Georgia Natural Wonder #31 - St. Catherines Island. 1,114

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #31 - St. Catherines Island

I got to say first after spending several hours learning more and more and with a tangent here then there, this is way higher than #32 on the list of Natural Wonders of Georgia. But, alas few of us will ever get to venture there, at least past the beach.



St. Catherines Island is one of the Golden Isles situated midway on the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, 20 miles south of Savannah in Liberty County. The undeveloped island is ten miles long and from one to three miles wide, located between St. Catherine's Sound and Sapelo Sound. More than half of its 14,640 acres are tidal marsh and wetlands. About 6,700 acres are densely forested upland, with pine and live oak being the predominant species. Its wide sandy beach is nearly eleven miles long. However, it is privately owned by the Saint Catherines Island Foundation and is not open to the public, aside from the beach below the high tide line.



Note that last sentence. I’ve been doing this whole post thinking you cannot visit the island then hey wait a minute St. Catherines is listed as one of the best 15 beaches in Georgia on one web site.



Party plus Science of Ecology.



St. Catherines Island Beach is often considered as the best beach in the state of Georgia by many. Though that can still be questioned, there is no doubt that the 10-mile-long stunningly paradisiacal coastline is every beach and wildlife lover’s dream. The beach is open up to the high tide line during the daylight hours, the rest of the area is not open to the public. Swimming, day picnics, and beachcombing are quite popular among the visitors in the area.



Quite an Island for the beach.



Designated as a National Historic Landmark site because of its rich human history. From Spanish missions, to the home of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The island became home to one of the finest country homes and private game reserves in the nation. The island also has been the subject of extensive biological surveys. The Wildlife Conservation Society of New York's Bronx Zoo once kept hundreds of exotic and endangered animals there to propagate them and then release them into their wild native habitats. It is also the site of one of the most important archaeological investigations along North America's Atlantic Coast.



The most dramatic geologic feature on St. Catherines—and perhaps along the entire Georgia shoreline—is a steep, twenty-foot "sea bluff" overlooking the beach near the island's north end.



St. Catherines is unusual among the Georgia barrier islands in that it has experienced considerable shoreline retreat and little accretion (the counterpart to erosion) over the past century, perhaps because of its great distance from any major river.

History

The island has been inhabited for at least 4000 years, and was a Guale settlement by 1576. It was the site of the first Spanish outpost in Georgia. By 1587 it was the northernmost permanent Spanish outpost on the Atlantic Coast. Spanish colonies were planted as far north as Chesapeake Bay, but none lasted more than a year or two. In 1597 the Guale Indians staged a rebellion, and the mission was burned. In 1605 Spanish authorities and Franciscan friars reestablished the Mission Santa Catalina de Guale on St. Catherines, ushering in the so-called Golden Age of Franciscan missions on the Georgia coast. The Santa Catalina mission became the primary mission in a line of missions established on several barrier islands between Parris Island, South Carolina, and Amelia Island, Florida.



Relations between the Spanish and Native Americans were relatively calm between 1605 and 1645, but after that, a pattern of general decline set in. Native revolts, disease epidemics, pirate raids, and other problems all took their toll. After the English established a settlement at Charlestown (later Charleston), South Carolina, in 1670, the end of the mission on St. Catherines was close at hand, as pressure by English colonial and commercial interests began to push the Spanish out. They abandoned the mission by 1680. Creek Indians then moved onto the island and established a village there.



In the 1970’s, the Edward John Noble Foundation requested that the American Museum of Natural History attempt to find the site of Mission Santa Catalina. After a twelve -year program of field reconnaissance—combining randomized transect surveys with geophysical prospection — David Hurst Thomas, an archaeologist from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, found what remained of the Mission Santa Catalina de Guale on St. Catherines. His 1980’s find confirmed that Spanish missions existed in Georgia nearly two centuries before the Spanish missions in California. His discoveries also verified that Santa Catalina was the first planned settlement by the Spanish in Georgia.


Thomas digging it. August 1, 1985.

The project also documented the oldest known church in Georgia, and possibly in the United States (other than St. Augustine) It showed that life at the mission was very different from life in the main Spanish settlements like St. Augustine, since compromises to accommodate Indian beliefs and customs were very important at remote outposts. Also, careful town planning, even at frontier settlements, was as important in the Spanish colony as it was for the English more than a century later.



