Sapelo Island

July 5, 2008

Georgia’s Sapelo Island Keeps its Secret

On a recent ferry ride to Sapelo Island, a long-time resident who was transporting a pressure washer from the mainland, joked during a conversation we were having that Sapelo island shares its size and shape with the island of Manhattan.

With 80 residents, only 47 of whom are permanent, any comparison of Sapelo to Manhattan seems oxymoronic, at best. As the older gentleman leans back on the bench in laughter at my befuddled response, I begin to understand the irony.

The 30-minute ferry ride to the island winds its way through a maze of estuaries and marshes covered with vibrant green oyster grass. Although Sapelo is the fourth largest of the barrier islands sprinkled along Georgia’s coast and only 60 miles south of Savannah, visitors may only visit the island on a State Park guided tour or through an official invitation by one of the permanent residents.

All but 434 acres of the island belong to the State of Georgia and its three major wildlife, marine, and research programs. Despite the island’s natural beauty, its sheer isolation seems to have kept all but the most dedicated at bay. It wasn’t until 1967 that Georgia Power arrived on the Island and, aside from a small market that sells basic snacks, all products must be brought over by the state ferry that runs twice a day or private boat; a luxury most residents can’t afford. Once a car is ferried to the island, no tags or registration are required. The island’s 13 school-age children take the 7am ferry everyday to commute to a school in Darien on the mainland. Aside from the inconvenience, job opportunities are extremely limited, and as young residents move off of the island for work and education, the population continues to decline.

As we bobbed down on of the island’s washboard dirt roads, our State Park tour guide recalled the island’s rich history. First occupied by Guale Native Americans, the island was a battleground between the Spanish, French and British. In the 19^th century, the island was home to several African American slave settlements, and after the Civil War, many freed slaves moved back to the island. retaining much of their Gullah heritage. Based on English with a creole flavor, Gullah contains hints of vocabulary and grammar elements from several West African languages. Today, most of the residents can still trace their heritage back to the 19^th century.

A number of wealthy landowners also claimed ownership of the island, including Thomas Spalding, a wealthy plantation owner who purchased the south end of the island in 1802, and later automotive engineer Howard Coffin who sold ownership to tobacco baron RJ Reynolds in 1934. In 1950, Reynolds set up the Sapelo Island Research Foundation, and later Reynold’s widow sold her belongings to the State of Georgia. A decade after he purchased the island, Reynolds consolidated all of the African American communities into one, Hog Hammock, which still exists today. Set back from the lazy winding dirt roads, the majority of the resident houses are modest, shotgun-style wooden homes surrounded by large, tidy yards. Horses and cows wander freely from yard to yard. Despite the modesty, however, the vacation home potential that the island holds hasn’t gone unnoticed by developers and wealthy suburbanites. In an effort to preserve the island’s cultural heritage, community leaders recently fought successfully to limit all private houses to no bigger larger than 1,400 square feet.

On our way to the island’s curiously dubbed “Behavior Cemetery,” we passed Live Oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss with enormous limbs covered with resurection ferns shared space with Saw Palmettos. Reynolds’ impact on the island could stil be witnessed. We passed the longest strip of grass in Georgia that previously served as a sugarcane plantation, which Reynolds turned into a landing strip for he and his visiting guests. The Reynolds mansion, originally built by Thomas Spalding out of tabby, a then commonly used mixture of lime, shells, and water, still remains and can be reserved for larger groups.

On the southern tip of the island stands the red and white Sapelo Island lighthouse. Built in 1820, the lighthouse suffered several debilitating bouts with hurricanes, but underwent reconstruction in 1998 and now serves as a fully functioning navigation aid.

Sapelo Island offers visitors a rare glimpse into the past, and it seems local residents are determined to keep it that way.