One of the first things the late Cornelia Walker Bailey told me in 2012 when I met her on my first of many trips to Sapelo Island was that she had seen plans dating back to the late 1960s to build a causeway from mainland McIntosh County to the island her people had inhabited for nearly 200 years. She told me she was glad I could see her island but I could tell she was on the fence about tourism to the island. On one hand, it was a source of income for her family, but it wasn’t that simple, she said. Cornelia was the resident griot, or storyteller, of Sapelo and she was very protective of this magical place. Her book God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man was my guide to understanding a little about the place I was lucky enough to visit, thanks to the generosity of my late friend Sonny DeSoto. Very few people have been to this isolated enclave of Geechee culture and if you are lucky enough to have been, you have an immediate appreciation and understanding of the need to keep it as it has always been. It’s magical in its isolation, its lack of modern convenience, and most of all, in the spirit of the people.
I don’t know about any causeway plans as of this moment, but what I do know is that the McIntosh County Commission has been raising property taxes for at least the last 8 years, creating a hardship for the community of Hogg Hummock [aka Hog Hammock] and while people on and off the island have been protesting this, it’s fallen on deaf ears. The exorbitant property valuations have coincided with the building of large modern vacation homes, interspersed among the small vernacular cottages that have defined the community over time. The desire now, and what the commission just approved by a vote of 3-2, is for many more of these unwelcome homes to be built by the wealthy few who can afford them. With values of the majority of these properties sure to be north of a million dollars, the taxes for people on the island will only get higher and therefore untenable. A real concern is that the county will eventually condemn properties for those longtime residents who can’t meet the growing tax burden and flip those properties to eager developers who care nothing about the history of this place. Only time will tell.
The people of Sapelo are very independent and very resourceful, but this is a problem that those skills may not be able to solve. I understand that part of this is due to the fact that descendants and heirs are willingly selling their property here, so that has to be considered, but to those who wish to remain here, not in the shadow of some short-term-rental McMansion, there should be a covenant that allows them to pay the rates of taxes they’ve always paid. Ultimately, no development would be the ideal scenario, but short of stopping that, which seems impossible now, there must be a compromise. Please share your thoughts with the McIntosh County Commission, or even the Governor’s Office, if you’re so inclined. Apparently, the governor spends time on the island, so I’m sure he’s aware of these issues.
Money has ruined many a thing and Sapelo Island is experiencing another chapter in that “book”. Money talks and with power. When I was a boy in Jeff Davis County, there was a community of Geechee people that lived in a little village (quarters) referred to as Bingham, Georgia near the Ocmulgee River. I remember their work ethic. The women could be seen in the fields hoeing tobacco while their babies rested beneath shade trees in homemade carrying baskets. At intervals, these hard-working mothers would take a break to tend to their children and nurse them. Then they would return to their work. The community around them referred to these individuals as “Blue Gum Geechees from the coast.” We lived near them and in fact several of them did have gums that appeared blue. Outside of this area, I have never heard the term used. These ladies were tall and slender, very attractive, and appeared healthy. Their men folk worked mostly in the turpentine business and sawmilling. Today their old buildings have mostly gone away. Only a few ruins exist to hint at a once thriving community. The little Bingham post office has disappeared and the one room white Ocmulgee District voting building has lost its grip on existence. The Geechees that once plowed and hoed the fields have long been cast asunder and are only a memory in this on man’s brain. When I ask about them very few remember their existence. Hope this will not be the case with the Sapelo Island culture and community. Jesse M. Bookhardt
Having seen beautiful Sapelo only once years ago, I was saddened and angered yesterday when I read a WP article about this. It reminded me of the wonderful Gullah – Geechie people of South Carolina who were robbed of their beautiful islands years ago and they stand today as stark reminders of what can happen when the rich move in and take over. How many more ten bedroom and 12 bathroom homes need to be built along the coast before we finally realize that the land belongs to the people and not the developers. I stayed only once in one of those type dwellings on Litchfield beach SC and was amazed at how many others covered the island and only the rich could afford to occupy those dwellings. Fortunately later I discovered the south end of Tybee Island where my family and I could rent a modest three bedroom home close to the beach and we spent many years vacationing there. Our memories are burned forever in the simple way of life there and we have never desired to visit one of the north end of the beach mammoth homes . I will be writing to both the governor and the McIntosh county board to advise that there are still many who prefer the simple life which has been practiced by the original residents of Sapelo. We should start a save Sapelo movement.
I have been a historic preservationist for almost 50 years and have never seen things this bad, everywhere. We think that development will be guided by accepted and published planning documents only to see them summarily ignored. The popular planning priorities emphasize community and especially historic black communities and culture but we find this is only lip service, useful cover for the ptb but ignored in reality.
what a wonderful photo-essay! thanks for ending it with something we can actually do on behalf of the residents who do want to preserve their heritage.
Hi Brian, Thank you so much for sending this out, especially at this critical moment. Sapelo Island is near and dear to my heart and I have been so grieved and disgusted by what I have been seeing in the news lately. I wish there were more I could do to help. Thank you for also showing you care and that you also recognize the value of keeping it like it is now and the magic of the place. I also always really enjoy your emails and have for the last several years. I have lived in Richmond Hill since childhood and have watched this county and surrounding counties change so much over the years. I always love and appreciate the way things used to be and appreciate and honor history before my time. Thank you, Mary Blue