Georgia Natural Wonder #62 - Sea Island. 876

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #62 - Sea Island

Sea Island, 5 miles long by 2 miles wide (including marsh), consists of 2,000 acres of marsh, dunes, beach, and developed maritime forest, of which roughly 750 acres are uplands. To the west of the island is extensive salt marsh fed by the Black Banks River, which flows to the ocean at Gould's Inlet at the southern end, and Village Creek, which flows out to the Hampton River, which separates Sea Island's northern end from Little St. Simons Island. The vegetation on the island is a carefully tended combination of introduced and native species, including some ancient Live Oaks and pines. The north end is the site of Ocean Forest Golf Club. The south end is the only area left in a relatively natural state. At the extreme north end are a series of old dune ridges and accompanying lowlands made up of brackish marshes and bogs. Migrating sands have created a sandy shoal that extends eastwardly and Pelican Spit, an important haven for migrating birds including terns, pelicans, and avocets. In 1846, English geologist Sir Charles Lyell found 30 varieties of shells, which is still possible to do today.



The southern end of the island is a recurved spit that continues to grow toward St. Simons and has developed a narrow shrub zone and extensive interdune meadow. Gould's Inlet at the southern end is an excellent bird-watching site. Sea Island is also a favorite nesting site for threatened loggerhead turtles, with a 10-year average of 66 nests a year, almost twice as many as Little St. Simons Island to the north.


Gould’s Inlet

Early History

Once known as Fifth Creek Island by coastal Native Americans, Sea Island was largely uninhabited until the 1920s. In 1768 James MacKay, one of General James Oglethorpe's troop commanders, a soldier who fought alongside Oglethorpe in his Florida campaign and Battle of Bloody Marsh, and commander of Fort Frederica, acquired it as a land grant from King George III of England, but he made no use of it. By the early years of the nineteenth century, the island, then known as Long Island, had been acquired by John Couper of Cannon's Point Plantation and his business partner James Hamilton of Hamilton Plantation. In 1814 the island was passed to James Hamilton when the partnership between the two men was dissolved.


Cannon’s Point Plantation on St. Simons Island

Later the island was acquired by William Audley Couper, son of John Couper. William Audley Couper attended Franklin College (Athens) with the class of 1838 but did not graduate. For some years he divided his time between his house in Marietta, Georgia and Carteret, his plantation in Glynn County. After 1875 he resided permanently in Marietta, where he died on September 27th, 1888. In 1845 sold it to his brother James Hamilton Couper. The Coupers used the island to pasture cattle during the summer months.



In 1888 the heirs of James Hamilton Couper sold the island to James F. O'Shaughnessey, a member of the Jekyll Island Club, to use as a hunting preserve.



This venture was short-lived, and the island was used for little other than grazing livestock until 1921, when a group of local businessmen formed a company to subdivide the island for vacation cottages. The completion of a causeway between the mainland and St. Simons made Sea Island accessible to the public in 1924.

Development as a Resort

Two years later the development of the island as a beach resort captured the imagination of Howard Coffin, an Ohio native and a founder of the Hudson Motor Company. Coffin made millions as chief engineer at the Hudson Motor Company in Detroit in the early 1900s, and while attending an automobile race in Savannah fell in love with the Georgia coast. Coffin had acquired nearby Sapelo Island as a coastal retreat in 1912, and he began buying large tracts on St. Simons in 1926. As a pioneer in automotive design, Coffin envisioned how the transportation revolution brought about by the automobile could transform the inaccessible Georgia islands into tourist destinations, once the coastal highway, U.S. 17, reached nearby Brunswick. His company, Sea Island Investments, bought Long Island that same year, for $349,485.17 on July 15, 1926, briefly renaming it Glynn Isle before adopting the name Sea Island.


Coffin

A causeway constructed during the 1920s between the mainland and St. Simons Island enabled tourists and day visitors to reach the beach area easily. Coffin used his floating dredges to strengthen the existing causeway and also to build a causeway between St. Simons and Sea Island. This ensured the success of the Cloister, the only major resort between Miami, Florida, and the golfing community of Pinehurst, North Carolina.



Sea Island and The Cloister are the brainchild of business geniuses Howard Coffin and his young cousin, Alfred W. (Bill) Jones Sr. The Sea Island Company is not only the biggest developer of Sea Island but St. Simons as well, with several thousand acres on the northern end of the island at Cannon's Point and Taylor's Fish Camp.


Howard the Hunter.

