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Sapelo Island is a state-protected
barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...
located in
McIntosh County, Georgia McIntosh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,975, a drop of 23.4 percent since the 2010 census. The county seat is Darien. McIntosh County is included in the Brunswick, GA ...
. The island is accessible only by aircraftAirNav: 08GA - Sapelo Island Airport
/ref> or boat; the primary
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mile (11 km), twenty-minute trip. It is the site of Hog Hammock, the last known
Gullah The Gullah () are an African Americans, African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain ...
community. It is illegal to visit the island without a permit issued by state tourism authorities. Approximately 97 percent of the island is owned by the state of Georgia and is managed by the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. The agency has statewide responsibilities for managing and conserving Georgia’s natural, cultural, and historical resources, and has five ...
; the remainder is under private ownership. The western perimeter of Sapelo is the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (SINERR) which is part of NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve system (NERR). The
University of Georgia Marine Institute The University of Georgia Marine Institute (UGAMI) is a nearshore ecological and geological research station located on Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia in the United States. This island lies between the Atlantic Ocean and a pristine salt m ...
, which is focused on research and education, is located on on the south end of the island. The Reynolds Mansion, a Georgia State Park, also lies on the south end of the island. Visitors to the island must be a part of an organized tour or guests of residents on the island. The island also has a small private airport run by the state of Georgia.


Hog Hammock

The community of Hog Hammock, also known as Hogg Hummock, includes homes, a general store, bar, public library, and other small businesses including vacation rentals. There are two active church congregations in Hog Hammock: St. Luke Baptist Church, founded in 1885, and First African Baptist Church, established in 1866. The latter congregation has an older building known as First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff, constructed in 1900 in the former Raccoon Bluff community north of Hog Hammock. It is used for special services and programs. Many of the full-time inhabitants of the Hog Hammock Community are
African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
known as Gullah-Geechees, specifically Saltwater Geechees, who descended from enslaved West African people brought to the island in the 1700s and 1800s to work on island plantations. The current population of full-time Gullah-Geechee residents in the community is estimated to be 47 (2009). The residents must bring all supplies from the mainland or purchase them in the small store on the island. The children of Hog Hammock take the ferry to the mainland and then take a bus to school, as the island school closed in 1978. Hog Hammock is also home to th
Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, Inc. (SICARS)
a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and revitalize th
Hogg Hummock
Community. SICARS was founded in 1993 by Hogg Hummock residents and non-resident descendants who wanted to enhance the future of their community by educating all visitors to the island about the history and to increase awareness that Sapelo has existed as an African community for over 200 years. SICARS was incorporated in 1994, has over 600 members, and continues to grow each year. The organization hosts a Cultural Day festival every third Saturday in October. The entire of the community was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1996 as Hog Hammock Historic District. In the 1990s, people from the mainland began acquiring parcels of land from the Gullahs to construct vacation homes. In 2012, McIntosh County property tax appraisers notified Hog Hammock residents of huge property tax increases, even though there was no longer a school on the island. One Hog Hammock property owner's annual tax bill soared from $600 to $2,100. In 2013, a fight over the sudden tax hikes was well underway, with some residents claiming they would be driven from land they had owned for many generations for the benefit of mainlanders who would acquire more of Hog Hammock's homes.Ga. island slave descendants fight huge tax hikes
By Russ Bynum, Associated Press