The American Museum of Natural History excavated the site for fifteen years, and most of the archaeological evidence is from the seventeenth-century settlement. The entire mission complex and the Guale pueblo that surrounded it followed a rigid grid system, with the long axis of the church oriented 45 degrees west of magnetic north. The central plaza was rectangular, with the church defining the western margin of the central plaza; the cocina (kitchen) and convento (monastery or living quarters) fringed the eastern margin.



Two churches, or iglesias, at Santa Catalina were exposed during the American Museum excavations. The late-sixteenth-century iglesia was destroyed by fire, probably in September 1597. After a period of abandonment, the mission church was reconstructed in 1604 on a single nave plan (lacking both transept and chancel). The sanctuary end of the church, constructed entirely of wooden planking, was apparently elevated above the lateral wattle-and-daub walls of the nave. A clearly demarcated sacristy contained a cache of charred wheat, which was probably destined to be baked into the "host," the flatbread used in the Eucharist. Although wheat never assumed great dietary importance to Spaniards living in La Florida, this cache underscores the effectiveness of the Franciscan Order in obtaining the supplies necessary for the proper conduct of Catholic Church ritual—even on the most remote northern frontier of the Guale province.


Tennessee priest. Georgia archeologist. 

The only known campo santo (cemetery) at Santa Catalina was found inside the church, where at least 431 individuals were buried beneath the floor. The campo santo also contained an astounding array of associated grave goods, including nearly three dozen crosses, Franciscan medallions, small medals, so-called Jesuit finger rings (with unique sculpted Sacred Heart castings), a cast figurine of the infant Jesus, and many other religious and utilitarian items. The cemetery also contained 70,000 glass trade beads sewn onto clothing and sashes as well as made into jewelry and ornaments, plus a number of partial rosaries.



Across the plaza to the east stood the convento and cocina complex. The convento comprised one or more subsidiary buildings in which friars and lay brothers lived cloistered lives according to the rules of their Franciscan Order. The earlier convento was probably built in the early 1590s, shortly after the Franciscans arrived. The kitchen and refectory were probably housed inside the sixteenth-century convento, and the other rooms were probably used for living quarters and storage. This building was probably burned by rebellious Guale in the fall of 1597. When Friar Pedro Ruíz supervised the reconstruction in 1604, he separated sacred from secular, erecting a detached kitchen to the north of the new convento.



Immediately outside the back of the convento was a concentration of nearly four dozen bronze bell fragments (other fragments have been found haphazardly scattered about Santa Catalina). Several pieces show punch and axe marks, indicating that the bells were deliberately destroyed, probably also during the 1597 uprising. Like all sacred vessels of the church, bells were consecrated and blessed, even after they were broken. The friars who returned to Santa Catalina some years later undoubtedly came upon some of these fragments, and the broken bells found may have been a deliberate cache of still-consecrated fragments, perhaps intended for recycling into new bells.



Two wells, both sources of holy water, were discovered on the eastern side of the plaza. The first, located during the magnetometer survey, was a simple barrel well, consisting of seven decomposing iron rings above the well-preserved remains of an oak casing. Sometime in the seventeenth century, the Franciscans dug a second, much larger well between the cocina and the convento. It was one of the last features built at the mission and was probably in use until the site's abandonment.



Thomas's archaeological team also found Native American graves predating the Spanish. Ten burial sites have been dated to 1350 B.C.



In 2004 more than a million objects—known as the St. Catherines Island Foundation and Edward John Noble Foundation Collection—from the digs on the island were moved to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta. The varied artifacts include daub wall fragments and handmade religious medallions, thought to have come from the Vatican. Museum curators plan to assess the objects, evaluate the collection, and develop programs to display and conduct further research on them.



In the 1730s Savannah's founder, James Oglethorpe, claimed St. Catherines as part of the colony of Georgia. After establishing and naming the towns of Savannah and Augusta, Oglethorpe led a contingent of settlers, soldiers and mercenaries to St. Simons Island. While on their way to St. Simons Island, Oglethorpe’s people camped on St. Catherines Island. John Wesley, who later returned to England and helped to start Methodism, was with Oglethorpe that night on St. Catherines. His interpreter, Mary Musgrove, who was half Creek, challenged that claim. Thomas and Mary (Musgrove) Bosomworth took up residence on St. Catherines Island sometime in the 1740s. Bosomworth, an Anglican minister was Mary’s third husband. Several Yamassee Indian families were also living on St. Catherines Island at that time.


