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Sea Island History and Culture
Info provided by: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Island,_Georgia, http://www.goldenisles.com/
Sea Island is an unincorporated area of Glynn County, Georgia, and is part of the Golden Isles of Georgia,
including Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island, and Little St. Simons Island. The seaside island is located along the
Atlantic Coast near Historic Brunswick, and is a well-visited resort island. Sea Island Acquisitions, LLC owns the
island, operating two resorts, limiting most public access. The island sits about 60 miles north of Jacksonville, FL
and about 60 miles south of Savannah, GA. The surrounding marshland, through which visitors are able to drive,
was immortalized in 'The Marshes of Glynn' by Sidney Lanier in 1878.
Sea Island houses three well-visited resorts, the "Sea Island Beach Club", "The Cloister", and "The Lodge" each
operated by Sea Island Acquisitions. The Beach Club and the Cloister are located across the street from one
another, connected by a roundabout in the middle of Sea Island Dr., Sea Island's main connecting road. The Beach
Club lies by the ocean-side, providing visitors who sit on the beach with accommodations and access to pool areas.
The resort contains restaurants, a game room, an ice cream shop, a bar, and two pools. The Cloister sits south-west
on the island along the Black Banks River and functions as the main hotel of the resort island, containing
restaurants, several hotel rooms, a spa, tennis and squash courts, an exercise facility, and is home to the only Forbes
Five Star restaurant in the state of Georgia, "The Georgian Room". Sea Island Acquisitions also owns property on
St. Simon's Island, including a shooting school, and three other golf courses. The Lodge, commonly referred to as
"The Golfer's Paradise" is located on St. Simons Island and is the home of two of three golf courses the company
owns, Plantation and Seaside. The third golf course is located at the residential community Sea Island owns known
as Retreat. The Lodge has been host to the newly formed golf tournament The McGladery Classic, for the past five
years.
Sea Island History
Sea Island Company in 1924 purchased an island abutting the Atlantic Ocean. Their contest to name it did not
consider previous names: Fifth Creek Island, Isle of Palms, Long Island, Glynn Isle and Sea Island Beach. Instead
the island was dubbed Sea Island.
The building of a causeway in 1924, leading to St. Simons Island and in turn Sea Island made possible the
development of the island. Likewise, the right time and place saw the arrival of a wealthy northerner who wanted to
develop a resort. With incredible ability, Howard Coffin, as he had done in the manufacturing of cars by his Hudson
Automobile Company, directed the building of the Cloister and surrounding buildings.
Designed by Addison Mizner, the hotel represented the popular Spanish Revival period. Opening in 1928 before
the depression, thousands motored over from the mainland. Received with accolades, the new hotel was a favorite
of locals and visitors alike from its beginning.
Then, through the years, Coffin’s cousin Alfred Jones, his son Bill and grandson Bill III carried on leadership of the
legendary property and company. A 2001 expansion saw the erection of the Lodge on the Sea Island Golf Course.
It quickly reaped the hotel industry’s top prizes, as have the golf pros that have represented the company. In 2004,
Sea Island was chosen to host the G8 Summit because of its remote, easily secured location and luxurious
accommodations.
The island residents and visitors have found the ambience of the island such that they have returned often and
many times purchased homes. Legendary oaks, planted when dignitaries visited, are a roll call of the famous.
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Sea Island History and Culture
St. Simons History
Today as visitors and residents sit at the pier on St. Simons Island, watching huge container ships cross the sound to
the various terminals in Brunswick, the distance past does not come easily to mind. Occupation by Timucan and
Guale Indians, as early as 3000 B.C. and later by Jesuits and Franciscan priests in the 1500s does not readily reveal
itself.
A ride to the north end of St. Simons Island with a visit to Fort Frederica provides visible evidence of the English
occupation that followed. Having laid out the town of Savannah in 1733, Oglethorpe realized the importance of
protection from the Spanish to the south. A bend in the Frederica River provided a perfect place to locate a fort
and town. The Anglican Wesley brothers, who accompanied Oglethorpe, first preached under the oaks at Frederica
(current site of Christ Church, Frederica) in 1736. After returning to England, the brothers established the
Methodist Church.
Following the defeat of the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh, the fort fell into disuse. The ruins yielded
chunks of tabby to build plantation houses in the late 1700s. At that point the era of plantations that grew Sea
Island cotton began. Timber for the country’s first navy came from St. Simons, with the mast post of the
Constitution, cut in John Couper’s yard.
The planter families built Christ Church on the north end of the island near the old fort and cultivated the island up
until the Civil War. Today only a few tabby slave cabins attest to that era, while the families rest in quiet of the
cemetery behind Christ Church. The cemetery also bears witness to sons lost in the Civil War.
