Cumberland Island Museum, St. Marys, Georgia

We did not take the ferry out to visit the actual island as the wind was blowing very hard that day and we really did not have enough time. We went to visit the St. Mary's Submarine Museum in the morning, had lunch with an old friend who I used to work with at Shapiro Fussell back in Atlanta (1996-2010), then went to the Cumberland Island Museum. Please enjoy these pictures that I took these at the Museum.

Cumberland is one in a string of narrow, sandy barrier islands just off the southeast coast of Georgia. Formed by the rise and fall of sea level during the last ice ages, barrier islands are fragile and ever-changing. They move in response to tides, currents, and storms. Barrier islands create rich habitats that are nurseries for many species. Marshes form between the mainland and barrier islands. These broad expanses of cordgrass and other salt-tolerant plants protect and nurture birds, fish, crustaceans, and turtles.

The sea advances and retreats twice daily, carving tide pools and patterns in the sand at the water's edge and undercutting, adding to, or moving dunes. Windblown sand buries shrubs and trees in the inter-dune area between beach and forest. Sea oats, a protected species, often grow on and stabilize dunes, but their root systems are easily damaged when trampled by people and animals. the beach hosts pelicans, sandpipers, gulls and osprey feeding along the water's edge and diving for fish in the ocean.

Live oaks form a dense canopy that shelters palmettos and delicate ferns cradled in branches. Spanish moss sways in the breeze. Painted buntings, summer tanagers, cardinals, and pileated woodpeckers add color to the forest's palette. You may also see white-tailed deer, turkey, armadillo, and occasionally a bobcat. Farther inland, on warm spring nights, rain-fed freshwater ponds host the booming courtship of bull alligators.

At low tide the saltwater marshes between Cumberland Island and St. Marys on the mainland resemble broad, tallgrass plains. Birds wade in grasses or feed at creek banks. Fiddler crabs scurry across the mud flats and eat decaying vegetation. Raccoons hunt for crabs and shellfish. At high tide, grasses sway with the current and disappear into it.

A Timucuan Village

Humans have been drawn to the island for thousands of years. Piles of shells (middens) offer clues to the early Timucua people who left them. Indigenous people lived along the ocean and rivers for over 4,000 years, harvesting seafood, hunting game, and farming the uplands. Little evidence is left of their lifestyle: oyster middens, pottery sherds, and flawed paintings of their culture made by Europeans, remain.

In June of 1564, French explorer Rene de Laundonniere was greeted by an impressive figure when he landed his ships near the Somme River. The man had olive skin covered with red, blue and black tattoos. His face was painted and he wore jewelry made of copper, shell, feathers, and fish teeth. Two years earlier Laundonniere accompanied Jean Ribault, another French explorer, when an alliance was struck with this same powerful chief. On this occasion the chief presented his bow and arrow to Laundonniere signifying their continued pact.

Yamacraw Indian Chief Tomochichi 
and his nephew Toonahowi

Chief Tomochichi traveled to England with James Oglethorpe in 1736. On their return, Toonahowi requested that the island be named "Cumberland" in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, William Augustus, whom he befriended on the trip.

In 1739 war was declared between England and Spain, and in 1742 Spain attacked the fortifications on Cumberland Island. The Spanish knew they had to befriend and control the Indians, so they established a system of missions along the east coast. The Indians that converted would gain religious instruction, education and protection of the Spanish military garrisons, and greater access to European trade goods.

Live Oak trees were used to build ships, as depicted above, such as the USS Constitution. Today the Live Oak is valued for its beauty.

Sea Island Cotton

Sea Island cotton had longer and finer fibers than upland cotton, creating high quality textiles, allowing the cotton to fetch a higher market price. Sea Island cotton required fertile soils that the sea islands could provide. Many fields were amended by adding mud from the marsh into the sandy soil.

Eli Whitney's cotton gin

The rich came to Cumberland Island and built their houses to support their lifestyle. Mrs. Lucy Carnegie supported her extravagant lifestyle by moving to the island after the death of her husband, Thomas in 1886. Island life was filled with formal dinner parties, beach exploration, hunting trips, fishing expeditions, and carriage rides through the woods.

Thomas Carnegie III plays croquet

Horseback riding was a popular past time for the Carnegie family

Native Americans traversed the island on foot. A network of trails probably connected the various villages of Cumberland island, then known as Missoe. In the late 1500s, Spanish missionaries likely brought the island's first horses. Horses later became the primary mode of transportation as island residents imported modern breeds for pulling carriages, hunting, and recreation.

Glenn Falls Buckboard Surrey, ca 1900

This surrey was used as a touring vehicle because it offered multiple seating and a more comfortable ride than other carriages of the time. There was a riser between between the support boards and passenger seats which allowed for additional suspension. It features an exterior rear compartment, rubber coated canvas roof, flannel headliner, and buttoned wool twill show cloth upholstery on the back rests. The seats were stuffed with horse hair. 

The main road serves as the primary avenue of transportation to the North end of Cumberland island. Evidence pointing to the exact origin of the main road is lacking, but some historians agree that by the Plantation Era a network of roads connected the island. The Main Road, also known as Grand Avenue, is a sandy road with a crushed oyster shell base. It runs the length of the island, from Dungeness to the Settlement. 

    "[One could] look straight down beneath the arch of live-oaks for more than a mile." ~~ Frederick Ober, 1880

Piano Box Carriage

This carriage was named due to its resemblance to a piano box. As a quick and inexpensive carriage seating 1 to 2 people, it was a popular model by the beginning of the 20th century.

The skirmish at Point Peter

A battery on Point Peter was established in 1796 to protect the mouth of the St. Mary's River and adjacent islands from unwelcome ships. Cumberland Island was an attractive landing spot, offering easy access from the ocean, and the nearby town of St. Mary's had amenities such as fresh food and supplies. After a period of vacancy, a blockhouse was built and the battery was garrisoned for protection during the War of 1812. Most of the war activities took place in the north around the Great Lakes. As a result, southern fortifications like Point Peter were left with a limited number of soldiers to fight off the British fleets as they traveled down the Eastern seaboard. 

It was not until 1815 that Point Peter garrison was tested. Official military correspondence tells the story of Rear Admiral George Cockburn and the British fleet landing on Cumberland Island soon after their attacks on Washington and Baltimore. After a quick triumph over the small band of U.S. forces, the British promised to respect the townspeople and their possessions in St. Mary's. Their word was quickly broken as they plundered the stores, homes, and church, and took unarmed citizens as prisoners of war. On March 18, 1815, the British evacuated. Word finally came from Ghent that the war had ended in December. The last British attack was unwarranted and left the town in shambles. 

Dungeness Ruins

In 1803 Catherine Greene, widow of Revolutionary War hero Gen. Nathanael Greene, built Dungeness, a four-story "tabby" mansion, near the southern end of the island. A century later, Pittsburgh industrialist Thomas Carnegie and his wife Lucy purchased land on the island and built their own mansion, which they called Dungeness, in the same location. Several homes were built on the island for their children, including Plum Orchard, in 1898.