History
“Jekyll Island has a diverse and significant history. The first occupants of the island were probably small groups of Native American hunter-gatherers, some time around 2,500 B.C., during the Archaic Period” (Hunter 1). John Hunter, a member of the Jekyll Island Authority talks about the beginning history of Jekyll in his article on Jekyll Island:
Archaeological evidence suggests that Jekyll seems not to have supported a long-term permanent settlement by aboriginal peoples, even though by 1000 B.C. Georgia’s coastal natives had begun to collect in settlements with les seasonal migration and larger population numbers. As Native American culture advanced, little changed on Jekyll Island. By A.D. 1540 the Georgia coast had become populated with Guale Indians. (1)
Many centuries passed and in the 16th century the Spanish built missions along the coast of Georgia, but there is no evidence of one being on Jekyll. The Spanish called the Island “Isla de Ballenas” meaning the Island of Whales.
In 1733, James Oglethorpe established the state of Georgia. The next year, Jekyll Island was named after Sir Joseph Jekyll on January 28th, 1734 by Oglethorpe (Wilkins 1). In April of 1736, William Horton, one of Oglethorpe’s men, set out to establish a colony on Jekyll. Over the next 50 years, many different people owned the Island, but by 1800, Christophe Poulain DuBignon owned the whole Island.
The DuBignon family is interwoven in the history of Jekyll Island. DuBignon built the Horton House, which was a tabby structure. “Tabby is a type of building material used in the coastal Southeast from the late 1500s to the 1850s” (Morris 1). It is “made up of equal parts of lime, water, sand, oyster shells, and ash” (Morris 1). When he died in 1825, DuBignon gave the land to one of his sons, Colonel Henry DuBignon. The other son named Joseph was out of the picture. Henry divided the Island into roughly three parts to give to his sons and a small share to his daughter. When he died, his nephew John Eugene DuBignon, the son of Joseph DuBignon, purchased the four parts because he saw the islands potential as a private hunting preserve (Keber 2). “With his brother-in-law, Newton Finney, John Eugene organized a hunting club, and Finney used his contacts in New York to attract investors among the monied social elite, such as J.P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, and William K. Vanderbilt” (Keber 2). John Hunter stated:
Because of the concentration of internationally prominent business leaders, Jekyll Island has been the scene of some important historical events. AT&T president Theodore Vail placed the first transcontinental telephone call from Jekyll Island on January 25, 1915. Meetings that led to the development of the Federal Reserve System were held in secret on Jekyll in 1910 between members of what became known as the First Name Club. (3)
“In 1972 the Jekyll Island Historic District was listed on the National Resister of Historic Places, and in 1978, it was elevated to National Historic Landmark status” (Hunter 4). Since Jekyll Island has played an important part in American History, it has a national historic remembrance becoming a national historic landmark.
Historic district
The historical district on Jekyll Island is one of my favorite places because different architects from around the world built each “cottage” with many different influences in design. I have comprised a couple of pictures of the mansions that I think best represent the district. I received the information from my visit to the Island.
Edwin Gould built Cherokee Cottage in 1904 for his in-laws. The architecture style is Italian renaissance, but the architect is unknown. Today the cottage is used as a hotel and meeting place with a nice café.
Villa Marianna
Frances Miller Gould built Villa Marianna in 1904 for his wife Florence Amelia Bacon. It was named after their daughter and was designed with a Spanish influence in architecture. It was the last Jekyll Island Member house to be built on Jekyll.
Hollybourne Cottage
Charles Stewart Maurice built Hollybourne Cottage in 1890. The Maurice family lived there for 50 years. During World War II, they were denied access to the property and due to the lack of residents the state wanted to turn the Island into a state park. The family was outraged and never returned there after 1947. Locals say that the Maurice sisters haunt the home to this day. It is the only cottage not to be renovated because every time someone works on it, the construction is torn down. I asked Brandi if she ever heard of a haunting story from the cottage and she said that she had actually been inside and saw a girl. “My friends and I decided onetime to visit there at night. It gave me chills when we approached the property that night. We snuck in the back door and didn’t stay long because we got scared. When we were leaving I looked back and saw a woman’s face behind the boarded up door we had just ran out of” (Garrett).
Works Cited
Chapman, Dan. “Sweetheart deal' alleged at Jekyll
Plum for developer: Critics say state's $10
million rent break on such valuable land is absurd.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution 23 Jul. 2007: A1. Print.
“Jekyll deal sadly a steal Taxpayers shouldn't have to bear the costs of 'sweetheart deal' that
island authority approved.” Editorial. Atlanta Journal-Constitution 24 Jul. 2007: A10. Print.
Garrett, Brandi. Personal Interview. 26 Feb. 2011.
Hunter, John. “Jekyll Island.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 15 Sept. 2008. Web. 19 Mar.
2011.
Keber, Martha L. “DuBignon Family.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 10 Feb. 2003. Web. 19
Mar. 2011.
Larrabee, Brandon. “Perdue Fingerprints are on Jekyll.” The Florida Times- Union 15 Jul. 2007.
Web. 19 Mar. 2011.
Morris, Susan D. “Tabby.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia. 10 Dec. 2005. Web. 19 Mar. 2011.
Wilkins, Thomas Hart. “Sir Joseph Jekyll and his Impact on Oglethorpe’s Georgia.” Georgia
Historical Quarterly 91.2 (2007): 119-134. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18 Mar. 2011.
No comments:
Post a Comment