Thursday, April 30, 2026: We took it easy this week, saving up for an all day adventure. We did venture to St Simons Wednesday to enjoy some Southern Soul BBQ and run a couple of errands. While on the island, we made a stop at one consignment store that had recently moved. Like many other locations on St Simons, their prices were at the top of the price range for sure. We have chosen not to mention the location but were surprised to find that not one of the four staff members working acknowledged us being in the their shop. These were seasoned employees, not even a head nod.
Thursday started early because we had to meet the ferry in St Mary’s before 8:30 to meet our guide for the day at 10am on Cumberland Island. We arrived on time and got checked in for the ferry, paid our park fees, met our guide, and attended the briefing before we boarded the Cumberland Queen II.
We chose to ride inside the ferry since the weather was overcast and a little cool that morning. Being a weekday, the load on the ferry was not very big. The National Park Service allows up to 300 visitors per day to the island. Only about 40 were on the ferry. After about a 40 minute ferry ride, we landed at Sea Camp Ranger Station. Once on the island, there were about as many people waiting to load the ferry back to St Mary’s. These guests were people who had camped overnight on the island or who may have stayed at Greyfield Inn.
Many of the people on our ferry were campers who were camping on the island for the weekend. One we spoke with has been coming to the island every year since 1983, when he was in high school, with the same three friends. His load was perfectly balanced for his journey to the campsite.
Once everyone had gathered and loaded the van, we headed out to the main road, locally named “Grand Road”. Bill, our guide, stopped in the parking lot to introduce himself. Coming to the area after serving at other national parks out west like Death Valley and Zion, and after a career in graphic design, he now gets to meet people doing the Land and Legacy Tours on the island. He said for a retirement gig, it is better than being a Walmart greeter. We are not sure how long ago, but Bill, who is now 70, has hiked, biked, camped, and traversed most of the island, if not all of it.
We turned left out of the parking lot onto the the main road, a one lane road more like a sandy path just wide enough for the van. This is the only road that leads from the north to the south of the island. As we headed out, Bill began telling the history of the island. Starting with the natives, Mocama, through colonial times when General James Oglethorpe occupied some of the island and continuing with Nathaniel Greene’s occupation of the island. Though Nathaniel would die shortly after, his wife Catherine Greene developed the southern end of the island which holds the ruins of Dungeness. We would learn more later in the day about their occupation.
Continuing up the road, we learned about more families who used the island as a winter retreat much like Jekyll Island, names like the Carnegies and the Candlers. The Carnegie family constructed most of the locations we would view or visit today: Plumb Orchard, Greyfield, and the Stafford Plantation.
We also learned about the three primary ecosystems on the island: the maritime forest, the salt marsh, and the beach. Bill told us about the variety of trees and plants in the forest. We were seeing a lot of trees that appeared to be dying. Bill said that the Red bay trees on Cumberland Island are suffering significant mortality due to the invasive red bay ambrosia beetle. This beetle damage would be allowed to run its’ course since there is no known eradication for the species.
Next topic was the wildlife: wild horses, armadillos, wild pigs, raccoons, white tail and piebald deer on land; pelicans, falcons, wood storks, and a very wide variety of birds, even the occasional bald eagle by air. In the waters were alligator and loggerhead turtles. At the beach, you could see dolphins, manatees, and of course plenty of blue crab and oysters. The fifteen minute ride to our first destination was packed with information.
Our first stop landed us on the edge of the Stafford Plantation where a field, sometimes used as a landing strip, had several feral horses grazing. Bill said that no one knows for sure how the horses ended up on the island, but they think that the horses are descendants of the more than 50 horses that the Carnegies had on the island many years ago. When their use was not needed, they were allowed to roam the island freely. No one feeds them, but the park service had created artesian wells for them to obtain fresh water in several locations on the island.
Just up the road, we found the Stafford Cemetery. Robert Stafford’s family is buried in the cemetery, including his mother and sister. Stafford never married, which explains the absence of a grave for a wife. He did have eight children, most with slaves, but never married.
An interesting addition to the graves is Thomas Hutchison, a famous pro golfer from Scotland. He came to America to play in the 1900 U. S. Open, which was held the first week in October. William Carnegie, Thomas and Lucy Carnegie’s oldest son, was an avid golfer, and he asked Hutchison to design a golf course on the island. During this time he fell off a horse and was killed; he was 23-years old. From his grave he could view the golf course near the cemetery.
Just up the road, we paused in front of the Stafford House which is a private location still owned by Carnegie descendants. The Carnegies purchased the land after the passing of Robert Stafford and rebuilt the current house in 1901 after fire destroyed the original Stafford dwelling. The plantation was a producer of sea island cotton and housed several slave quarters now reduced to chimneys off the side road ahead, twenty four chimneys remain.
Heading on into the island was nothing but wild forest, live oaks, including the named Cumberland Oak, palm cabbage, and more Red bay trees for as far as you could see. The road was much rougher and only used by the tour operators and guests of the north end of the island. At one point, Bill said if you see wildlife let him know, and we could stop and view. The soft sand created by drought caused us to travel faster than normal so we would not get stuck.