Mary stands behind in this painting.

In 1753 Jonathan Bryan, the son of a South Carolina planter led a party through the environs of coastal Georgia. His stated purpose for the journey was to look for land. A few years earlier, Bryan accompanied Oglethorpe during a failed attack on St. Augustine. Adam Bosomworth (Thomas Bosomworth’s brother) greeted Bryan’s group when they arrived on St. Catherines Island. They landed at 8 o’clock in the evening of August 10th 1753. The next morning Adam Bosomworth, took the travelers on a 3-hour walk across the island to the beach and back. Bryan wrote in his journal, “This island is one of the most pleasant and agreeable places in all Georgia”. He also mentions “the middle of the island appears a perfect Meadow being a large Savanna” (Wood and Bullard). Today – Bryan’s perfect meadow is called the Central Depression. Pine trees have, for the most part, replaced the grass. A team of scientists from two museums, three Georgia universities, two out-of-state universities and members of the St. Catherines Island staff are working together to understand the origins and workings of that mysterious (scientifically) part of the island. They call themselves the Central Depression Consortium. Bryan also saw “springs and… crystal streams.” There are no springs or streams on the island today. One of the men on that voyage with Bryan was William De Brahm, a German engineer, surveyor and mapmaker.


No springs, no meadows.

Bryan went on to become one of Georgia’s largest landholders, Bryan was a supporter of evangelist George Whitefield and encouraged religious services for his slaves, including minister Andrew Bryan. Jonathan Bryan supported independence during the Revolutionary War, serving on the Council of Safety and personally financing Continental troops in Georgia. In 1779 he was captured and held for two years on British prison ships. Savannah’s Bryan Street recognizes his family’s role in the founding of the Georgia colony. In 1793 St. Phillip Parrish was renamed Bryan County in his honor.



Mary and Thomas Bosomworth gained legal title to St. Catherines Island in 1760. William De Brahm (who had accompanied Bryan in 1753) and Henry Yonge surveyed the island for the colony and made a map from that survey. A photocopy of the Yonge and De Brahm map hangs in the living room of the Button Gwinnett House today. Upon Mary Musgrove’s death five years after she gained title, Bosomworth sold the island to Button Gwinnett.


Button Gwinnett’s house.

In 1766 the island was leased to Button Gwinnett, one of the three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence. Gwinnett lived on St. Catherines until 1777, when he died from a fatal wound inflicted by Lachlan McIntosh during a duel. Gwinnett's home still stands today on the island. I feel a tangent on Button Gwinnett……… Button Gwinnett (April, 1735 – May 19, 1777) was a British-born American founding father who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was one of three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence (first signature on the left) on the United States Declaration of Independence. He was also, briefly, the provisional president of Georgia in 1777, and Gwinnett County (now a major suburb of metropolitan Atlanta) was named for him. Gwinnett was killed in a duel by rival Lachlan McIntosh following a dispute after a failed invasion of East Florida.


Backside of house.

Gwinnett was born in 1735 in the parish of Down Hatherley in the county of Gloucestershire, Great Britain to a Welsh father, the Reverend Samuel Gwinnett, and his wife, Anne. He was the third of his parents' seven children, born after his older sister Anna Maria and his older brother Samuel. There are conflicting reports as to his exact birthdate, but he was baptized in St. Catherine's Church in Gloucester on April 10, 1735. It is believed that he attended the College School, held in Gloucester Cathedral (now called The King's School) as did his older brother, but there is no surviving evidence to substantiate this. He started his career as a merchant in England. He moved to Wolverhampton in 1754, and in 1757 at age twenty-two he married a local, Ann Bourne, at St. Peter's Church. In 1762 the couple departed Wolverhampton and immigrated to America.



Gwinnett's business activities took him from Newfoundland to Jamaica. Never very successful, he moved to Savannah in 1765 and opened a store. When that venture failed, he bought (on credit) St. Catherine's Island, off the coast of Georgia, to the south of Savannah. He built a plantation. He became active in local politics, winning election to the Commons House of Assembly in 1769. By 1773 Gwinnett was again in financial straits as his plantation failed. He sold most of his personal property and possessions and withdrew from the political scene.