History

Sapelo Island is speculated to be the site of
San Miguel de Gualdape San Miguel de Gualdape (sometimes San Miguel de Guadalupe) is a former Spanish colony in present-day Georgetown County, South Carolina, founded in 1526 by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón.In early 1521, Ponce de León had made a poorly documented, disast ...
, the short-lived (1526–1527) first European settlement in the present-day United States and, if true, it would also be the first place in the present-day U.S. that a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
was celebrated. "Sapelo", a name of Indian origin, was known to the Spanish as "Zapala". During the 17th century the island was part of the
Guale Guale was a historic Native American chiefdom of Mississippian culture peoples located along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th ...
missionary province of
Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...
. After 1680, several missions were merged and relocated to the island under the mission
Santa Catalina de Guale Santa Catalina de Guale (1602-1702) was a Spanish Franciscan mission and town in Spanish Florida. Part of Spain's effort to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism, Santa Catalina served as the provincial headquarters of the Guale mission prov ...
. In the early 19th century
Thomas Spalding Thomas Spalding (March 25, 1774 – January 4, 1851) was a United States representative from Georgia. He was born in Frederica, Georgia, St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1795, but did not ...
, a future Georgia Senator and
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
, bought the island and developed it into a
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
, selling live oak for shipbuilding, introducing irrigation ditches, and cultivating
Sea Island Cotton ''Gossypium barbadense'' (''gos-SIP-pee-um bar-ba-DEN-see'') is one of several species of cotton. It is in the mallow family. It has been cultivated since antiquity, but has been especially prized since a form with particularly long fibers was ...
, corn, and sugar cane. Spalding brought 400
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
to the island from
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
and the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
to work the plantation and build what would become the Spalding Mansion. One of the slaves owned by Thomas Spalding was
Bilali Muhammad The Bilali Muhammad Document is a handwritten, Arabic manuscript on West African Islamic law. It was written in the 19th century by Bilali Mohammet, an enslaved West African held on Sapelo Island of Georgia. The document is held at the Hargrett Ra ...
, an Islamic scholar from West Africa who authored a 13-page document about Islamic law on the island — possibly the first manuscript of
Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
written in the United States. In 1820, a
Winslow Lewis Winslow Lewis ( Nathaniel Winslow Lewis; 11 May 1770 – 20 May 1850) was a sea captain, engineer, inventor and contractor active in the construction of many American lighthouses during the first half of the nineteenth century. Life and career ...
brick
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...
was built on the island. Although it remained dark for over 90 years, it was restored and relit in 1998. Spalding opposed the abolition of slavery and he died in 1851 returning from a convention to assert Georgia's position on the matter. When freed, the former slaves established several settlements on the island; the last remaining is Hog Hammock, with approximately 70 remaining land owners. During the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, the Spalding home was heavily vandalized and lay in ruins. By the early 20th Century the International Road Races were attracting notables from the motor world to
Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
. One attendee was
Howard E. Coffin Howard Earle Coffin (September 6, 1873 – November 21, 1937) was an American automobile engineer and industrialist. He was one of the founders of the Hudson Motor Car Company with Roy D. Chapin. He was a charter member of The Society of Automo ...
, founder of the
Hudson Motor Car Company The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other branded automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., from 1909 until 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was continued through ...
. Coffin purchased the entire island, save for the land owned by the former slaves, for $150,000 in 1912. Like Spalding, the Coffins embarked on numerous projects. Miles of shell-covered roads were laid, creeks were bridged, old fields were cultivated and large tracts were set aside for cattle grazing. The Coffins also renovated and enlarged the Spalding house, creating an island paradise unsurpassed on the coast. Former presidents
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
and
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
as well as aviator
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
were guests in the home. Tobacco heir Richard Joshua Reynolds Jr., of
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and headquartered at the RJR Plaza Building. Founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the second-largest tobacco comp ...
bought Sapelo from Coffin in 1934 during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and continued the tradition of agricultural experimentation of the previous owners. Reynolds and his family used his private island paradise as a part-time residence for three decades, consolidating the island's African-American residents into Hog Hammock. Many worked as servants in South End House, later renamed the Reynolds Mansion by the State of Georgia.


Ecology research

In 1923 Sapelo owner Howard Coffin introduced imported
chachalacas Chachalacas are galliform birds from the genus ''Ortalis''. These birds are found in wooded habitats in the far southern United States (Texas), Mexico, and Central and South America. They are social, can be very noisy and often remain fairly co ...
from Mexico to diversify the game bird population for his hunting pals. These chicken-like birds have established a stable, non-native population of 30-40 individuals that at times has spread to neighboring islands. Sapelo owner R. J. Reynolds, Jr. founded the Sapelo Island Research Foundation in 1949. He later funded the research of
Eugene Odum Eugene Pleasants Odum (September 17, 1913 – August 10, 2002) was an American biologist at the University of Georgia known for his pioneering work on ecosystem ecology. He and his brother Howard T. Odum wrote the popular ecology textbook, ''Funda ...
, whose 1958 paper ''The Ecology of a Salt Marsh'' won wide acclaim in scientific circles. Odum's paper helped show the fragility of the cycle of nature in the wetlands. Reynolds' Sapelo Research Foundation also helped fund the University of Georgia's research on the island. Reynolds' widow, Annemarie Reynolds, sold Sapelo to the state of Georgia for $1 million, a fraction of its worth, in two separate transactions in 1969 and 1976. The latter sale resulted in the creation of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve, a state-federal partnership between the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
. Thanks in part to the philanthropy of the Reynolds family, Sapelo is now open to the public by appointment.


Geologic history

Sapelo Island is located within the Georgia Bight, a tidally-influenced coastline that experiences two tidal cycles each day. Average difference between low and high tides at Sapelo Island is ~. Consequently, Sapelo island is an example of a tidally-influenced barrier island system. Over the last 2.5 million years (
Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
and
Quaternary Period The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three period (geology), periods of the Cenozoic era (geology), Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spa ...
s), sea-level fall occurred in response to growth of the Northern Hemisphere ice cap. The resulting regression generated shoreline complexes that preceded the modern
Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
shoreline, with the most recent known as the late Pleistocene Silver Bluff Formation. The Silver Bluff deposits underlie Holocene Sapelo Island sediments, and are visible along the southwestern bank of Blackbeard Creek as the Raccoon Bluff. During the last glacial maximum (LGM) approximately 18,000 years ago (latest Pleistocene), maximum regression forced the Sapelo Island shoreline eastward approximately from its present-day location. During the subsequent transgression, a Holocene shoreline formed the present Sapelo Island shoreline complex, including Cabretta and Nannygoat beaches.