The slave cabins of Hamilton Plantation at Gascoigne Bluff, now maintained by the Cassina Garden club and open
to the public, give little evidence of the number of board feet of timber milled there following the Civil War. The
mills provided jobs for both the planters and freed slaves. It also brought Anson Green Phelps Dodge, Jr. to the
island. His rebuilding of devastated Christ Church and the sadness in his life became the story of the late Eugenia
Price’s novel, Beloved Invader.
G8 Summit
In June 2004 (June 8–10), the Sea Island Company hosted a summit of the Group of Eight leaders at Sea Island.
Continuing the pattern with other previous venues of the G8 meeting, the island is remote, easily secured, and has
luxurious accommodations. As part of the security measures, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
designated the summit a National Special Security Event (NSSE). DHS also began to deal with another NSSE: the
state funeral of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
The venue was specifically chosen to control access to the conference. The geographic isolation was enhanced by
positioning the International Media Center for the Sea Island summit in Savannah, 80 miles away on the Georgia
mainland. Protestors and demonstrations were effectively marginalized, in part because the conference venue was
located in a nearly inaccessible place. The island's security cordon was enhanced when the Governor of Georgia
declared a state of emergency in six counties, beginning on May 25, 2004 to deal with the potential danger of
violence or damage by demonstrators during the Group of 8 economic summit.
Lore & Legends of the Golden Isles
From the world’s tallest wooden structures that housed the Navy’s blimps to the German’s coming ashore during
the early days of World War II, so many of these stories capture the legends of the Golden Isles. Add an ill-fated
lover atop a white horse and one listens incredulously to the lore that surrounds the islands on moonlit nights when
strange happenings are said to occur. Entire books have been written on the area’s ghost stories, and tour guides tell
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Sea Island History and Culture
other stories and give credence to many legends. In fact, most residents have their own tales and legends that when
prompted they will gladly share. For these are the bits of history, that are told and retold, often embroidered, and
remembered and passed down by each generation. Thus the lore and legends of a locale are part of local history that
adds to a sense of place, the specialness of an area such as the Golden Isles of Georgia.
Golf History
Whether for competition or relaxation, Golden Isles golf is a distinguished tradition. Many golfers are aware of the
exceptional golf courses found on the Georgia coast but, some golfers might be surprised to learn that Golden Isles
golf and its competitions have a long, celebrated tradition that goes back more than 100 years and includes some of
the greatest names in golf.
The Golden Isles' first official recognition as a golf venue came in 1894, when the Jekyll Island Golf Club was
registered with the United States Golf Association. The millionaire members of the Jekyll Island Club built the
area's first golf course in 1898.
Accounts of the day note that the course was "absolutely flat with sand greens" and caddies used mats to drag and
even up the green after play was completed on a hole. USGA records credit the architecture to Willie Dunn, Jr., a
Scot who was close friends with John D. Rockefeller and W.K. Vanderbilt, the latter an original member of the
Club. The exact layout of the course is unknown, though one account said, "It wasn't even the quality of a cow
pasture." A "new and improved" course, designed by Donald J. Ross, was built in 1910 on land now occupied by
Jekyll Island's Oleander course.
The Golden Isles received a big boost in prominence as a vacation destination in 1926 when Howard Coffin bought
Sea Island and the old Retreat Plantation on St. Simons Island. Coffin's ambitious plan called for the
transformation of Sea Island into an elegant playground for his wealthy and sophisticated contemporaries.
He chose the venerable Walter Travis to design and construct the Plantation Course, which opened to much
acclaim in 1927. That auspicious beginning put Sea Island on the fast track toward becoming a world-class resort
and golf destination.
Not to be outdone, the members of the Jekyll Island Club commissioned Travis to build a course for them.
Opened in 1928, the remnants of that course comprise Jekyll Island's historic Great Dunes course.
These courses established a Golden Isles legacy of great golf courses conceived by many of the world's greatest
course designers. Colt and Alison. Dick Wilson. Joe Lee. Rees Jones. Davis Love III. Tom Fazio. Mark Bennett.
Clyde Johnston. All have left their mark with challenging layouts from the mainland to the barrier islands.
Build great golf courses and great golfers will come to challenge them. It wasn't long before the challengers arrived.
Bobby Jones shot the Sea Island Plantation course record of 67 in 1930. His record stood for 28 years, until Sam
Snead bested it with a 63. Their names are among the scores of well-known professional and amateur golfers from
around the world who have been drawn to compete in state, national and international tournaments in the Golden
Isles.
Among the better-known international golf events that have taken place in the Golden Isles are the UBS Warburg
Cup, a senior event that pitted a U.S. team led by Arnold Palmer and an international team led by Gary Player, the
Walker Cup and the London Daily Telegraph Junior Championship. National events have included USGA and
LPGA championships as well as the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship.