The Revolutionary crisis brought him back into politics. Gwinnett rallied the opponents of the Christ Church Parish–led Whig Party, which until that time had dominated the leadership in the emerging dispute with the British crown. St. John's Parish, which encompassed his lands, threatened to secede from Georgia due to the colony's rather conservative response to the events of the times. He succeeded in uniting coastal and rural dissidents into a loose coalition that demonstrated its strength by electing Gwinnett commander of Georgia's Continental battalion when the state's Provincial Congress met in early 1776. When his election proved controversial, Gwinnett stepped aside and accepted instead an appointment to the Continental Congress, then meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lachlan McIntosh commanded the battalion in Gwinnett's stead, and these two would become bitter enemies. During his tenure in the Assembly Lyman Hall was his closest ally.



In Philadelphia, Gwinnett served on a number of committees and supported separation from England. Gwinnett voted in favor of the Declaration of Independence, adopted by Congress on July 2, 1776, two days before the "fair copy," dated July 4, 1776, was presented to the Congress. He signed the famous parchment copy on August 2, 1776. After signing the Declaration, he was accompanied as far as Virginia by Carter Braxton, another of the signers, carrying a proposed state constitution drawn up by John Adams.



Gwinnett served in the Georgia state legislature, and in 1777 he wrote the original draft of Georgia's first State Constitution. He soon became Speaker of the Georgia Assembly, a position he held until the death of the President (Governor) of Georgia, Archibald Bulloch. Gwinnett was elevated to the vacated position of president by the Assembly’s Executive Council. In this position, he sought to undermine the leadership of McIntosh. Tensions between Gwinnett and McIntosh reached a boiling point when the General Assembly voted to approve Gwinnett's attack on British Florida in April 1777.


Did we mention he signed the Declaration of Independence.

As acting President of the Congress he was also commander-in-chief of Georgia's military. As such, he was now the superior of his rival Lachlan McIntosh. Gwinnett had McIntosh's brother arrested and charged with treason. He also ordered McIntosh to lead an invasion of British-controlled East Florida, which failed. Gwinnett and McIntosh blamed each other for the defeat, and McIntosh publicly called Gwinnett "a scoundrel and lying rascal".



Gwinnett then challenged McIntosh to a duel, which they fought on May 16, 1777 at a plantation owned by deposed Royal Governor James Wright. The two men exchanged pistol shots at twelve paces, and both were wounded. Gwinnett died of his wounds on May 19, 1777. McIntosh, although wounded, quickly recovered and went on to live until 1806. He was never charged in connection with Gwinnett's death.


He was buried in Savannah, but is his body there? When they went to dig him up to be interred under the signers monument in Augusta, they could not find a body.

Gwinnett was succeeded in his leadership position by fellow Revolutionary John Treutlen, who became the first person to hold the official title of "governor" of Georgia under American administration. (By coincidence, Treutlen himself was slain a few years later, reportedly by a mob.) Damn trying to resist a tangent within a tangent…..Oh what the hell


John Treutlen

In 1782, the conservatives, whom Treutlen had opposed five years earlier, controlled the government of Georgia. Treutlen was one of the few radical democrats in the government that year. The imbalance in power between the radicals and the conservatives helped to create an atmosphere where the conservatives felt free to seek revenge for old scores and wounds. On a night in March 1782, by some accounts, five men rode up to the Treutlen home. They demanded for Treutlen to come outside, but he refused. The men then set fire to the home, forcing Treutlen, his wife and children to come outside. The men seized Treutlen and killed him in full view of his family. Other accounts of Treutlen's death are considerably different as to the details of the attack. Some versions even place his death in South Carolina, not Georgia, and give a later date (late 1782 or early 1783), but there is no dispute that he died by some kind of mob violence.


Bust in rotunda of State Capital.

Historians continue to speculate about what person or group was behind the killing and what was the motive. Some contemporary accounts claimed Treutlen was killed by Tories angry about the American victory in the Revolutionary War. Others blamed the killing on South Carolinians who resented his opposition to merging Georgia into South Carolina during the war. There was also speculation at the time that the motive was a purely-personal grudge. The multiplicity of accounts and theories of his death indicates that there was never a consensus about the cause of the event.



