Day 2 - Jekyll Island

 After we finished with St. Simons Island, we toured Jekyll Island.

We took a trolley tour through the Landmark Historic District or also known as "Millionaire's Village" or "Millionaire's Road." An interesting fact I found out was the people do not own the land their house sits on in Jekyll Island. The 240 acre island is a Georgia State Park and home owners lease the land to build their house. You own the home but not the land. 

There are 18 "cottages" and a total of 33 buildings in this historic area. Many of these homes have been neglected over time but most have been restored to their original plans.

This is Moss Cottage, built in 1896, and belonged to William Struthers, a retired owner of a Pennsylvania marble works. Later, it became the winter home for George Henry Macy, a tobacconist from NY who later became the president of      A & P. 

The front dormer has the completion date written in seashells. The name "Moss Cottage" might have been because of all the trees nearby were full of Spanish Moss. Local cypress singles were used on this cottage.

The Goodyear Cottage

Architects John Carrere and Thomas Hastings of New York City designed this white stucco winter home, typical of Mediterranean Revival architecture. Their firm also designed the New York Public Library and the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida. The cottage was built in 1906 for the lumber baron, Frank Henry Goodyear of Buffalo, New York. There are seven rooms and a half-bath on the first floor and five bedrooms and three baths on the second floor. The third floor originally contained a servant’s room, a bath, and a storage area. The house was restored in 1974 and it is an art gallery. 

The Indian Mound Cottage was built in 1892 for Mckay. William Rockefeller (Standard Oil) acquired it in 1912 and made a number of changes. 

The first question we all asked was "What's up with all the trellising?"

Mrs. Rockefeller wanted an escape route for every room in the house in case there was a fire.

Another safety feature Mrs. Rockefeller insisted upon was an air hole be placed in the safe in case one of her children became trapped in the safe. This allowed for fresh air until they were rescued.

The Mister's Bathroom

The Mrs. Bathroom

This Chinese Wishing Chair is made out of Ebony and rumor is it grants your wish while sitting in this chair.

I love the runner on this rocking chair!

Mrs. Bedroom

This trunk elevator brings the trunks from the third floor when preparing to travel.

Mr. Bedroom

Children's bedroom 

Slave's room

Slave's bathroom on the top floor. All the Rockefeller's bedrooms each had their own bathroom but all the slaves had to share this one bathroom.

Stained glass in the stairwell

Beautiful wooden banister and post

Jekyll Island Club (now a resort) was established in 1886 and wealthy people could purchase shares at $600 each to be a member. Beginning in the Gilded Age, the club became a secluded hunt club. Early members were: J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, and Marshall Field (department stores). It became a playground for the rich and famous millionaires. In the 20th century Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Gould were members here. This is where a secret meeting occurred and the outcome was the creation of the Federal Reserve Banking System. Also, on January 25, 1915 the first transcontinental phone call was made from this building. The Great Depression hurt the club financially and it struggled for many years. After WWII, in 1947, Georgia bought the island and took over managing these homes and buildings. 

Crane Cottage is the largest and most expensive build on the island. In 1917, Richard Teller Crane, Jr. (plumbing tycoon) purchased this site from Frances Baker. Her house, Solterra, burned in 1914 and she decided not to rebuild here. Her husband had passed away the year before the house burned. (On a side note, in 1901, President McKinley stayed as a guest at Solterra and then was shot (and died) eight days later.)

Crane Cottage was built in Italian Renaissance style resembling an Italian villa. It had 22 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms. Now, it has been renovated into a Bed & Breakfast with 13 guest rooms and is part of the Jekyll Island Club Resort. It is widely reserved for weddings. 

https://www.jekyllisland.com/magazine/lost-jekyll/ has an interesting story about the house that existed in this spot before Crane Cottage was built.

I didn't take pictures of all the cottages.  

https://www.jekyllisland.com/history/sites/historic-landmark-district/ This link will give you some more pictures and descriptions of other houses here at Millionaire Village.

https://exploregeorgia.org/sites/default/files/listing_images/JIC-History20Tour20Brochure_Screen.pdf  This is an interesting timeline brochure.

I think this is an antique car that you can rent and be driven on a private tour of the Millionaire Village. We used it as a photo op. 

https://youtu.be/XUu-2lNqmXo  This is a person narrating information as he rides on a bike through Millionaire Village.

https://www.jekyllisland.com/magazine/ready-for-its-closeup/  Article about the filming on Jekyll Island.

Almost to Eden, a novel, by June McCash is set partly in Jekyll Island.

Driftwood Beach is at the northern end of Jekyll Island. This area used to be a maritime forest but over the years the tides have taken away the beach and left skeletons of trees. The beach is best at low tide so you will have some sand to walk on. 

The Color Purple used this beach to film some scenes.

We had dinner at the National Museum of the Mighty Eight Air Force. This museum tells the story of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, which executed bombing missions over Nazi Germany, and includes restored WWII and Cold War era aircrafts. There was a DJ and dancing afterwards. I thought it was great to dance off those calories and pounds we gained from all the good Southern cooking we sampled on this bus trip. What a great way to end the day.