Category Archives: –McINTOSH COUNTY GA–

Tolomato Island, Georgia

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Tolomato Island is one of the historical wonders of Coastal Georgia, located just north of Darien, though it is little-known outside the area. Archaeologists have determined, through examination of pottery and shell middens, that indigenous peoples, Swift Creek and Guale-Tolomato, were living in the area as early as 2000 BCE and thrived until at least the 1600s.

A Spanish Catholic mission known as Our Lady of Guadeloupe of Tolomato, may have been established here in the late 1500s, though details of this endeavor are in dispute. One early source of this claim is John Tate Lanning’s 1935 book, The Spanish Missions of Georgia, which over time has been proven to be academically questionable, at best, and has led to serious debate over any of the details of European intrusion into the area. It is known that there was a similarly named mission near St. Augustine in the early 1600s, as well, further confusing the matter.

What is known for sure is that the site today is home to the ruins of one of Georgia’s earliest industrial endeavors. Though surrounded by a quiet community of modern homes, the ruins are well-preserved and considered an important resource by the people of Tolomato Island. Locally, the area was originally known as “The Thicket”.

The historic marker on nearby Georgia Highway 99 reads: “The Thicket”: Sugar Mill-Rum Distillery Ruins–On the banks of Carnochan Creek, a short distance East of here, are the ruins of a famous Sugar Mill and Rum Distillery operated early in the 19th century. These buildings, constructed of tabby by William Carnochan on his huge sugar plantation at “The Thicket,” followed closely plans laid out by Thomas Spalding of Sapelo. The sugar works and rum distillery were operated successfully on a commercial scale until 1824, when a hurricane tore off the roof and upper story of the mill and cane barn, and destroyed other buildings. What this marker fails to mention is that the success of this operation was dependent on the labor of enslaved people. Prominent among the ruins are slave dwellings and other structures related to Carnochan’s operation.

The ruins are relatively intact and are a significant archaeological resource.

Repairs were apparently made in the 1920s, as graffiti on the patchwork suggests. The work above is signed “J. O. V. 1926”.

The people of Tolomato Island should be commended for preserving and keeping a watchful eye over this relic of early Georgia.

It should go without saying, but if you visit, take only pictures and tread lightly.

Vegetation has grown inside the ruins, but the durability of tabby as a building material is evident in these images.

Like the slave dwellings and the distillery, the ruins of the sugar mill have survived for over 200 years and are evidence of some of Georgia’s first industrial efforts.

These structures were built when John Adams was the president of the United States.

It will take many years for archaeologist and historians to come to a conclusion, if they ever reach one, regarding the Spanish mission story, but the story of William Carnochan is told in these ruins.

It is a microcosm of the earliest part of Georgia’s story, and is quite amazing.

Tragic End to a Day of Celebration on Sapelo Island

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Ferry dock, Sapelo Island

Numerous national news sources are reporting that at least seven people have died following the collapse of the metal gangway structure at the Sapelo Island ferry dock on the island side. Eight people were taken to local hospitals on the mainland, and six were said to have serious injuries. Larger than normal crowds were gathered for the annual celebration of the island’s Gullah-Geechee heritage.

Per the Associated Press, “There were at least 20 people on the gangway when it collapsed, he said. The gangway connected an outer dock where people board the ferry to another dock onshore.”

As someone who has spent time on Sapelo over the years I have a great admiration for the place and the resiliency of the people. I am devastated for those lost and send my thoughts and prayers to their loved ones. I will update this story as information becomes available.

Calf Barn & Maternity Ward, Butler Island Plantation, 1935

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Butler Island Plantation, Real Photo Postcard, 1935. Collection of Brian Brown.

After many years of decline, the historic lands and waterways of Butler Island, just south of Darien, were purchased and modernized by Col. Tillinghast L’Hommedieu (T. L.) Huston, in 1926. A dairy was part of the Butler Island Plantation enterprise before it was converted to an iceberg lettuce farm, and some of the dairy structures were maintained throughout Huston’s ownership. This barn and other related buildings have been gone for decades, but may have still been in use when R. J. Reynolds purchased the property after Huston’s death in 1938.

This real photo postcard, dated Tues. Apr. 16, 1935 wasn’t mailed, but features a somewhat exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek message on the reverse: “Near border of Georgia & Florida. Air fresh & fragrant with blossoms. Cattle have free range in this state & receive excellent attention, as card shows. Autos barely escape colliding with hogs, cows, chickens, dogs, turtles, etc. on the highways.” It isn’t signed.

Suspected Arson Destroys Butler Island Landmark

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Friends from Darien have just called to tell me that the historic Huston House, built on Butler Island in 1927, is engulfed in flames. The Huston House is a landmark of McIntosh County and Highway 17, the Georgia home of Col. Tillinghast L’Hommedieu (T.L.) Huston, a part owner of the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth spent time at this house during that era.

