Tuesday April 26, 2022
We were up before 7 to eat breakfast and be across the street to check in for ferry at 8 AM. The hotel packed us lunch so we picked them up as we left. We got checked in and sat outside in the waiting area with an extra cup of coffee. Weather was beautiful with not a cloud in sight.
The ferry left right on time and within 10 minutes of departure
our tour guide found us and gave us the details for our tour. There would be 20 of us on today’s tour
divided between 2 vans with 2 drivers. The
ride over to Cumberland Island was smooth as glass with very little wind. We arrived at first the dock at Dungeness and
then continued to Sea Camp Ranger Station where our vans awaited us. When everyone in our van introduced
themselves, it seemed strange to us everyone but us were fairly local – from Amelia
Island, St. Mary's, and Jacksonville.
We started north up the main road towards
the north end of the island where we would visit the Settlement, location of
the small church where John Kennedy Jr. was married, and then return to Plum
Orchard for lunch and a tour. After the
tour we would end the afternoon on the southern end of the island at Dungeness
to be at the ferry at 4:00.
The island was much as we remembered. Lots of palms, oaks, and Spanish moss and of course the sandy bumpy road.
Our driver/tour guide gave a running commentary of the history of the
island from the earliest Indian population, through the Spanish, and the early
settlers. Nathanial Greene of Revolutionary
War fame was given property on the southern end of Cumberland Island and built
the first Dungeness there soon after the war.
There were numerous other early settlers and plantation owners – most notable
Robert Stafford - Stafford’s Beach - There were stories to tell about each
family. We searched for wildlife – no alligators, no pigs, no bob cats, but lots of wild horses. I do not recall wild horses from previous
trips, but they must have been here. The
interesting thing about the management of the horses here as opposed to those at
Assateague Island in
the Chesapeake Bay area – here they are truly wild – no medical care, feeding,
etc. as takes place in Virginia. Once a year a group comes to the island and
does a head count – it is really an educated guess – this past year they
estimated 120 -150 horses. We saw many
in all locations and got some photos. Also, several new colts.
The Settlement on the northern end of the
island – was where the black residents built their homes after the end of the
Civil War. They were given their freedom
and some small parcels of land. They
took leftover wood and other building materials from the plantations and built
their own homes and the small church that also served as a school. Because of his desire for complete privacy
for his wedding and his friendship with the owner/operator of Greyfield Inn –
located on Cumberland Island and operating as - a Bed and Breakfast – Kennedy chose
Cumberland Island for his wedding. The
small chapel had hand made pews and a small alter. No power at all so the only lighting for the
wedding held at dusk was from candles. Most
of the wedding party stayed at Greyfield Inn. Others stayed as guests of other
home owners on the Island. Notably the Chandler
family (Coca Cola) who own a large home on the northern tip of the Island. Our
tour guide knew lots of details to share about how the wedding party made it
around the island which was basically closed down for the day of the wedding.
Ben, guide Jada and our group with the van
Also located in this area of the island
was the home of environmental activist – Carol Ruckdeschel – whose website is
wildcumberland.org. She has lived on
Cumberland Island for nearly 40 years an is very much dedicated to keeping Cumberland
Island as pristine and in saving the land and animals. Her home is near the settlement and neither
of us could remember how she was able to live on the island. Some days she chooses to come out and speak
with the tour groups but today was not one of those days.
From the northern part of the island we
were able to see the bridge to St. Simon Island from Brunswick. The paper
mill in Brunswick was also quite visible.
After this brief stop for this view to the north we began our trip back
towards Plum Orchard.
Beach to the north - sound side
We remembered Plum Orchard from our
backpacking trip there back in the mid 80’s.
Much restoration work has taken place since then. One of the several plantation homes built by
the Carnegie family during the Gilded Age – this one in 1898. Plum Orchard
rivals Biltmore which it turns out was built two years later in Asheville by
the Vanderbilts. This mansion is less lavishly furnished as the
Carnegie family took many of the furnishing with them when the island,
buildings, and contents were given to the government. The parents had included
in their will that all the children must agree on the disposition of the property
on Cumberland when they needed to find a final owner for the property. Finally in 1927 an agreement was signed between the Carnegie
family and the National Park Service. Certain locations on the island still
serving as homes for some of the Carnegie and Chandler families. In total over
90% of the island is managed by the Park Service.
Area where we had lunch
Plum Orchard is a 2,400 square foot
mansion including living rooms, dining room, huge kitchen area, a gun room, numerous
bedrooms and bathrooms, a children’s wing, servants quarters, an ice machine, a
huge ice box, a squash court with viewing balcony, and an indoor swimming pool.
Lots of stairs! We were definitely the slowest of the group
but made it up and down. The Park
Service spent 1 million dollars to repair the roof during the COVID pandemic
when several leaks were causing damage to the interior of the building.
We had our lunch at picnic tables
scattered under the live oaks around the grounds at Plum Orchard. We enjoyed chatting with a couple in the
other half of the tour who were from Hilton Head. The hotel had packed a nice lunch – ham sandwiches,
chips, a banana and drink.
General comments on people on the island – there were numerous people on bikes – at least 20 on our ferry trip back. We saw several vehicles – park service repair crews, another seemed to be a couple folks doing some sort of assessment of the bridges on the main road. We saw a few hikers on the main road but not many.
My view from inside van
Dungeness Ruins were pretty much as
remembered – but I remembered it being darker - it was located in a sunny field not under
canopy of oaks. There were many horses
about. The
mansion - the primary home of the Carnegie family burned in 1959. The story goes
that a poacher had been shot by the caretaker and spent many weeks in the
hospital recovering. He was angry and
knew what part of the year the mansion stood vacant – he traveled over to the
island and set fire to the mansion due to his anger at the Carnegie’s. There
had been no witnesses to his setting the fire and he could never be charged for the arson. It was said that he bragged about his deed to many.
Most of the outbuildings for the
plantation were still standing and in good condition. I don’t recall seeing or reading about any of
them on the previous visits. There is
also a large family cemetery where most of the Carnegie family is buried. There
is a new museum near the Dungeness ferry landing. We did not however have time
to see it. A trip over on the ferry to the Dungeness landing, walking
around Dungeness and seeing the museum might be a future trip.
We drove back to Sea Camp Ranger Station for the return ferry to St. Mary’s. The tour was interesting and we learned much history that I had certainly not known before. We loved the remoteness and beauty of the island, but had only a limited knowledge of all the history. Most of that remoteness is still there – however, I believe more people are there than when we visited about 30 years ago. Going to have to research exactly when we came. Ben had made at least 6 trips to the island – most of them with the scouts.
The ride back was a bit rougher with wind
and high tide, but it was still fairly smooth.
We ate dinner at the Riverview Café opposite the Park Service
office. We were tired. When we reached the end of our day – we had
walked 12, 500 steps! That was a record since
Jane has had her FitBit!
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