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Planted by Anna Paige King in 1826, the Avenue of Oaks is a historic grove that has stood for almost two centuries. The trees form a double row that now lead to the Sea Island Gold Club. The trees are a reminder of the island's importance to the shipbuilding industry in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Oak trees from St. Simmons were used in the construction of the USS Constitution, the frigate that was completed in 1794. 



Avenue of Oaks, St. Simmons Island

This driving tour (or extended walking tour) includes several museums, monuments, and historic landmarks on St. Simmons Island. The tour concludes at the Mildred Nix Huie Museum.

Historic St. Simons Island Georgia Tour

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Established in 1965&nbsp;by Georgia's Bishop Arthur J. Moore, the Methodist Museum brought a new day for preservation of Georgia, St. Simons Island and Methodist history. Since 1974, the Museum has been the depository for the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church archival records.&nbsp;Handwritten letters of John Wesley and Francis Asbury, Bishop Moore's rare oriental porcelain collection, Howard Chandler Christy painting of Christ, figurines, communion sets, historic photographs are all there on display for the public to see.&nbsp;Located on the banks of the historic Frederica River, Epworth By The Sea is a ministry owned and operated by the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. The property was purchased on October 29, 1949 and the gates opened in 1950. Still to this day the church operates and hosts retreats and camps for anyone who would like to come worship.

Located on the grounds of the Methodist retreat and conference center, Epworth by the Sea, the Arthur Moore Methodist Museum chronicles the history of the Methodist church and its founders Charles and John Wesley, who lived in England during the 18th century. Georgia history is also covered in the museum. It is named after Methodist Bishop Arthur James Moore, who founded the museum in 1966 (the property itself was bought in 1949). It also serves as the official repository for the Church's history, holding 6,000 books and other items. A highlight is the exhibit dedicated to closed Methodist churches. The museum displays a large number of nativities.

Arthur Moore Methodist Museum 

Named after James Hamilton, a Scotland native, the Hamilton Plantation is located near Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island. The plantation sits on the Gascoigne Bluff, which was named after the commander of the British sloop vessel called the "Hawk,” James Gascoigne. The British defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh, thereby cementing their hold on the newly created colony, which was established in 1733. The British stored supplies and ship repair facilities on the bluff, essentially making it the state's first naval base. Later on, the deep water surrounding the area made it the perfect location for ships to land to export long-staple cotton off the plantation that, by that time, would be a booming industry. One of four major plantations on St. Simons, Hamilton Plantation produced long-staple Sea Island cotton as well as oak and pine timbers. The plantation was around 2,000 acres, and because of its amount of production, likely enslaved at least 125 people. However, James Hamilton was not the first nor last of the owners. Originally, Alexander Bisset acquired the land after the Revolutionary War, and was the first one to plant the coveted cotton. After his death, a man named Richard Leake took over the business. James Hamilton had arrived from Scotland with his partner John Couper around the time of the Revolutionary War, but by 1793, had established himself with the planter class on the bluff, and bought the plantation in 1800. Couper began his own Hopeton Plantation. The long fibers of the Sea Island cotton sold at a high price, soon making Hamilton extremely wealthy. He was even referred to as “one of the richest men in America” by R. Edward Greene in St. Simons Island: A Summary of its History. Nevertheless, Hamilton made the decision to move to Philadelphia. Couper’s 4,500 acre plantation was not doing well, despite its 659 enslaved men, so his son, James Hamilton Couper, offered to pay off his dues in return for half his interests. Due to this, when Hamilton moved, James Couper became manager of the property, eventually gaining ownership of the Hamilton Plantation. After the Civil War, when cotton was no longer a viable option, there was a timber boom in the area. Around 1870, the lumber company Dart and Dodge-Meigs purchased the property and operated sawmills, employing newly-freed Black men and white men who were struggling due to the loss of cotton. The two-story plantation house on the river became a boarding home for company workers and the barn operated as the company store. However, it burned down in 1885. By the 1900s, there was hardly any timber left to harvest, and a Georgia farmer attempted to revive the cotton fields, but in the 1920s, an insect called the boll weevil had infested most cotton-growing areas in the United States, ultimately destroying what was left of Hamilton Plantation. In 1927, Eugene W. Lewis bought the plantation, eventually selling it years later. Then, in 1932, the Cassina Garden Club began having meetings in the remaining slave cabins. There were originally four cabins on the property built before 1833, which each had two rooms for two families separated by a central fireplace and were part of a planned community of slave quarters. They were built of tabby, a mixture of lime, sand, water, and crushed oyster shells, which was poured into frames and left to harden. Because the cabins had glass windows and wooden doors, there is speculation that enslaved people “high in the hierarchy” of the plantation, meaning they worked in the main house, likely lived there. In 1950, the Cassina Garden Club was deeded the property, and restored and now preserves the two remaining cabins, displaying artifacts and graphical histories. In 1988, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior. In 2008, a historical marker for the plantation was erected by the Georgia Historical Society, Coastal Georgia Historical Society, Friends of Coastal Georgia History, and the Sea Island Society.