After one washboard section of the road, the ride quieted a minute, and we let Bill know we had seen a feral pig about a five miles back. We all laughed and continued our journey.
We paused at all three bridges. These bridges were built to avoid driving through marsh swells that occur at high tide. At each bridge, we looked for wildlife and horses, but most were very shy today so far. At the last bridge, we could see a green metal roof off in the distance. This was the private home of Thornton Whatley Morris, Sr. an attorney who died in 2023. As Bill explained, Morris’s obituary states; “One of Thornton’s proudest accomplishments was authoring the legislation which designated the Cumberland Island National Seashore, walking it through the Congressional process before being signed by President Nixon.”
“Thornton dedicated much of his life to the preservation of the island and fostering a positive relationship between the landowners, the National Park Service, and the public, whom he delighted in seeing on the island as they came to appreciate a place that was so special to him. He could often be seen on the main road and always stopped to offer rides and impromptu tours to tired hikers. He founded The Cumberland Island Conservancy, Inc., as a way to continue his work of bringing people together to enjoy and preserve Cumberland Island for generations to come.”
We stopped along the edge of the East River where we could see Jekyll Island, Brunswick, and other sights we have been exploring. This beach area was one we had viewed from the plane last week. It was not accessible since there was a sharp edge to the island, and we were at an elevation of about 52 ft. Nonetheless, a great view.
When we were researching for our trip, we found an article of interest that was related to our next stop, The First African Baptist Church on the north end of the island about an hour north of the Stafford House. This church was used by John F Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette in the fall of 1996 to hold their very private, and remote, wedding. Established in the 1890s, the church served as a free place of worship and community center for the North end community known as the Settlement. The church was rebuilt in the 1930’s.
On the same property, Carol Ruckdesche, 84 years of age, is a self-taught biologist, naturalist, environmental activist, and author who has lived on the island for over 40 years. She was instrumental in the establishment of the CINS and its wilderness designation. Working on the island most of the life, she does research on the wide variety of species in the area and was instrumental in the preservation of Cumberland Island. Her house is owned by the National Park Service where she has lifetime rights for her service. You can learn more about Carol on WildCumberland.org
The property also has another building, the Beulah Alberty House which is now a small museum of facts about the area. Also near the church is the home of Beulah’s uncle, Roger Alberty. This house has not been restored and is collapsing.
We packed back in the van and were headed to Plum Orchard when we passed a park ranger on the road warning about a good sized gator in the road ahead. Bill said he would be on the lookout, and we continued after pulling off to allow the ranger to pass. Stopping again on each bridge heading back, we saw more wildlife at each, mostly raccoons forging in the mud.
As we were plowing through the deep sand headed on down the road, Bill continued with stories of the families on the island. We were discussing how Andrew Carnegie worked with Cornelius Vanderbilt to build an empire of steel and railroads. About the same time, several in the van exclaimed, “That was the gator!” Yep, those are our tire tracks right across the gators tail. 🙁 We said we may not have even hit him since we could have been air born. Bill stopped and backed the van to where we could see the gator was moving on and not even phased by the event.
Arriving at Plum Orchard, we could see the massive house down the driveway. Four huge columns framed the main part of the house flanked by reflective sides. The grounds were filled with huge live oaks draped in Spanish moss. We took a few minutes to eat our picnic lunch sitting at one of the many picnic tables under one of the live oaks in the front yard.
After lunch, we gathered at the main entrance to the house, and Bill was set to give a tour. Bill had been a docent at the house and was very familiar with every room and story of the structure.
Once inside, the 15-foot ceiling in the main entrance reflected the enormity of the house. One of the first things we noticed was something that Bill had explained before we arrived. In the house, there was both light colored furniture, more modern, and older, dark colored furnishings. The entry had examples of both, and we would continue to see the theme as we moved through the house.
Moving from the entry way, we entered a room that was originally the parlor but had been converted to a ladies’ parlor after the extensions were added to the main house.
In the hallway that would lead to the gaming room, we saw two large, thick doors on each end that were used to seal the area when it was used as an infirmary. Dr. Marius Johnston married Nancy Carnegie and would use the house when needed.
In the gaming room, we found a selection of mounted game, firearm and ammunition storage, and games and musical entertainment. Two tortoise shell custom Tiffany shades would highlight the space. The Tiffany shades themselves are worth around $2.5M!
Upstairs, we toured the ladies’ dressing room and bath area along with four bedrooms. The dressing room was as large as most master bedrooms. The bathroom included modern amenities such as a rain fall shower head, bidet, steam towel warmers, and plenty of room to move about the space. All 13 of us were in the bathroom comfortably.
The men’s dressing room would split the bedrooms. All items placed neatly into a wall organization piece. Each bedroom had its’ own bath space.
In the back hallway was a gift from Lucy to her son with an inscription “CARNEGIE – Plum Orchard – October 6, 1898-Ring in Joyous Remembrance”. The date was the formal dedication of the mansion. Beth so wanted to ring it!
