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.