Adjacent to Epworth-by-the-Sea and the Methodist Conference Center, two of four original slave cabins built before 1833 on the Hamilton Plantation survive due to their sturdy material. Enslaved workers built the cabins from a mixture of lime, water, sand, and crushed oyster shells called tabby. Because they also had wooden doors and glass windows, it is believed that slaves who worked in the main house of the plantation lived in them, with two families per cabin, separated by a central fireplace. The plantation itself was not only the site of the state’s first naval base, but was also in an important location making it easily accessible by ships, leading to a large export of cotton from the area. Business also boomed with the timber industry on the plantation, passing through multiple owners before the property was ultimately deeded to the Cassina Garden Club in 1950, which now maintains the cabins.

Hamilton Plantation Slave Cabins

On
October 17, 1804, John Couper, a plantation owner on St. Simons Island, Georgia, gave four acres of his land, known as "Couper's Point”, to the Federal
government for the construction of a lighthouse.&nbsp;James Gould of Massachusetts was hired in 1807 by the Treasury Department to build the lighthouse and a one-story frame residence.&nbsp;Originally&nbsp;the lighthouse was supposed to be build of hard brick but for economical reason&nbsp;most of the material used in the construction was "tabby," a mixture of oyster shell, lime, sand, and water.&nbsp;The lighthouse with keeper’s
quarters was completed in 1810. The same year&nbsp;James Gould held this&nbsp;position as keeper&nbsp;with an annual salary of $400 until his 1837 retirement.&nbsp;In 1861 the facility was destroyed by the Confederates so the Federal forces could not use it as a navigational aid during the Civil War. Plans for
the current lighthouse and keeper’s house were "drawn under the direction
of Bvt. Brig. Genl. O.M. Poe," in 1867. The construction contract dated
November 20, 1868, was given to C.B. Cluskey who designed and constructed many
notable buildings in Georgia. Construction of the keeper’s house was begun
approximately 25 yards north of the site of the original lighthouse. Due to
Cluskey's death during construction, the lighthouse and keeper’s house were not
completed until 1872 when the lighthouse was outfitted with a Third Order Fresnel
lens.

Reportedly,
the only brick dwelling in Glynn County, Georgia prior to 1880, the keeper’s
house is a unique example of romantic eclecticism in the southeast and a
departure from the Classical Revival, for which Cluskey is known. The
lighthouse stands immediately behind (to the west) of the lighthouse keeper’s
house. The 104-foot tapering brick tower has several small windows with metal
hood moldings which admit light and air into its interior; the interior
features a cast-iron spiral staircase. The lighthouse is surmounted by a
metal-framed, glass-enclosed light room. In 1934 the light was converted to
electricity. In 1954 the facility became fully automated.

Automation
of the lighthouse made it unnecessary to retain a keeper and the dwelling instead
housed an exploratory fishing and gear research station. On August 25, 1971,
the keeper’s house was conveyed to the Glynn County Board of Commissioners
through the Historic Surplus Property Program.&nbsp;
The county then entered into a license agreement with the Coastal
Georgia Historical Society who spent three years restoring the keeper’s house,
which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The
nomination was revised in 1988 to include the lighthouse, an 1889-92 oil house,
and site of the 1810 lighthouse. In 2004 the lighthouse was also deemed surplus
by the Coast Guard, and ownership was transferred to the Coastal Georgia
Historical Society under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.
Today the lighthouse and the keeper’s house, which hosts a coastal area history
museum, are popular reminders of St. Simons maritime history and are favorite
attractions of the many visitors to Georgia's coast.

