historic Site

The Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation is just north of Brunswick off HW 17 and halfway to Savannah. The visitor's center contains a small but thorough exhibit mainly explaining the rice culture on the property; also, a nice shiny collection of family silver. A quarter-mile path leads to the house and adjacent buildings, including some slave quarters (just before the Civil War, 357 slaves were on the plantation) - first pics below show the entrance, visitor's center, path to the house, and the beautiful live oaks w/ abundant Spanish moss - quotes below provide more information.

The house is modest as shown in the pics - a well narrated tour by a Georgia State guide provides plenty of information - several inside views of the house and a couple of adjacent buildings are shown. The unmarried Dent sisters maintained the property and rice was grown until 1913, then a dairy was opened; Ophelia Dent died in 1973, and most of the furniture and other items in the house are original, which is quite unusual when visiting these historic houses. A nature walk near the old rice fields is another option which we did not do. Highly recommended - Dave

This beautiful plantation represents the history and culture of Georgia’s rice coast. In the early 1800s, William Brailsford of Charleston carved a rice plantation from marshes along the Altamaha River. The plantation and its inhabitants were part of the genteel low country society that developed during the antebellum period. While many factors made rice cultivation increasingly difficult in the years after the Civil War, the family continued to grow rice until 1913.

The enterprising siblings of the fifth generation at Hofwyl-Broadfield resolved to start a dairy rather than sell their family home. The efforts of Gratz, Miriam and Ophelia Dent led to the preservation of their family legacy. Ophelia was the last heir to the rich traditions of her ancestors, and she left the plantation to the state of Georgia in 1973 (Source).

A museum features silver from the family collection and a model of Hofwyl-Broadfield during its heyday. A brief film on the plantation’s history is shown before visitors walk a short trail to the antebellum home. A guided tour allows visitors to see the home as Ophelia kept it with family heirlooms, 18th and 19th century furniture and Cantonese china. A stop on the Colonial Coast Birding Trail, this is an excellent spot to look for herons, egrets, ibis and painted buntings. A nature trail that leads back to the Visitors Center along the edge of the marsh where rice once flourished (Source).

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[giradman]

Darien, Georgia & Skipper's Fish Camp

After our plantation visit and just up HW 17 is the small town of Darien which is the second oldest planned town in Georgia, established in 1736 after the abandonment of Fort King George (the next post). We ate lunch at a delightful rustic place on the Darien River - shared a dozen raw oysters (believe from Virginia) and a cup of the crab soup; I had their 'secret' Georgia shrimp salad on some greens and Susan the shrimp & grits (I think?) - we also shared a delicious peach cobbler w/ ice green. I'd loved to have tried their whole unboned flounder for a dinner entre - Menu HERE - would definitely return, if in the area; just a few pics below. Dave

The British built Fort King George in 1721, near what would become Darien. At the time it was the southernmost outpost of the British Empire in North America. The fort was abandoned in 1727 following attacks from the Spanish. Its remains constitute the oldest fort on the Georgia coast.

The town of Darien (originally known as New Inverness) was founded in January 1736 by Scottish Highlanders recruited by James Oglethorpe to act as settler-soldiers protecting the frontiers of Georgia from the Spanish in Florida, the French in the Alabama basin, and the Indian allies of each colonial enterprise. On January 10, 1736, 177 emigrants, including women and children, arrived on the Prince of Wales to establish Darien, which was named after the Darien Scheme, a former Scottish colony in Panama. Among the initial settlers was Lachlan McGillivray, who became a noted trader with the Creek people, and Lachlan McIntosh, a leader during the American Revolutionary War.

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[scifan57]

Rice Culture - Carolina & Georgia Coast

After our 4 nights on Jekyll Island, we headed north toward Savannah for an additional 2 nights and about an hour closer to home - on the way (just an hour drive), we stopped at yet another two historic sites, the first a rice plantation, so just a little introduction in this post.