Before Huston’s association, the Butler family owned this land from at least 1790 until 1923. Their rice plantation was dependent on the labor of as many as 500 enslaved people at its peak. Multiple generations of families were chained to this land and many were buried here, as well. As the plantation declined, most of the Butler enslaved were sold at a Savannah racetrack between 2-3 March 1859, in what came to be known as the Weeping Time. Their sale to disparate buyers ensured that most would never see each other again.

In recent years, ownership has shifted between state and local sources and its future has been uncertain.

Update: A visit to the site this morning (27 June 2024) confirms that the house is a complete loss. A news story from WSAV states that a person of interest (not a suspect) is in custody. I also hoped it was a lightning strike and am really sad to hear arson is suspected.

Credit Hill, Georgia

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Pyramidal Cottage*, Circa 1920s

Credit Hill is another place name along the coast whose origin was a bit of mystery to me. I initially thought it to be a reference to a turpentine or timber commissary, but in his excellent history of McIntosh County, Buddy Sullivan writes: Credit Hill gets its name from the First Credit Hill Baptist Church…the First Credit Hill Baptist Church property was purchased ca. 1865 by a group living in the Free Castle Swamp area to establish the church. The property was sold to the group, on “credit,” for the sum of five dollars. Hence the name, Credit Hill…[Though he doesn’t mention it, the church is African-American, and therefore must have been established by newly freed enslaved men and women.]

Credit was an apt description, but there’s really no hill in sight. And there was never a post office here, either.

Besides two churches, First and Second Credit Hill Baptist, there’s nothing else in this lost community, besides a road bearing the name, to signify there was ever a settlement here.

*-This house is usually obscured by vegetation but is located at the center of Credit Hill. The type is a variation of the pyramidal cottage, sometimes referred to as a hip-roof cottage.

Cox, Georgia

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This little central hallway cottage was bathed in bright sunlight when I made this photo a few years ago. The Spanish Moss and oak canopy were a perfect frame for this enigmatic landmark. Everything about Cox, Georgia, is an enigma. Located in the vicinity of a long lost 18th-century frontier fortification known as Fort Barrington, on the Altamaha River, the community was first known as Barrington. It was named for Josiah Barrington, a cousin of James Oglethorpe. People have been inhabiting these swampy backwoods near the coast since the early days of the Georgia colony.

The post office for Barrington was open from 1894-1916. Cox never had the honor. The Seaboard Air Line Railway operated a line through the area, and it was likely due to the lumber and turpentine business that would have been prolific here in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Perhaps Cox was someone involved in one of those businesses.

This isn’t somewhere you find by accident. It’s located at the terminus of Possum Point Road, and a recently placed sign proudly makes reference to the marsupial moniker. In fact, it states: Welcome to Possum Point, Cox, Georgia, Population: Just a Few, Richard Bolin, Sr., Mayor

Sapelo Island’s Character & History Endangered by McIntosh Commission

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Sapelo residents and natives disembarking the ferry Katie Underwood with tourists, 2012.

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.

Nanny Goat Beach, 2012

Second Woodland Baptist Church, Cox

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This historic African-American congregation near Cox was established in the 1890s but that’s all the information I’ve been able to locate so far. I’m guessing there was an earlier Woodland Church, hence the name.

Champney River Bridge Catwalk, McIntosh County

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I’ve always called these pedestrian sections on the sides of bridges along the coast “fishing bridges” but I know there must be a better name. On a list of McIntosh County fishing piers, this is identified as the Champney River Bridge Catwalk, and catwalk seems a good description. It’s probably the safest, accessibility wise, of all of these public piers in the Altamaha Delta, because there’s a nice parking lot. The others generally have little more than a pull-over spot and US 17 is a very busy road most of the time. Tourists may use these from time to time, but locals, who know the tides and and the runs of numerous species, use them frequently.

If you’re not an angler and just want to take in the coastal scenery, or a birdwatcher checking out the diverse avifauna, they’re a good starting point.

Smith & Sons Seafood, Darien

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Walter “WM” Smith started this seafood processing business in 1955. Though it wouldn’t take the name Smith & Sons Seafood until the late 1970s, everyone in McIntosh County knew the business. It has evolved from a bait shrimp business, to brokerage, to processing and packing, and a little bit of everything else. WM’s son John, who now runs the business says: “To this day, everywhere I go, my daddy’s friends will tell me stories about him like when he was drafted right out of high school to play baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He chose not to do it. He chose to stay with his family. He chose to stay in the shrimp business.” It has all paid off, as Smith & Sons are now the largest processors of domestic shrimp on the East Coast.

I’m a huge fan of Wild Georgia Shrimp and McIntosh County is the heart of this vanishing way of life. It’s great to know that businesses like Smith & Sons are doing all they can to promote and distribute this coastal delicacy.