Completed in 1872, the 104-foot St. Simons Island Lighthouse is the second lighthouse constructed on this location. Reportedly, the only brick dwelling in Glynn County, Georgia prior to 1880, the keeper’s house is a unique example of romantic eclecticism in the southeast. On August 25, 1971, the keeper’s house was conveyed to the Glynn County Board of Commissioners through the Historic Surplus Property Program.  The county then entered into a license agreement with the Coastal Georgia Historical Society who spent three years restoring the keeper’s house, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The nomination was revised in 1988 to include the lighthouse, an 1889-92 oil house, and site of the earlier lighthouse. In 2004 the lighthouse was deemed surplus by the Coast Guard, and ownership was transferred to the Coastal Georgia Historical Society under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. 

St. Simons Island Light Station

On April 8, 1942, German submarine&nbsp;U-123 sunk two merchant ships—SS&nbsp;Oklahoma&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Esso Baton Rouge—off the Georgia coast. The guard members sprung into action and saved all but twenty two of the sailors. For many years, five of the bodies could not be identified. Eventually one was and his remains were sent to his family; the other four were identified but to date no family member has been identified. The attack prompted the government to boost coastal defenses. As for the station, it was decommissioned in 1995. The museum opened in 2006.

East Beach Station, now the Maritime Center museum operated by the Coastal Georgia Historical Society, was one of 45 Coast Guard stations built in the mid 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. It was designed in the Colonial Revival style, which the federal government commonly used for its buildings in the 1930s and 1940s. The museum details the World War II military history of the station and the ecology of the coastal islands off Georgia. The historical society operates two other nearby museums, the St. Simons Lighthouse and the A.W. Jones Heritage Center which is next to the lighthouse. 

East Beach Station (Maritime Center)

On July 7th, 1742, the British and
Spanish forces fought on St.Simon's Island in what would eventually be known as
the Battle of Bloody Marsh. This battle was part of the War of Jenkins' Ear&nbsp;which was a major&nbsp;conflict between the British and Spanish forces for the land&nbsp;between
South Carolina and Florida. This war&nbsp;lasted for nearly two centuries and
yet this was the only time the Spanish attempted to invade Georgia. This battle
became a major victory for the British forces led by General James Oglethorpe.
General Oglethorpe's Victory of the Spanish here led to the British
preservation of the State of Georgia and its inhabitants. The
Spanish Forces were led by the governor of St.Augustine, Don Manuel de Montiano.
Two years prior, General Oglethorpe had lost a battle to the Spanish and had
his reputation&nbsp;tarnished. Oglethorpe would not be caught unprepared for
this battle. The Spanish forces had nearly five thousand men at
their&nbsp;disposal. Oglethorpe learned of this and fortified St.
Simon's&nbsp;Island in response.&nbsp;He had the British forces erect a fort
overlooking the river which it was named after. Fort Frederica was built with
the purpose of deterring&nbsp;the Spanish forces from attacking the nearby city
of Savannah. Oglethorpe had a force of red coats, rangers, Native Americans,
and a militia with little more than one thousand men in total. The Spanish had planned
the invasion since mid-June. They&nbsp;landed near and occupied Fort St.Simon's
on July 5th.&nbsp; As
depicted in the first picture shown above, on the morning of July 7th, a
Spanish scouting party moved towards Fort Frederica. They were met with a small
platoon sized element of British redcoats, rangers, and Scottish allies. The
two groups laid down fire on one another and sent runners to warn
their&nbsp;respective superiors. When general Oglethorpe received word, he
immediately gathered reinforcements and rode on horseback to the firefight. He
reportedly rode directly into the Spanish element and once they saw the
reinforcements they quickly&nbsp;dispersed. Once this skirmish was mostly over,
general Oglethorpe left men to defend that position while he rode North to
rally more men and prevent the Spanish from amassing near the fort. Later
that day, the Spanish forces sent more soldiers to that area. By the time they
arrived, the British forces had dug in deep and were able to fire upon the invading force from a position of relative safety. The swamp also provided opportunities to&nbsp;ambush portions of the invading force which led to the&nbsp;engagement becoming known as the "Battle
of Bloody Marsh."&nbsp;The Spanish reportedly only lost fifty men in the battle but were unable to gain the upper hand owing to the British defensive position and were forced to retreat on July 13th. This victory redeemed General Oglethorpe's reputation among some of the local militiamen and convinced the&nbsp;Spanish to refrain from&nbsp;ever invading Georgia again. As news
spread throughout the colonies of the Spanish being repelled, morale rose and the southern colonists saw Britain as a bulwark against the potential threat of a Spanish invasion in ways that led some of the leading planters to maintain their loyalty to Britain in the early years of the American Revolution.&nbsp;