For South Carolina and Georgia, the rice culture was the most important commercial commodity for well over a century and generated fortunes and a southern 'aristocracy' dependent on slavery - most slaves were from the African west coast where rice cultivation was part of their life style, so adapting to the southern coastal climate (e.g. resistance to malaria) and able to clear the marsh land and construct rice fields and water trunks to flood the fields w/ fresh water was critical.

Below just a few quotes on this historic topic w/ links given - also a handful of pics, including a map of the South Carolina coastal rice areas extending up tidal rivers and marshes - we've visited many rice plantations from North Carolina near Wilmington to Georgia (next post) - one of the best introductions is the boat ride in Brookgreen Gardens, discussed in my travelogue on Myrtle Beach from last year. Dave




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Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation - Rice, Dairy, & State Historic Site

The Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation is just north of Brunswick off HW 17 and halfway to Savannah. The visitor's center contains a small but thorough exhibit mainly explaining the rice culture on the property; also, a nice shiny collection of family silver. A quarter-mile path leads to the house and adjacent buildings, including some slave quarters (just before the Civil War, 357 slaves were on the plantation) - first pics below show the entrance, visitor's center, path to the house, and the beautiful live oaks w/ abundant Spanish moss - quotes below provide more information.

The house is modest as shown in the pics - a well narrated tour by a Georgia State guide provides plenty of information - several inside views of the house and a couple of adjacent buildings are shown. The unmarried Dent sisters maintained the property and rice was grown until 1913, then a dairy was opened; Ophelia Dent died in 1973, and most of the furniture and other items in the house are original, which is quite unusual when visiting these historic houses. A nature walk near the old rice fields is another option which we did not do. Highly recommended - Dave




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I knew rice was grown in the area but didn't know the details. Thanks for your very detailed posts.

 

[giradman]

I knew rice was grown in the area but didn't know the details. Thanks for your very detailed posts.

As I've visited these coastal areas over the years, the importance of the rice economy has impacted on my understanding of the area w/ each trip there - a critical basis for the fortunes made and the many wonderful plantations built along w/ the fabulous mansions in towns like Charleston & Savannah; and to realize that multi-generational families and the slaves knew no other way of life - definitely a by-gone era. Dave

 

[giradman]

Fort King George - the first British establishment on the Georgia Coast!

After lunch @ Skipper's Fish Camp, Fort King George was just a 10 minute drive - location shown on the map below - notice the two islands named Butler & Rhett's - Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone w/ the Wind was friends of the Dents and a visitor to the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation - did she derive her character Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable in the 1939 movie) from the names of those islands - our guide to the plantation house wondered, as we do too?

Before the building of Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island, Fort King George was the most southern outpost of the British Empire in North America and was built in 1721 (see quotes below). The fort has been completely reconstructed based on archeologic records and seems quite realistic. The visitor's center offers a short film and a small but well done exhibit area - from the film, life was pretty miserable w/ most of the soldiers perishing; well worth a visit - below some pics which are self-explanatory.

WELL, this is my last post to this thread unless others 'chime-in' and I feel the need to respond; after a visit to the fort, we drove into Savannah for a few nights - I'll probably put a few posts in my travelogue from last year on Hilton Head Island w/ a mention of Savannah. Thanks for viewing and commenting - Dave

This is the oldest English fort remaining on Georgia's coast. From 1721 until 1736, Fort King George was the southern outpost of the British Empire in North America. A cypress blockhouse, barracks and palisaded earthen fort were constructed in 1721 by scoutmen led by Colonel John “Tuscarora Jack” Barnwell. For the next seven years, His Majesty’s Independent Company garrisoned the fort. They endured incredible hardships from disease, threats of Spanish and Indian attacks, and the harsh, unfamiliar coastal environment. After the fort was abandoned, General James Oglethorpe brought Scottish Highlanders to the site in 1736. The settlement, called Darien, eventually became a foremost export center of lumber until 1925 (Source).

