#80 Golden Isles...St.Simon Island

#80 St.Simon Island

Thursday  November 7, 2019

The waterways of the south continue to make us wonder about life on the Intracoastal Waterway.

The village of St. Simon Island just begged to be explored.  We did a little and Lynn found something to add to her gift stash.

We walked out onto the pier. Someone used this cane as a rod.  If he catches anything it can be measured at several places long the pier.  On this overcast morning a cormorant dries his wings.

Looking back toward the village a park and the lighthouse sit to the right. Some homes and apartments sit to the left.

The top of the overturned cargo ship can be seen from the St. Simon pier.  Investigations are on going to the cause, but part of the cargo could have shifted, skipper error or a multitude of other avenues are being explored. From here we were looking at the top side decks.

We booked a tour on the Saint Simon Colonial Island Tour.  Rod owns the Trolley. He acts as driver and tour guide for 90 minutes around the island.  In this photo he tells of The Battle of Bloody Marsh July 1742.  The battle took place in the third photo where the British won over the Spanish.  The Brits were led by none other than James Oglethorpe. The nice thing about tours like this is you hear stories you can't easily find in the guide books.

The First African Baptist Church was organized in 1859. One of the distinguishing factors of black churches at this time included blue windows.  With the overcast skies the blue windows didn’t stand out.  But we saw some later that did. This African-America church is the only surviving on St. Simon that dates  back to the plantation era. Original pew can be found in the balcony. The active congregation today invite all to join them. The church celebrated its 160th anniversary this year.

Christ Church of Frederica first worshiped in 1736 when James Oglethorpe established Fort Frederica.  John and Charles Wesley, Anglican priest preached here before returning to England and founding the  Methodist Church.  The church was built in 1820 but was partially destroyed by Union troops in the Civil War.  In 1884 Anson Phelps Dodge Jr. built the present structure in memory of his wife. Today this church has an active Episcopal congregation.  The grounds offer serenity and peace.

The Wesley Memorial Garden honors John and Charles Wesley, Anglican priests in Georgia who founded the Methodist church.  John is recognized as the founder, and Charles as a poet responsible for writing over 6,000 hymns. The beautiful Celtic cross forms the focal point of the garden.  The inscription carved into the base of the cross honors the brothers.  Notice that James Oglethorpe had a hand in this too.  The garden sits on land partly owned by the Methodist and partly by the Episcopal congregations to honor the Wesley brothers.

The Country Club golf course looked well cared for. The guard at the gate allowed only member into the clubhouse grounds. The Sea Island Golf Club looks very exclusive.

Across from the entry gate stands the Avenue of Oaks.  These magnificent Live Oaks have stood in a double row for nearly 200 years. Their planting dates to 1826.  Rod said some are not healthy and the island is thinking about replacing the dead trees with new ones.

As we passed this pond we were told that an alligator lived there.  This is a busy corner and intersection.

Tree Carvings can be found around the island. The artist will do a small one on a damaged part of your tree, only $1000 for a head carving. This full body Tree Spirit holds a $5000 price tag. The artist, Keith Jennings creates the carvings with gouges and a mallet. 20 commissioned Tree Spirits can be found on the island.

We visited the lighthouse, but opted not to go in. It had a big price tag for the guys to walk to the top or visit the light keepers house.  We have certainly seen lots of lighthouses on this trip.

The airport only accepts little private jets and a few private planes.  Air Elite says it all!  Many people will be flying in for the big REM Golf Tournament happening soon here on the island.

We took time to visit Fort Frederica.  Derrille and I had been here before and found it interesting.

In the 1700’s settlers used the piles of oyster shells (midden) left over from Native feasts to build their walls.  The shells formed a basic ingredient in crude by durable concrete called tabby. Logs and the shells were set afire and allowed to burn down to embers. The wood and ash mixture formed lime. Lime served as a binding when mixed with water, sand, and more oyster shells to solidify the mixture. That mixture was poured into molds for foundations and walls, which were then stuccoed and whitewashed to protect them from water damage.

Frederica was established by the ever present Oglethorpe in 1736. At its peak the thriving town had 1500 residents.  But after the Bloody Marsh battle the military presence waned and the town economy began to fall. The fort was used to protect the southern border.  Today the National Park Service has an active archaeological site protecting the remnants of the old fort.

The fire in 1758 destroyed most of the structures in town. The remaining structures were pillaged and burnt in 1778 which left it a ghost town.

In 2019 the National Parks restarted the defunct Archaeology Program.  The work done here over the years have allowed visitors to walk through the old town grid and see where individual building sat. Tourist can walk through the remnants of the old town and see who lived where.

Inside the center several displays and a film tell more of the history.  The Gullah Geechee culture fills the south.  The lovely sweetgrass baskets are big in North and South Carolina too. I bought one on our last visit and hoped to get another one this year.  But I couldn’t find what I wanted.

Another interesting day!   Tomorrow we head for St. Augustine FL.