Hurricane Irma

In 2017, storm surge from Hurricane Irma caused a new tidal inlet to breach the southern end of Blackbeard Island, and created a small island between Sapelo Island and Blackbeard Island.


Climate


Tourism

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offers tours several days a week. These can be booked through the Sapelo Island Visitors Center. Additionally, many island residents offer private tours, which can often be customized to fit the interests of individual tourists. A state campground is also available to groups of 15 to 25 people on Cabretta Island, adjacent to Sapelo Island.


In popular culture

Sapelo Island resident and descendant of Bilali Muhammed, Cornelia Walker Bailey, wrote the book ''God, Dr. Buzzard and the Bolito Man: A Saltwater Geechee Talk About Life on Sapelo Island, Georgia'' () which is a first-person account of growing up on Sapelo; co-author Christena Bledsoe. R. J. Reynolds' grandson Patrick Reynolds and author
Tom Shachtman Tom Shachtman (born 1942) is an American author, journalist, filmmaker, and educator. He has published more than thirty books across a variety of topics, including histories, biographies, and books for children. He lives in Connecticut. Awards Shac ...
co-authored ''The Gilded Leaf: Triumph, Tragedy and Tobacco - Three Generations of the R. J. Reynolds Fortune and Family'', which offers an unvarnished view of R. J. Reynolds, Jr. during the time he owned Sapelo. Author Tom Poland wrote a novel titled ''Forbidden Island ... An Island Called Sapelo''. Singer
Larry Jon Wilson Larry Jon Wilson (October 7, 1940 – June 21, 2010) was an American country singer, guitarist and musician. He recorded "Through the Eyes of Little Children" and "I Betcha Heaven's on a Dirt Road". Biography Born in Swainsboro, Georgia, Wil ...
has recorded a song titled "Sapelo", which is about the island on the album ''Testifying - The Country Soul Revue''. Author and island resident Michele Nicole Johnson published the photograph book, ''Sapelo Island's Hog Hammock'', in 2009. Author
T. C. Boyle Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, also known as T. C. Boyle and T. Coraghessan Boyle (born December 2, 1948), is an American novelist and short story writer. Since the mid-1970s, he has published sixteen novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the ...
set his 1990 novel ''East is East'' on a fictional island in Georgia, much of which resembles Sapelo Island, such as the presence of Hog Hammock and proximity to Darien. An episode of Season 6 of the
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
show
Dirty Jobs ''Dirty Jobs'' is an American television series that originally aired on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the job's current employees. The sh ...
featured the
termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...
research program at the
University of Georgia Marine Institute The University of Georgia Marine Institute (UGAMI) is a nearshore ecological and geological research station located on Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia in the United States. This island lies between the Atlantic Ocean and a pristine salt m ...
on Sapelo Island. An episode of ESPN's
Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'', or also referred to as ''OTL'', is an American television program on ESPN that looks "outside the lines" and examines critical issues in mostly American sports on and off the field of play. The primary host of the show is ...
was filmed on Sapelo Island and the Hog Hammock community in 2013, documenting the childhood of
Allen Bailey Allen Bailey (born March 25, 1989) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football for the University of Miami. Early years Bailey was born in Sapelo Island, Georgia. He attended McIntosh County Academy in ...
and telling the community's story and current property tax issues. The Podcast Uncivil published on 10/11/17 was mostly based on the experience of local Gullah people struggling to keep their land and culture intact, despite many legal struggles. "A 19th century promise, and a 21st century betrayal. The past and present of 40 acres and a mule."


See also

* Sapelo Island Range Front Light *
Sapelo Island Light Sapelo Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Georgia, United States, near the southern tip of Sapelo Island. It is the nation's second-oldest brick lighthouse and the oldest survivor among lighthouses designed by Winslow Lewis. The lighthouse, oi ...
* Sapelo red peas * Behavior Cemetery * First African Baptist Church at Raccoon Bluff


References


External links


Sapelo Island Reserve and Reynolds Mansion
Georgia State Parks
"The First Muslim American Scholar Bilali Muhammad"
Lost Islamic History
Sapelo Island Culture and Revitalization Society



Patrick Reynolds and Tom Shachtman, ''The Gilded Leaf: Three Generations of the RJ Reynolds Family and Fortune''
posted by Tobacco Free

Georgia Coast
University of Georgia Marine Institute at Sapelo Island

Friends of the Marine Institute
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sapelo Island Catholic Church in Georgia (U.S. state) Barrier islands of Georgia (U.S. state) Gullah country Protected areas established in 1965 Protected areas of McIntosh County, Georgia State parks of Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Sea Islands Islands of McIntosh County, Georgia Islands of Georgia (U.S. state) 1965 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)