Using old records and drawings, this 18th century frontier fortification on the Altamaha River has been reconstructed for public tours. Structures include a blockhouse, officers' quarters, barracks, a guardhouse, moat and palisades. A museum and film cover the Guale Indians, the Santo Domingo de Talaje mission, Fort King George, the Scots of Darien and 19th century sawmilling when Darien became a major seaport. In addition to the many fort buildings, remains of three sawmills and tabby ruins are still visible. This site is on the Colonial Coast Birding Trail (Source).

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[giradman]

Jekyll Island to Savannah - about 95 Miles!

About a week delay for the last part of our Georgia Coastal trip, i.e. a couple of nights in Savannah at the Westin Resort across the Savannah River - map shows the drive, nearly a 100 miles or almost the entire length of the short GA coast - of course, I left posts in this thread on several stops along the way, including a great lunch at Skipper's Fish Camp.

My posts on our short stay in Savannah will be added to my travelogue from last year when we visited Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, a spent a day in Savannah, so for those interested look for that thread 'popping up' again - thought that I would keep my Savannah comments together for those who may be visiting the area and looking for activities. Dave
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[giradman]

Cumberland Island, Georgia - Lee Family - Death of Light-Horse Harry!

Presently, one of the books that I'm reading is The Man Who Would Not Be Washington (2015) by Jonathan Horn about Robert E. Lee's decision not to accept head of the Union Army at the start of the American Civil War offered by Abraham Lincoln, the loss of Arlington House (home of his wife, Mary Custis Lee, the great grand-daughter of Martha Washington), and the consequences. In early 1862, Jefferson Davis assigned Lee to coastal duties - there he visited his father's gravesite on Cumberland Island, Georgia; his father was the famous Light-Horse Harry Lee from the Revolutionary War, who served under Nathanael Greene in the southern campaigns - Harry Lee was returning from the West Indies to his family and decided to visit the descendants of Greene who were living on the island in 1818 where he died - thus my additional post to this thread.

Like Jekyll Island, this one is the largest of Georgia's barrier islands and is now part of the National Park Service, i.e. one of the many 'National Seashores' - however, its history is complicated - after the Revolutionary War, Nathanael Greene received many 'land grants' from the Carolinas & Georgia, including Cumberland Island (not sure if all or part?) - he died at a young age in South Carolina - his descendants lived in a house on Cumberland Island when RE Lee's father 'stopped by' to pay his respects to the relatives of his former commander - BUT, he died there and was buried on the island (hence Lee's visit mentioned above) - his remains were moved to Lexington, Virginia where numerous family members are interred.

In the late 19th century, the Carnegie family bought much of the island from the Greene heirs and built a mansion called Dungeness named after the original house that stood on the same site. Other 'mansions' were built and several are still extant, e.g. the Plum Orchard Mansion can be toured. The island is only accessible by boat or air; ferries are available from St. Marys on the mainland w/ limited access by foot only - many pics below from the web, especially this SITE - take a look for more images and comments. On our Jekyll Island trip, we accomplished MUCH! But, next time in the vicinity, I'll plan a visit to Cumberland Island. Dave

P.S. Should be 'Henry Lee III' on his photo - thought that I corrected the error, sorry.
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[scifan57]

Cumberland Island, Georgia - Lee Family - Death of Light-Horse Harry!

Presently, one of the books that I'm reading is The Man Who Would Not Be Washington (2015) by Jonathan Horn about Robert E. Lee's decision not to accept head of the Union Army at the start of the American Civil War offered by Abraham Lincoln, the loss of Arlington House (home of his wife, Mary Custis Lee, the great grand-daughter of Martha Washington), and the consequences. In early 1862, Jefferson Davis assigned Lee to coastal duties - there he visited his father's gravesite on Cumberland Island, Georgia; his father was the famous Light-Horse Harry Lee from the Revolutionary War, who served under Nathanael Greene in the southern campaigns - Harry Lee was returning from the West Indies to his family and decided to visit the descendants of Greene who were living on the island in 1818 where he died - thus my additional post to this thread.