At the end of the top floor was the nursery. This bedroom was near the servants’ area which is accessed just outside the grand rear hall.
While the main living area of the house is finished and refined, the servants’ area is simpler. You can see in the door opening the difference. Still, the quarters for the servants was very functional and accessible.
A huge linen closet and four “apartments” were on the second floor for the servants. There were more sleeping quarters on the third floor, which we did not access.
On the main floor was the kitchen, pantry, and dining service areas. Plenty of space to work and keep anything needed to provide service to the occupants of the mansion.
In the basement, we found modern features in their infancy states: first variations of the water heater, heat exchanger for cooling of the house, an early electrical panel that distributed DC power throughout the mansion. The space also contained a water pressure, hydraulic elevator, as well as a first rendition of the ice machine.
Just off the end of the basement was a room with arched brick ceiling and stepped brick walls. This area was support and heating for the indoor pool above and beside the space.
Near the pool and our exit, we found what looked like a racquetball court but was in fact a squash tennis court complete with a viewing area above for the women to watch.
Once we all loaded the van, we headed to our last stops of the day on the southern end of the island. On the ride, we paused to view more horses just off the side of the road. The pauses were short as we made the push to allow time for exploration of the ruins.
We visited the ruins of the old casino and enjoyed the view of the marsh and horses before turning to the main Dungeness Ruins. It was in this area we saw a foal nursing and playing alongside its’ mother.
The main ruins sat impressively facing the marsh and river. Originally built in 1884 as a 59-room winter home for Thomas and Lucy Carnegie, the mansion was destroyed by a fire in the 1950s. While their children occupied Plum Orchard and the Stafford House as their own primary winter retreats, Thomas and Lucy had prevented the children from selling this mansion which led it to falling into disrepair. The National Park Service continues to secure and groom the ruins for all to enjoy.
One last stop was at the Greene-Miller Cemetery. Catherine Greene-Miller, widow of Revolutionary War hero General Nathaniel Greene, is buried here. She later remarried tutor and plantation manager, Phineas Miller. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, Robert E. Lee’s father, died while visiting the plantation and was buried in the cemetery before his remains were moved to Virginia. Housekeeper and poultry manager, Catherine Rikart is also buried here. Her burial in the cemetery is evidence of her importance to the Carnegie family and their dynamic estate. She is buried beside her husband.
Time to catch the ferry back to the mainland. We chose to sit outside since the sun was out. About halfway up the river, we ran into rain, forcing us inside for the remainder of the trek. So thankful for the rain!
Back to camp just before dark, we caught the full moon rising. Great end to one heck of a day.
Saturday, May 2, 2026: For the first time in a long time we finally got some substantial rain. Two days this week we have had rain in the are which has brought some much needed relief to the fire crews working in Brantley County, GA. The fire is finally about 75% contained burning 22,471 acres in total. Hundreds of lives changed for sure as the blaze has taken almost one hundred homes.
A few weeks ago Legacy RV Resort was planning a Mother’s Day Tea and when they found out we would not be here that long, the date was changed to May 2nd. The tea was still on but now it was derby themed since the Kentucky Derby was held that evening.
The tea was planned perfectly. the plan also now included making each participant’s own derby hat. The ladies gathered and began their projects.
Sunday. May 3, 2026: Our last couple of days we chose to spend time on each island. Sunday we headed to St Simons. For lunch we found Ripper’z. Great Food, Fast is their slogan. Opened in 2025 we think the location was a coffee or waffle house at some point. We would find out very soon that the food and the service certainly was much better than those.
They were offering both the lunch menu as well as the breakfast menu. Way too many choices for a first time visit. There was not much on the menu that we did not want to try but a decision had to be made. Beth chose the Picnic Dog and Kevin ordered a Bacon, Egg and Cheese. Sounds simple right? When we were reading the menu we noticed that each description contain items in an order we were not familiar with. Here is our selections.
We ordered and chose a booth that would allow us to watch the guest come in. Many that came in that day were first time visitors. In just a few minutes our order was on the table. The Fast element of the slogan had held.
The food also was great. The BEC was like a hash brown omelet on toast. The dog was a mouthful but very tasty. We certainly would recommend and will be back in the future.
Next we headed to Cannon Point Preserve. This was one of first planned outing on St Simmons in February but when we arrived we found the location closed during the week. On this day is was open from 9-3 and we arrived a little after noon.
We were welcomed by the volunteers on site and provided lots of information about the preserve. On the property were hiking trails, slave ruins, and the main house ruins. The round trip walk to the house ruins would be about 4 hours so we did not make it to the end. We visited the boat launch, and old fishing cabin area. Then we hiked the winding trail through the forest up as far as the slave quarters site. This was a barely worn path through the forest with plenty of nature to see.
Back toward the pier area we visited Moo Cow Ice Cream. This was the first ice cream stop on either island where the staff we eager to please and welcoming. The ice cream was also the creamiest we had eaten. We had passed the place several times but today it was the destination. Excellent choice.
Back to camp to do some prepacking for the next leg of our journey.