Jekyll Island - Georgia - Part 1

Last year we spent 3 weeks in our RV in Georgia and this year we decided to fly to Savannah to spend time with our dear friends Reginna and Jim.  They were very gracious hosts and took us for a day out to Jekyll Island which is located on the coast of Geogia.  Today the Island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self- governing body.  The Island has an interesting past and since 1888 when iconic families such as the Vanderbilts, Morgans, Pulitzers, and Rockefellers were

members of the Jekyll Island Club. They came for the winters by private rail cars and luxurious yachts. The days were filled with red-bug races on the beach, golf along the ocean, tennis on grass courts, and dinner lasted for hours in the Grand Dining Room as the Members laughed, celebrated, and planned entirely new worlds. 

Today, the Island is open for all to enjoy so we hopped onto a trolley and enjoyed a 90 minute guided tour. There are beautiful moss covered trees through out the Island poviding tree lined streets.

                               

Furness Cottage also known as the Old Infirmary, for its later purpose.  Its a Shingle Style Victorian was designed by the prominent architect Frank Furness for his nephew, Walter Rogers Furness, who later became an architect himself. The younger Furness was one of the founding members of the Jekyll Island Club and wintered here for several seasons. He sold the cottage to Joseph Pulitzer in 1896 and after three moves and several subsequent owners, it served as the Jekyll Island Club Infirmary. Today, it’s home to the beloved Jekyll Books, a must-see shop for regional literature and unique gifts.

Built as a farmhouse for John Eugene DuBignon before he sold the island, this Stick Style Victorian seems out of place among the grander cottages built later by members of the Jekyll Island Club. It was used as the superintendent’s residence and housed overflow guests of club members in the early days of the organization. It originally stood on the location of the Sans Souci Apartments but was moved to its present location in 1896 to accommodate construction of that structure.

There are many elegant homes throughout the Island which are called grand cottages.

The Club house remains very much as it was in the early days.  Croquet anyone.

We enoyed lunch at the wharf which provided a wonderful view of the sea.

More to follow,

Cheers,

Beverley and Ross