In 1928 Coffin turned over the administration of the resort to his young cousin, Alfred W. Jones, who steered it through the difficult years of the depression. Coffin and Jones have had a tremendous impact on the Georgia coast, with Coffin's influence ending with his death in the 1930s and Jones's influence continuing to this day as his son and grandson continue his legacy of conservation and wise development.



Coffin was a visionary developer. He would conceive a project, draw up the plans, arrange for financing, and then turn it over to the energetic Bill Jones, who would make it happen. To design The Cloister, Coffin hired famous Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner, who designed the hotel in a Spanish-Mediterranean style. It opened on October 12, 1928. With the death of Coffin's beloved wife Matilda, the stock market crash of 1929, and the following Great Depression, Coffin was forced to sell his Sapelo Island assets to R.J. Reynolds Jr. to hold onto Sea Island. In the 1930s, Coffin spent much of his time trying to keep his empire together. Depressed and in poor health, Coffin killed himself with a rifle in 1937. He was buried with Matilda on St. Simons Island in Christ Church Cemetery.



Bill Jones was left to struggle for the survival of Sea Island, which after much sacrifice and hard work turned a profit for the first time in 1941, and became one of the few five-star resorts in America. (For the complete story, read This Happy Isle by Harold H. Martin.)



The list of famous people who have visited and vacationed at the resort is long and illustrious and includes U.S. Presidents Coolidge, Hoover, Eisenhower, Ford, and Carter. George Bush honeymooned there, as have 36,000 other couples. North of the resort, a colony of private cottages developed along a three-mile drive down the center of the island. The asphalt spine of the island, Sea Island Drive, divides 36 blocks of spectacular homes.



Perhaps more important than Jones's creation of Sea Island was his influence through a variety of philanthropic and business dealings in the preservation of many other coastal areas of natural and historic importance. One could say his fingerprints are on Jekyll Island, Sapelo Island National Estuarine Sanctuary, and Fort King George. On St. Simons, he was responsible for the preservation of Fort Frederica and Retreat Plantation and its Avenue of Oaks, and was involved in the creation of Massengale Park and Epworth By The Sea, selling the property to the Methodist Conference for a bargain price. The Sea Island Company also donated the land for McKinnon Airport and the St. Simons sewage treatment plant. Jones also was instrumental in the creation of Cumberland Island National Seashore, persuading the Mellon Foundation to provide $7.5 million for the purchase of major tracts of Cumberland, which had fallen into the hands of the developer of Hilton Head. No fewer than seven churches on St. Simons have benefited from Jones's donations of land on which to build.Mr. Jones played a key role in transforming Jekyll Island into a Georgia State Park resort and in preserving Cumberland Island as a national seashore, for which he was cited by the Interior Department.


Jones Sr.

In 1966 Alfred W. Jones Jr. succeeded his father as president of the Sea Island Company. The Jones family continues to own and manage the company and the resort. Over the years the Cloister was enlarged from 46 to 286 rooms, which were located in the original hotel and in a variety of surrounding buildings. Since 1997 Alfred W. Jones III has served as chairman of the board.


Bill Jones III has transformed his grandfather’s vision into a modern showplace.

In 2003 the original building was razed, and construction began on a new structure designed by Peter Capone. Capone's plans closely follow Mizner's Mediterranean architectural style and include a replica of his original turret. In addition, the hotel's famous Spanish Lounge was dismantled and restored to its original condition within the new building. Featuring seventy hotel rooms and thirty suites, the new structure opened in April 2006.



In the new Beach Club, diners with a close-up view of sea oats and shore are enjoying mussels and Sapelo clams at the just-opened Big George’s Raw Bar and Grill (honoring 40-year employee and now “official Beach Club Ambassador” Big George Drayton).



Each new structure shares traits of the new Cloister, including Spanish arches and tile roofs – even the Beach Club condos’ furnishings resemble the hotel’s. Scores of historic photos in public spaces and hotel rooms celebrate the resort and its famous visitors.


Then


Now



The Cloister has some peculiarities that make it distinctive, such as dress codes for its dining rooms and tennis courts. This isn't the place to walk through the lobby in dripping wet swim trunks. Besides, you never know who you might meet—perhaps a famous movie star, artist, or politician.



The Cloister Walking Tour

Hear the fascinating history of Sea Island, with background about Howard Coffin, who created the Sea Island Company in 1926, as well as the hotel’s original architecture, landscape, and furnishings.



Sea Island's cottage colony now has more than 500 residences. Ocean Forest, a private golf club that opened in 1995, is located on the northern tip of the island. Designed by Rees Jones, it was the site of the 2001 Walker Cup Match.