This marker commemorates a British colonial victory on July 7, 1742 over Spanish forces from Florida that preserved Georgia as a British colony. The battle of Bloody Marsh was part of an international struggle between two major empires: England and Spain. The two nations had been at war over the land from South Carolina to Florida for nearly two centuries in what is now known as  the War of Jenkins' Ear. General James Oglethorpe, Georgia’s founder, led a battalion of British troops, Native American guides, and colonial militia into Spanish Florida in 1740. The battalion launched an unsuccessful attacked of Spanish-held St. Augustine. Spanish forces retaliated two years later as St. Augustine’s governor led nearly 5,000 soldiers on an equally unsuccessful  invasion of Georgia. Oglethorpe was able to defend Georgia in with less than a thousand men thanks to their defensive positions throughout a berm and a swamp on St. Simon’s Island overlooking the Frederica River. General Oglethorpe’s men repelled two Spanish attacks with minimal casualties. 

Battle of Bloody Marsh Marker

An American Impressionist artist, sculptor, historian and writer, Mildred Nix Huie, who was one of the first Girl Guide troops, now known as the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. Huie grew up with songwriter Johnny Mercer. Before attending Florida State College for Women, Huie attended Shorter College, now known as Shorter University, in Rome, Georgia. She went on to work as manager of WALB Radio from 1941-1953. She also founded the Easter Seals of Southern Georgia, which earned her the Woman of the Year award in 1950. Then along with two others, she also helped found the Albany Junior College, now known as Darton College, in 1963. After this in 1965, Huie and a group of artists started the Left Bank Art Gallery on St. Simons, creating a tradition of sharing the love of art and humanities in the Golden Isles community. She then made her house into an island studio where she displayed and created all of her artwork in 1967. The house of the gallery sits in was built in 1929, where the original paintings of Huie still permanently hang. The house was built by Fred Stoberg, and the house also holds the only functioning basement on Saint Simons Island. The Mildred Nix Huie Museum was acquired by the St. Simon's Land Trust in 2018 when they received a $4 million grant from the Anschutz Foundation. Huie's daughter Millie Wilcox recalls her mother's love for creating art. <blockquote>“She began drawing when I was 4 years old and later taught abstract art and design,” Wilcox reminisced. “There are very few of her abstract paintings around — maybe one or two — but I loved the fact that she freehanded them. It was magical to me. It showed that she had a wonderful sense of humor.” 1</blockquote>

A native Savannah, Georgia, Mildred Nix Huie (1906-2000) was a prominent author, historian, and artist in Georgia during the 20th century. The museum, located in the historic Mediterranean House, which was built in 1929, displays her artwork and also features an archive that houses books and other materials documenting local history. Mildred was a member of one of the first Girl Scouts (then named Girl Guides) and later graduated with a degree in Classical Education from the Florida State College for Women (now Florida State University). She worked as manager of WALB Radio between 1941-1953. She founded the Easter Seals of Southern Georgia, an accomplishment that earned her the Woman of the Year award in 1950. Along with two others, she also helped found the Albany Junior College, which is now Darton College, in 1963. She moved from Albany to St. Simons Island in 1965 where she focused her attention on creating art. She was particularly interested in painting and creating models of plantations in the surrounding region.

Historic St. Simons Island Georgia Tour

Avenue of Oaks, St. Simmons Island

Introduction

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