Like Jekyll Island, this one is the largest of Georgia's barrier islands and is now part of the National Park Service, i.e. one of the many 'National Seashores' - however, its history is complicated - after the Revolutionary War, Nathanael Greene received many 'land grants' from the Carolinas & Georgia, including Cumberland Island (not sure if all or part?) - he died at a young age in South Carolina - his descendants lived in a house on Cumberland Island when RE Lee's father 'stopped by' to pay his respects to the relatives of his former commander - BUT, he died there and was buried on the island (hence Lee's visit mentioned above) - his remains were moved to Lexington, Virginia where numerous family members are interred.

In the late 19th century, the Carnegie family bought much of the island from the Greene heirs and built a mansion called Dungeness named after the original house that stood on the same site. Other 'mansions' were built and several are still extant, e.g. the Plum Orchard Mansion can be toured. The island is only accessible by boat or air; ferries are available from St. Marys on the mainland w/ limited access by foot only - many pics below from the web, especially this SITE - take a look for more images and comments. On our Jekyll Island trip, we accomplished MUCH! But, next time in the vicinity, I'll plan a visit to Cumberland Island. Dave

P.S. Should be 'Henry Lee III' on his photo - thought that I corrected the error, sorry.
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Lee’s decision very likely extended the length of the war significantly. Imagine Lee and Grant working together.
On another note; Arlington National Cemetery would not exist if Lee had accepted Lincoln’s offer.

 

[giradman]

Lee’s decision very likely extended the length of the war significantly. Imagine Lee and Grant working together.
On another note; Arlington National Cemetery would not exist if Lee had accepted Lincoln’s offer.

Well, if Lee had accepted the Scott-Lincoln proposal, the Civil War would likely have been shorter and possibly not even a war - can't say, of course; plus, would Grant have even risen to the position he assumed w/ Lee on the 'other side'? All speculation, however, my feeling is that if Lee had accepted that Lincoln offer, the 'conflict' would have ended much sooner and w/ many less deaths, AND Lee might have become a President of the United States - a consideration.

As to Arlington, when Virginia decided to secede and Lee resigned his commission in the US Army, the government sieged the Arlington property and initially Ervin McDowell (the Union loser at First Bull Run in July 1862) used the property as his headquarters - assume Lee would have done the same and the house would have remained in the family - but just pondering the possibilities - Dave

 

[giradman]

Sea Islands & Hurricane Irma - UPDATE October 1, 2017!

Hurricane Irma (and Matthew last year) has wrecked havoc in the Caribbean, Florida, and the more northern USA coastal areas - but both of the hurricanes mentioned have done major damage on the Georgia and South Carolina coastal areas (and inland coastal North Carolina last year). But just to concentrate on the Sea Islands of Georgia (Jekyll, St. Simons, etc.) - below is a recent description, along w/ some photos from the area - fortunately the Turtle Center safely evacuated most of its inhabitants inland, mainly to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Hilton Head Island (another thread) was hit severely last year by Matthew - we'll probably be planning some alternate trips this coming spring and likely will avoid our yearly spring vacation to Florida - maybe? Dave

JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. (AP) – Though many of Georgia’s coastal communities took a harder hit during Hurricane Matthew last year, officials assessing the damage of Tropical Storm Irma say it carved a devastating path across Jekyll Island. The Florida Times-Union reports that Irma blew past last October’s Hurricane Matthew, knocking down more trees, ripping away protecting dunes and cutting off the northern part of the island at high tide. Irma took out 400 trees on the golf courses alone – 100 more than Matthew – destroyed six of 18 beach crossovers and caused seven water main breaks. Chief Operating Officer Noel Jensen gave that assessment at a recent board meeting of the Jekyll Island Authority. (Source)

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[scifan57]

It will take years to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. Life will go on but it will never be the same. I hope people had adequate insurance.