Wrapping up the Button Gwinnett tangent’ Gwinnett's autograph is highly sought by collectors as a result of a combination of the desire by many top collectors to acquire a complete set of autographs by all 56 signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and the extreme rarity of the Gwinnett signature; there are 51 known examples, since Gwinnett was fairly obscure prior to signing the Declaration and died shortly afterward. Only ten of those are in private hands. In 1979 a letter signed by Gwinnett brought $100,000 at a New York auction. In 2012 a document bearing Gwinnett's signature was valued between $700,000 and $800,000.



The rarity of Button Gwinnett's signature was a plot point in Season 6, Episode 3 the CBS show Elementary. The episode, aired on May 14, 2018, focused on the rarity of Gwinnett's signature as a motive for murder. However, lead character Sherlock Holmes got it wrong when he said Gwinnett "died shortly after the war." Gwinnett actually died during the war.



Gwinnett County, Georgia, now a suburban area of Atlanta, is named after Button Gwinnett. Georgia Gwinnett College celebrates Button Gwinnett Day since 2011. In December 2015, Stephen Colbert performed a rap song about Gwinnett in the style of Hamilton, the musical with Lin-Manuel Miranda on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Button Gwinnett is featured in Fallout 3 as a protection robot guarding the National Archives Building, wearing a wig and speaking in a colonial American accent. In Fallout 4, a brewery is his namesake as a nod to the Samuel Adams Brewery and is located in Boston, using a logo that sports a portrait of him saying "Southie Stout" followed by his name Button Gwinnett.



Back to the history of St. Catherines Island. On July 9, 1800 Jacob Waldburg acquired the northern half of the island. There were other owners of other portions of St. Catherines Island at that time. By 1852 the Waldburgs had acquired all of the land once included in Mary Musgrove Bosomworth’s King’s Grant. It has remained under single ownership ever since. He grew Sea Island cotton there. The island was run as a plantation until the Civil War (1861-65). Slaves were housed at three different settlements. The settlements were North End settlement (today’s Compound), Middle settlement near Cemetery Road, and Waldburg (called South End settlement today). The river running west of the Compound is called Walburg Creek, revealing just how fluid 19th-century spelling could be.


Waldburg during Freedman era.

During the Civil War, the island was granted to the Freedmen's Bureau by Sherman's Special Field Orders No. 15. On the island, the agent Tunis Campbell established a government with schools. He also established a militia that worked to keep white people off the island. Tunis Campbell established dominion over Ossabaw, Sapelo, and St. Catherines islands as "governor," with the seat of his kingdom on St. Catherines. Under the auspices of Sherman's field order, Campbell ruled from the Button Gwinnett House from 1865 until 1867. Georgia planters, through pardons from President Andrew Johnson, regained claim to the islands in 1866. After Congress repealed Sherman's Orders, African-American Union soldiers were sent to evict Campbell from his island, as he would not fire upon other blacks. The former slaves were forced to relocate to White Bluff, on the Georgia mainland.



Damn, this Campbell guy was fascinating. In 1867 he headed a 300-strong African American militia that guarded him from reprisals by the Ku Klux Klan or others. His home was burned, he was poisoned, and his family lived in constant fear. He was elected state senator in Georgia in 1868. But he was expelled from office because a majority of white Georgia legislators agreed that blacks did not have the right to hold office. Campbell was able to return to office in 1871, but lost a bid for re-election in 1872.



Before fleeing the state, he was tried and convicted of malfeasance in office, taken from a Savannah jail, handcuffed, chained, and leased out for one year to a convict labor camp. Tunis Gulic Campbell died in Boston on December 4, 1891. Today, the descendants of the people he led honor him within their annual “Tunis Campbell Celebrations,” in Brunswick, Georgia.



At the end of the Civil War, freedmen converted an old tabby building in the south-end settlement of Waldburg into a church. The descendants of that congregation now worship at the church on White Bluff Road in Savannah that was built by their ancestors from St. Catherines Island. Three buildings stand on the White Bluff property. The smallest and eldest building is a copy of the building they used on St. Catherines.


South-end settlement of Waldburg church on St. Catherines.

