Since we have been living aboard and traveling up and down the eastern seaboard for several years now; there are not too many places we have not already seen. One location we have never experienced however is Cumberland Island, GA. So on this trip south, we made a stop to go ashore and do some exploring.
Cumberland Island is the largest and the southernmost of Georgia's barrier islands. It is a national seashore managed by the National Park Service. The only way to get to the island is via boat and so it is very secluded. There are 17 miles of ocean beaches, acres of salt marsh, and feral horses and other wildlife wander freely across the entire island. In addition to the natural beauty, there is a wealth of history to this island. So we anchored Southern Style just off the western side of the island near the park service docks for two days to check out this national park.
Aboriginal people, the Timucuan Indians, populated the island as far back as 2000 BC. There were diverse food sources available to these people such as oysters, crabs, fish, birds, and deer. By the 1500s the Spanish began building missions in the region. The British also soon showed up and it was not long before the native peoples were unfortunately pushed off there lands in the name of progress. In the 1780s Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Green built the first mansion on Cumberland Island naming it Dungeness. He purchased land on Cumberland Island to develop a business of harvesting live oaks for ship building. Wood from the island was even used to build the USS Constitution also known as Old Ironsides. In 1818 another Revolutionary War hero, Gen. Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee came to Cumberland Island to stay at Dungeness. He was in failing health and wanted to stay at his old friends home, however he passed away after just 30 days on the island. He was buried here on the island and his son Gen. Robert E. Lee (famous Confederate general) had a tombstone erected over his father's grave and came to visit it on several occasions. In 1913 Harry Lee's remains were moved to Lexington, VA to lie next to his son's burial site. His tombstone on Cumberland Island remains however.
Green-Miller Cemetery Cumberland Island
Catherine Green Miller tomb is the tabletop stones and Henry Lee is the nearest upright stone
Table top stones were used so family could picnic in the cemetery near their relatives. The location is beautiful with a view out over the salt marsh.
After the Civil War many of the freed slaves on the island remained here. They purchased some of the land at the north end of the island and continued to live here. Sometime after Catherine Green's death in 1814 the southern land holding was sold to William Davis, first cousin of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, William held the land for a number of years and when ready to sell he refused to consider selling to a "Yankee". A gun accident however killed his grandson and the boy's father soon after committed suicide. The story goes that the father accidentally shot the boy while they were hunting. This prompted William Davis to get rid of the property, and he sold it to Thomas Carnegie in 1881. Thomas Carnegie, steel magnate/industrialist and brother of Andrew Carnegie and his wife Lucy purchased land at the southern end of the island in 1881.
The Carnegies started construction of a mansion at the site of the original Dungeness mansion in 1884. Unfortunately Thomas passed away in 1886 before completing the mansion and leaving his widow Lucy with 9 children to raise. Lucy was no shrinking violet however and she not only finished the mansion but eventually purchased nearly 90% of Cumberland Island. This was to be the winter estate for Lucy and the children for many years to come. She oversaw an estate that would have its own power generating plant, ice house, carriage house, dairy barn, kennels, etc. In its hay-day the estate had over 20 support buildings and 300 employees. She would also build 5 additional mansions on the island for several of her grown children. Lucy was an avid outdoor person, hunting and fishing, gardening, etc. She also was a yachtsman building a 115 foot boat and traveling on it from the northeast to Cumberland and back. She named the yacht Dungeness as well. Lucy and many of her children and grandchildren lived on the island until her death in 1916. The 40 room mansion stood empty for years and in 1959 a fire destroyed the home. It was never rebuilt and all that remains today are the ruins.
Old picture in the museum of the Carnegie Dungeness Mansion
Fire that destroyed Dungeness
Dungeness today
Feral horses at the Dungeness mansion ruins
View of part of the back of the house
View from the front that overlooks the marsh and river
Our hike from the dinghy dock to get to the ruins was spectacular. Beautiful maritime forest and paths.
There were more feral horses on the paths as we hiked around both to and from the ruins of the mansion.
There are an estimated 250 to 300 horses on the island. They were originally domestic horses brought to be used on plantations as work and carriage horses in the 1800s and early 1900s. Over the years some horses were left behind as people moved off the island. These once domestic horses became feral, fending for themselves, reproducing and dying as nature would have it. Today they continue to live on the island without any real human intervention. Very cool to see these horses roaming all around the island. Reminds me a little bit of the banker ponies back home.
We continued walking around the island. There were paths through the forest as well as elevated walkways along the marsh.
We followed the trail all the way around to the beach. The walk along the beach was about a mile to where it connected back up with the trail back across to the dinghy dock.
Looking back as we came off the beach
On our last leg of the trail back across the island and through the maritime forest, we encountered another resident I was hoping to see while here. One of Cumberland Island's numerous armadillos. These adorable little guys are nine-banded armadillos. The nine-banded is the only species that can be found in North America. They are a relative of the sloth and ant eater; and can most often be seen foraging with their long snout for food. They are the only mammal with a bony plate. Averaging about the size of a house cat, these guys are also great swimmers. Unlike other species of armadillos, the nine-banded are not able to curl into a ball for defense. Instead they are able to jump up to 3 feet into the air hopefully startling any would-be attacker.
Cumberland Island nine-banded armadillo
Count the bands. This guy is spot on at 9. They can however have anywhere from 7 to 11 bands. By sitting quietly he came pretty close and then with the telephoto lens I got several really good pictures of this guy.
Our morning hike was a little over 4 miles, and we decided to head back to the dinghy and then Southern Style to have a break for lunch. After lunch we headed out again with the dinghy toward the north end of the island. About 7 miles north of our anchorage there is another public dock called Plum Orchard. This dock is near the Plum Orchard mansion. This stately home was built in 1898 by Lucy Carnegie as a wedding gift for her son George and his wife Margaret. This 22,000 square foot home has 30 main rooms, 12 bathrooms and several smaller rooms. There is a heated swimming pool and squash court in one wing. It was donated to the National Park Service in 1971 by the Carnegie family. Portions of the house are now open for public tours. Keith and I were lucky enough to catch the final tour of the afternoon.
Plum Orchard Mansion
Christmas Tree
Piano with custom made tortous shell Tiffany lamp in the hunting room. Lamp estimated worth $5 million dollars. (Do Not Touch!!!!)
Live oaks in the yard at Plum Orchard Mansion
As we were leaving the grounds of the mansion to head to the dinghy; we spotted another armadillo. They are just so photogenic I had to get his picture also. This one was exceptionally cute with the yellow buttercup near him.
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