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Sea Island History and Culture
In October 2010 a new PGA TOUR Fall Series event, The McGladrey Classic, brought professional golfers from
around the nation to compete on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club. The first two years of this now annual
golf tournament have received accolades from golf professionals and spectators, and is poised to become a fall
tradition in the Golden Isles.
Avenue of the Oaks
From 1760 until the outbreak of the War Between the States, cotton and rice plantations flourished in this area. The
Sea Island cotton grown here became famous the world over for its outstanding quality. Retreat Plantation was one
of the most prosperous plantations and was located on the southern tip of St. Simons Island.
Anna Page King, who inherited the land in 1826, planted the famous Avenue of the Oaks. It is said that Anna grew
such an abundance of flowers at Retreat Plantation that sailors nearing St. Simons Island could smell the flowers'
fragrance before they saw the Island shores. Once the entrance to Retreat Plantation, the Avenue of the Oaks is
now the grand entrance to the Sea Island Golf Club. Follow the drive around the magnificent double row of 160
year old live oak trees which create the Avenue of the Oaks.
Southern Culture
Southern culture is a lifestyle; it’s a mentality; it’s a heritage and most importantly it’s unique. Seeped in an agrarian
tradition, steel magnolias have it in their genes and pass it to offspring. Is it charm? Is it teachable? Or is it just so
inherent in those who live in the Golden Isles that its part of their makeup.
One thing is for sure, there is a distinct culture here in the Golden Isles founded on tradition and so welcoming you
will notice it immediately upon your arrival. A welcoming stance for visitors, an intense pride in a region’s history, a
beauty of landscape, pine forests and meandering rivers - a blend of many components where the very isolation of
the south refined and abated this special culture. Change may seem in the air, but low country boils, a good
Saturday football game, the ocean, the golf, the beaches, the quaint towns, the family gatherings, the many churches
both large and small and the music that hovers in the air, contribute to the term.
“Come by here”, "Stop and stay awhile", "May I help you?," "Oh, I knew your great-uncle," "So glad to welcome
you." Hospitality that’s legendary defines the Golden Isles. Children taught to offer a firm handshake, to say “Yes,
ma'am" and “No, sir” and to look elders in the eye, acquire these traits early. It’s an offering of friendship, a sharing
of the table and a sense of wanting to make any and all comfortable and welcome. When a visitor can properly
intone, “You all, come back, you hear,” another conversion has happened.
Music lingers in the air along the coast. Songs brought from the Scottish Highlands and England are comingled with
spirituals and gospels whose roots lay in Africa. Long, hot summers offered up songs sung in the cool of the
evening and in each and all, lay the stories and legends. Music spoke of freedom and hope; music sang the blues;
then music fraught with words that collided with each other birthed rock and roll. Music rolled from the mountains
to the shore. Georgia’s famed poet Sidney Lanier gave rhythm to his sonorous lines of poetry in his epic The
Marshes of Glynn. Music is an aspect of the entire state of Georgia, but here on the coast it’s part of the fiber of
the community. Young guitar players play and write music while older performers entertain. Part of the Golden
Isles’ heritage, music crosses all barriers and unites in the glory of rhythm and the strength of words.
“Ya’ll,” “I’m fixin’ to,” “I’ve heard that,” The language of coastal Georgia with colloquialisms, both standard and
substandard define a way of speaking suffused with richness. Add a resonance with its deepness and bass sounds
echoing the softness of an ocean swell or the might of an angry ocean and the patois of southern speech depicts its
rich heritage. Often letters dropped or omitted, a certain brogue defining hometown and the overtones of the
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Sea Island History and Culture
Gullah-Geechee language add yet another layer to the area’s richness of language cause visitors to listen and
comment, “I wish I had your southern accent!” and “What does that saying mean?”
Sweet or unsweet, half and half, and an Arnold Palmer? For lovers of the standard lunchtime or dinner drink, the
epitaphs depict the area’s way with tea. Prized from the beginnings of the state, locals brewed tea from the sassafras
as the Indians had during periods of war. Before the arrival of the white man, strong brews from the cassina berry
were part of the annual migration of the native tribes to the coast. Tea is so cherished that some claim addiction to
the brew. Likewise the cuisine reflects varied cultures and heritage. Grits, a natural, but now paired with shrimp
enhances each of the components. Mullet, catfish, flounder reveal the bounty of the rivers and ocean. People come
to the coast for shrimp dressed in many modes. Spend a night shucking oysters under a full moon teasing the river
with light, and all agree there could not be any finer culinary experience. It’s one to be found from out of the way
places to the elegant china and linen dressed tables of the area’s finest resorts.