During or after the Civil War, the Waldburgs sold the island to the Rodriguez family. As per oral history from a descendant, their ancestor, who they called “the Captain,” purchased SCI sometime in the mid-1860s. They said that the deed was not recorded at the time of sale due to the Civil War. They also said that Rodriguez’s 15-year-old daughter died on SCI in 1863, and that the Captain buried her in the family plot in Brooklyn, NY a couple of weeks later. When asked how he managed get his boat and daughter through the naval blockade, they replied he was a gun smuggler and a blockade-runner. According to the Rodriguez family, at some point after the Civil War he used his two steam freighters to transport sugar to New York from Cuba. He would then stop by SCI to take on a shipment of guns to be smuggled into Cuba.



The Captain’s widow Anna Rodriguez sold the island to Jacob Rauers on January 26, 1876. The Rauers family used the old south end Waldburg mansion while in residence on St. Catherines. The 1893 Sea Islands Hurricane caused catastrophic destruction, sweeping seawater across the entire island. Only one person who remained on the island survived, and all buildings were destroyed. They then built a large Victorian style home in the North End settlement. It was one of the nation's finest country homes and private game reserves on the island.


Only a few buildings at North End Settlement.

In March of 1925, author Charles Jenkins visited St. Catherines Island as he conducted research for his biography of Button Gwinnett. Jenkins was the first person to ever suggest to the Rauers family that the old house they considered the Waldburg overseer’s house might be the home of Button Gwinnett.



The Rauers family sold St. Catherines Island to three investors (Keys, Coffin, and Wilson) from Detroit in 1929. Howard Coffin is well known for his involvement with St. Simons Island, Sea Island, and his restoration of a mansion on Sapelo Island that is today called “The Reynolds’ Mansion.” Between 1929 and 1931, the three restored one of the tabby slave cabins known today as Button Cabin. They also built a powerhouse for generating electricity, which is used today for a classroom, lab, and the island director’s office. Six additional guest cabins were constructed along an avenue near Button Cabin (called the Shell Road). All seven guest cabins are still in use today by visiting scientists and students.


Ain't nobody living here.

The threesome demolished the Rauers family’s mansion, built three staff houses (one is still standing today), added extensively to the Button Gwinnett house, and built a house for the superintendent. The Great Depression had a negative impact on the fortunes of the three, and Wilson never occupied the house that was built for him. Howard Coffin died, Wilson left, and the Keys attempted to continue solo with their plans for SCI. In 1937, St. Catherines Island reverted back to the Rauers family. In an attempt to offset expenses, the Rauers family cut and sold timber.



The Rauers family had cut most of the old-growth pine by the time they sold St. Catherines Island to Edward J. Noble of New York in 1943. At that time, there was a horse-mounted National Guard and Coast Guard unit housed in a barracks on the island’s South Beach. The men were also housed in a couple of the north end cabins. The Coast Guard’s mission was to patrol for U-Boats.


Beach more crowded today with star fish.

In 1943 Edward John Noble purchased St. Catherines, established a Black Angus cattle operation there, and used the island as a business retreat until his death in 1958. Noble (October 8, 1882 – December 28, 1958) was born in Gouverneur, New York, and educated in the public schools. He attended Syracuse University and graduated from Yale in 1905.


Noble, president of ABC.

In 1912, chocolate manufacturer Clarence Crane of Cleveland, Ohio invented Life Savers as a "summer candy" that could withstand heat better than chocolate. Since the mints looked like miniature life preservers, he called them Life Savers. After registering the trademark, Noble bought the rights to the peppermint candy for $2,900. Instead of using cardboard rolls, which were not very successful, he created tin-foil wrappers to keep the mints fresh.



Pep-O-Mint was the first Life Savers flavor.



Noble was the first chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Authority. He also served as Undersecretary of Commerce under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1939-1940. Following the Federal Communications Commission's order that RCA divest itself of one of its two radio networks, he founded the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) when he purchased the Blue Network (formerly part of NBC) on October 12, 1943.


Noble flying.

He tried to build ABC into an innovative and competitive broadcaster, but was hampered by financial problems and the pressure of competing with long-established NBC and CBS. By 1951, he entered negotiations to merge the network with United Paramount Theaters, headed by Leonard Goldenson; Goldenson became chairman of the ABC network, while Noble sat on its board of directors for the rest of his life.


Noble docks a boat.

After the end of World War II, Noble had one of the cut-over forests cleared—stumps were removed, land was leveled, bahiagrass was planted, and black Angus cattle were introduced. As owner of the Life Savers candy company he hosted corporate meetings of that company on the island in the 1950’s. He also hosted such guests as former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and former President Richard Nixon.



