Jekyll Island is located off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self-governing body.
It was long used seasonally by indigenous peoples of the region. The Guale and the Mocama, the indigenous peoples of the area when Europeans first reached the area, were killed or forced to leave by the English of the Province of Carolina and their native allies, and by raids by French pirates. Plantations were developed on the island during the British colonial period. A few structures still standing are made of tabby, a coastal building material using crushed oyster shells. The island was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was evacuated during World War II by order of the US government. In 1947 the state of Georgia acquired all the property, for security and preservation.
A popular tourist destination, the island has beaches frequented by vacationers. Guided tours of the Landmark Historic District are available. Bike trails, walks along the beaches and sandbars, and Summer Waves, a water park, are among the active attractions. The historic district features numerous impressive and ambitious buildings from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The island is also full of wildlife, consisting of many different mammals, reptiles, and birds living and breeding in the island's inland salt marshes. In 2018, Architectural Digest named Jekyll Island one of the 50 most beautiful small towns in America.
The island was listed as a census-designated place prior to the 2020 census with a population of 866.
Physical setting
Jekyll Island is one of only four Georgia barrier islands that has a paved causeway to allow access from the mainland by car. It has of land, including of solid earth and a Jekyll Island Club Historic District. The rest is tidal marshlands, mostly on the island's western shore. The island measures about long by wide, has of wide, flat beaches on its east shore with sand packed hard enough for easy walking or biking, and boasts of hiking trails.
Like the other Golden Isles, Jekyll is mostly made of older Pleistocene land mass and smaller sections of younger Holocene land. The climate is humid subtropical, with rainfall concentrated in the hottest months.
Northern end of the Island
The north end of the island is the main area that has been affected by human development over the past few hundred years. Early settlers and the loggers who came afterwards developed plantations in this area. They used fallen trees for the construction of ships. In the early 20th century, much of what was considered wilderness was developed into golf courses.
Clam Creek Picnic Area
A short winding road leads to a parking lot and one of the three picnic areas on the island. To the west is a vast marsh hammock and a view of the Sidney Lanier Bridge, a -tall cable-stay bridge on Hwy 17. A large fishing pier extends northwest from the picnic area. To the east, a bridge crosses Clam Creek, in front of an inland marsh, to connect the picnic area to the North End Beach and Driftwood Beach. These beaches are characterized by another tidal creek emptying into St. Simons Sound and a boneyard of pine and water oak tree roots.
Horton House
The two-story house built from tabby in 1742 stands along N. Riverview Rd. The frame is intact, while the roof, doors, and windows are gone. Tabby was an indigenous material developed along the coast that was formed from crushed oyster shells, lime and water to make a kind of cement. It is featured in several historic sea island structures dating from the antebellum plantation era. The house was occupied by Major William Horton during the British colonial period. He developed Georgia's first brewery (the ruins of which are a few hundred yards down the road).
The remains of the house have been meticulously preserved over the past 100 years as an example of coastal Georgia building techniques; it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the state. Across the street from the Horton House ruin is the du Bignon cemetery, established by the next family to own the house and much of the island for generations. Its tabby wall surrounds the graves of five people who died in the 19th century.
Campground
Just across the street from the entrance to the Clam Creek picnic area is the campground, an facility in a cleared maritime forest. The campground has running water for restrooms, showers, and laundry, as well as a store and bike rentals.