Ocean Forest cottages

At Sea Island, Davis Love III learned how to play golf from his father, practiced with his brother, and introduced the game to his son. His story could easily be the story of any Sea Island guest. Because where else can you get three championship 18-hole golf courses, top instructors, and an award-winning Golf Performance Center, with everything else there is to discover at Sea Island? From juniors just starting out to PGA champions—and everyone in between—there’s no better place for a golfer to learn and grow. Technologies and facilities that reach into the future, in a setting that honors traditions of the past.



Seaside

Play in the tradition of legendary Scottish links style, surrounded by tidal creeks, dunes, salt marshes, and the Atlantic Ocean. Seaside is both challenging and enjoyable.



Plantation

You’ll love the expansive fairways. Under ancient live oaks, you’ll find a lot more to love. Lakes, blooming flowers, magnificent ocean vistas. And a great day of golf.



Retreat

Surrounded by towering Georgia longleaf pines, sleepy native oaks, and dramatic greens, players of all levels will enjoy this course. This course is actually on St. Simons Island.



Sea Island Company founder Howard Coffin knew that playing golf would be important for his future guests’ enjoyment. Golf became an integral part of the Sea Island experience early on, with the first nine-hole course, Plantation, opening in June 1928. Coffin had hired Walter Travis, an eminent course designer and British and U.S. Amateur champion, to create it. For several months after its opening, resort guests were accommodated on a nearby floating hotel, the Amphitrite, because The Cloister would not open until October of that year.


Between them, immortals Gene Sarazen (left) and Walter Hagen (right) won eight PGA Championships, including seven straight from 1921-27.

Bobby Jones played Seaside in 1930 between the 3rd and 4th victories of his Grand Slam, and later sends word to Coffin that the course is one of the best nine holes I have ever seen. Walter Hagan set a course record 70 in 1931 while Jones bested that with a 67 in 1938. Sam Snead shot 63 in 1958.


Bobby.

Three members and generations of the Yates family have won state amateur championships at Sea Island. Charlie Yates was the second best Amateur to ever play in Georgia, the inspiration for the Movie Bagger Vance? Presley Dan Yates was a Yellow Jacket. Danny Yates was a Georgia Bulldog!



Louise Suggs was a Sea Island touring pro at one point in her life.



Sea Island touring professional Tony Jacklin won the 1970 British and US Open championships.


1969 US Open - 1970 British Open.

Through the decades, a rich golf history has unfolded at Sea Island, with resort guests and some of the game’s finest golfers coming to play. Numerous tournaments have been held here, most notably the RSM Classic, a PGA TOUR FedEx Cup event hosted by Davis Love III. Today, because of its facilities, exceptional service, and community atmosphere, more than two dozen touring professionals live and/or train at Sea Island. And history continues to be written.

Golf Walking Tour at The Lodge

Your tour through The Lodge includes a stop in the Trophy Room. Hear the fascinating history of the Sea Island Golf Club, with background about the course architecture. Also includes a walking tour of the club grounds and the story behind the famed Avenue of Oaks.



In June 2004 the G8 Summit, an annual meeting of the eight largest industrial nations to discuss economic and political issues of global importance, was hosted by the United States on Sea Island.



G8 Summit and Presidential Walking Tour

Stroll through Sea Island’s collection of Commemorative Oaks and learn the story behind each of these historic trees. Followed by a visit to the Summit Room inside The Cloister (pending availability) and learn about this exciting time in Sea Island’s history.



Oak Walk Rise and Shine

This early morning walk takes you among some of our majestic oaks. Bring your favorite cup of coffee as you explore The Cloister gardens and learn about the early days of Sea Island.



The Broadfield Experience

Enjoy a demonstration with a Sea Island dog trainer as well as a tour of the 5800-acre property. After venturing back to the lodge, guests will take part in an interactive falconry demonstration, where they will be able to see the falcons up close and even take turns handling the birds of prey. Then, there is an opportunity for a shotgun shooting lesson or a tour of the lodge and its gardens.



Nocturnal Island Adventure

Join a naturalist for an evening of exploring the barrier island habitats and their nocturnal species includes our flying residents, reptiles, amphibians, marine life, and the crabs that call our beach home.


Turtle tracks Georgia Beach.

By the way, there is a beach on Sea Island, lest we forget why this is a Natural Wonder of Georgia.





Dang only scratched surface this interesting island. Alas I will never know much about it, priced to keep out the riff raft. Today's GNW Gals all getting hitched on Sea Island.



Tomorrow we travel to the mainland to wrap up this memorable Georgia Florida weekend. Will let you stew till then.