Noble was part of the St. Lawrence Seaway Project and was appointed to the advisory board by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. He owned Boldt Castle, the Thousand Island Club, and a summer residence on Wellesley Island. The ornamental street lights in the village park are all that remain of the gift of new street lights that were given to the village by Edward and his brother, Robert. The lights were in memory of their father. Three hospitals and a foundation are named after him. Noble, 76, died at his home on December 28, 1958, after several months of illness.



In the late 1960s, June Noble Larkin, Frank Y. Larkin, and Al Chapman began to research different options for how the island could be best put to use while still retaining its special wildness. A consultant was hired to write a conservation plan, and they sought the advice of scientists and conservationists from the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Zoological Society, and the University of Georgia. Dr. Eugene Odum was one of the scientists from the University of Georgia sought out by the Larkins. Odum is called the father of modern ecology.


Dr. Eugene P. Odum tangent. Go professor Dawg!

In 1968, ten years after his death, the island was transferred to the Edward J. Noble Foundation. The island is now owned by the St. Catherines Island Foundation, and the island's interior is operated for charitable, scientific, literary, and educational purposes. The foundation aims to promote conservation of natural resources, the survival of endangered species, and the preservation of historic sites, and to expand human knowledge in the fields of ecology, botany, zoology, natural history, archaeology, and other scientific and educational disciplines.



The island is involved with the conservation of the ring-tailed lemur. In the interior of St. Catherines Island, deer roam freely and wild hogs jog playfully throughout the woods. Suddenly, in the distance, a sound not native to the area is heard. A group of ring-tailed lemurs hangs from the trees, a small herd of African Jackson hartebeests prances by, and an exotic great hornbill bird is spotted. Welcome to the sanctuary of St. Catherines Island Wildlife Survival Center.



From 1974 to 2007, the Wildlife Conservation Society operated a breeding facility on St. Catherines Island for rare and endangered species. As a result of this ambitious project, several thousand mammals, birds, and reptiles of 54 different species lived in the island’s facilities over its 33-year existence. The breeding facilities are located in the southern section of the main Compound, although few are in use today.



The Bronx Zoo has closed a large animal preserve on a 14,000-acre undeveloped island off the coast of Georgia, where for 30 years zoologists have studied – among other things – the mating habits of wildlife, including lemurs, hartebeests, zebras, tortoises, gazelles and several species of exotic birds.



St. Catherines Island stands apart from the other ecologically and culturally significant barrier islands on the Georgia coast. While it shares a diverse mix of ecological and cultural resources, it is widely known and valued for its globally significant archaeological sites and its history of research, education, and conservation.



It is also unique in that the island is privately owned, with the St. Catherines Island and the Edward J. Noble Foundations supporting the conservation of the Island’s resources and the extensive research and education, all for the public good. It was declared a National Historic Landmark (and automatically placed on the National Register of Historic Places) in 1969.



The St. Catherine’s Island Foundation is committed to sustaining the natural environment of St. Catherines Island and to promoting research, education, and conservation programs that benefit from its unique ecological character. Its board is comprised of prominent scientists, publishers, attorneys, environmentalists, and continuing Noble’s legacy, three generations of his family also currently serve. It is the board’s responsibility to oversee all programs, and confirm they support the Foundation’s mission and strategic vision for the island.



The island is also served by its small, but extraordinarily dedicated, full-time staff—a number of whom also share a multigenerational relationship to the island. The staff maintains the island’s boats and vehicles, the physical plant and all buildings, and dozens of miles of track roads. They also perform carefully prescribed annual burns, knock down wildfires, provide daily assistance to all visiting research teams, and are regularly called upon to deal with unanticipated problems as they arise.



Because of our small staff and the sensitive nature of the ongoing scientific work on the island, St. Catherines Island is closed to the general public. Please respect this privacy, and allow the many scientists and educators dedicated to their research to continue their valuable work undisturbed. Our GNW gals for today are UGA scientist babes.





Whew, what an island - Oldest Spanish mission - Button Gwinnett - Slave Plantation - Tunis Campbell - Life Saver dude - UGA professor Odum - Exotic animals - PARTY beach - St. Catherines Island! Waterfalls seem puny compared to these islands but back to the mountains and the Cohutta Wilderness again tomorrow.