Tour stop #2~Sapelo Island, GA.

Hello blogger buddies!  Climb aboard.  The ferry to Sapelo Island is leaving!  It will take about 15-20 minutes to get to the island.

The earliest humans on Sapelo Island lived there over 4000 years ago.  Those inhabitants were the Paleo-Indians who left evidence of their lives on the island with shell middens, that can still be seen today.  Middens are mounds or deposits of shells or bones.   There were others before him, but  Sapelo Island was purchased by Thomas Spaulding in the 1800’s.  Spaulding was an amateur agriculturist, who built a large home on the south end of the island.  In 1911, Howard Coffin, founder of the Hudson Motor Company in Detroit, MI,  purchased the island, living there until 1933.  Using the foundation of the Spaulding home, the Coffins renovated and expanded the home, making it quite a showplace.   From 1933-1965, RJ Reynolds owned the island and upgraded the home again.  As the others before him, he enjoyed agricultural experimentation.

Today the island is under the direction of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.   The island is home to the Sapelo Island Natural Estuarine Research Reserve.  (SINERR)  The reserve enables visitors to see the elements of a natural barrier island, such as: diverse wildlife in the upland forests, vast expanses of the Spartina salt marsh, and the complex beach and dunes system.  Tours also enable the visitor to experience the African-American community of Hog Hammock, the mansion and the lighthouse.

PLEASE CLICK ON ONE OF THE THUMBNAILS TO START THE GALLERY!

They kept 100 lb cannons here to protect the Darrien harbor nearby during the Spanish-American war in 1898. They never shot one cannon.

I love this huge “pot” on the grounds of the home.

The lovely, unspoiled beach is just over the dunes. No cottages, we were the only ones there!

The cemetery sign, made from tabby.

The well-kept African American cemetery on the island in Hog Hammock. Some graves date back centuries.

Back on the mainland! What a great day!

This is only half of the mansion. There’s another half to the right!

Even the back of the mansion is beautiful.

The awesome barn on the mansion’s property.

The lighthouse for the island.

My husband found a sand dollar on the beach!

Sapelo Island welcome sign.

Tabby was used as a building material. Tabby is made of oyster shells, lime, sand and water. This tabby is from the cane pressing bldg.

For more information on Sapelo Island, GA.  click here

Thanks for joining me on the tour!  I hope you had fun and learned something new!

Judy

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