Jekyll Island, Georgia Beauty and the Beach

Jekyll Island is a camper's paradise or the place to relax at a great motel on the beach. It offers something for everyone.

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Since it is so small, a bike is the ideal means of transportation here. You can rent one at the campground or bring your own.

If you're a camper, the Jekyll Island Campground is located on the north end of the island and can provide you with everything from primitive to full hookup. The campers store is staffed by friendly personnel and even has bike rentals. This is part of the Georgia State Park system so you're sure of safe clean accommodations Your four legged best friend is welcome but he must be leashed.

The piece de la resistance of Millionaires' Row is the Clubhouse. Its turret stands head and shoulders above the other structures on the island. Here you can bask in the luxury that once was accorded only the millionaires and their chosen guests. You can spend the night, or as many nights as you can afford being pampered in the Victorian elegance of the clubhouse.

With the sale to the Jekyll Island Club, the island entered a new era of prosperity. Its members were rumored to own a seventh of the wealth of this country among it's one hundred members. Men like Rockefeller, Morgan, Astor and Gould built elaborate 'cottages' there.
The Crane Cottage upstairs is now used for the Jekyll Island Authority offices but the first floor is open to the public. The cottage was built in the Renaissance Revival style, many of it's features copied from 16th century Italian Villas. From its double door arched entry to its red tile roof, it speaks of elegant simplicity. You can visualize Richard Crane's family sedately dining at the massive mahogany table, one of the children perhaps fingering the carved rungs of his chair as he waited to be allowed to go and play in the huge enclosed courtyard while his parents observed from the arched walkway or perhaps the upper veranda. One thing is sure, the fidgeting child would never have to wait his turn to use the bathroom. Mr Crane was the owner of the Crane Company, an international plumbing fixture company that was first to produce colored plumbing fixtures. His home boasted 20 rooms and 17 bathrooms. The Moss Cottage, a two story green cypress shingle dwelling with a roofed porch that runs the length of the house, was once owned by George Macy, the owner of A & P.You can tour the du Bignon House, Indian Mound and Mistletoe Cottage by taking the tram tours. The tours depart daily from the Museum Visitor's Center which is housed in the former stable. The Museum presents an informative film about the history on the island to 1930. It also has artifacts, pictures, and memorabilia of that era. Even if you don't plan on spending the ten dollars on the tram tour, the museum and film deserve your attention.
Along with the private homes, there are many other buildings worthy of a visit. The Faith Chapel was the site of most of the island's religious functions. As you sit in the chapel beneath its two stained glass windows - the western one is a signed Tiffany - imagine yourself a guest at a 1920's wedding. Marcullus Dodge, heir to the Remington fortune, is marrying Geraldine Rockefeller. The union is rumored to make them the richest couple in the world. The chapel is open daily from 2 to 4.
San Souci was the world's first condominium. Some of the club members, desiring more privacy than the clubhouse offered, built the huge green shingled apartment house.
The piece de la resistance of Millionaires' Row is the Clubhouse. It deserves its own article

The Historic Districr fronts the Marina. Here you can dine, fish, or enjoy a soft drink, beer or mixed drink. The Clubhouse also contains several resturants and pubs.
There is another marina located south of the historic district. Here you can dine or just sip a cool drink overlooking the Jekyll river at SeaJay's. Both marinas provide docking. The Jekyll Harbor provides hookups for long term docking.

The Creeks were the first to cherish this golden isle. They had no concept of 'ownership'. They and the land were one. The golden sun that rose from the depth of the wave crested blue sea and set behind the murky Marshes of Glynn, was their home for hundreds of years. They shared it in harmony with the animals. The deer, raccoon, possum, pheasant, wild turkey, and alligator inhabited the land with them and provided all the necessities of life.
The creatures of the sea also provided food and tools. Then in the late 1500's, a new breed of man arrived on the island. The Spanish were seeking treasure of a different kind. They wanted gold. However, they recognized the richness of the land and established a mission to convert the Indians, and claim the land for Spain. Their enjoyment of the island was short lived. In 1680, the British attacked the island, destroying the mission, and driving off both the Spanish and the Indians. Major William Horton, one of Oglethorpe's officer's and later successor as commander of the military force in Georgia, built the first English residence on Jekyll in 1736. The grey tabby walls still stand near the northern end of the island on the marsh side.
After the Revolution, Jekyll was purchased by Christophe Poulain du Bignon. He enlarged the Horton house and used it for his residence until 1825.

The du Bignons were the leaders of the area's plantation families until the Civil War put an end to that lifestyle. It was on a stormy night in 1858, long after importing of slaves was made illegal, that the Wanderer landed on Jekyll's shore. They carried the last cargo of slaves ever brought from Africa. To this day, when the night is dark and the thunder rolls, people claim to see the glimmer of ghostly fires amid the sheltering trees where so many years ago they were lit to dry the huddled cargo and crew of the Wanderer. The du Bignon's cultivated the island plantation until 1886 when John Eugene du Bignon sold the island to a group of millionaires searching for a playground.