Day 95 - The Millionaire's Club

The dock master told us that if we got up early we could see otters and mink in the harbor.  So you know that Laurie and I are on the dock in our pajamas at 7 am, looking for them.  Unfortunately, we did not see any.  After breakfast we jumped in the rental car and drove to Jekyll Island.  The island was first fished and hunted by the Timucua Indians although there is no evidence that they actually lived there.  James Oglethorpe was the first European to live on the island.  Ownership changed hands a few times before it was sold to a group of wealthy families out of New York, Philadelphia and Chicago in 1886 for $125,000.  They developed it as a hunting and fishing winter retreat for a select few.  It was known as the Millionaire’s Club and spanned the years 1886 to the mid-1940s.  Each member had to be voted in and buy 2 shares of stock at $600/share.  Members included the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, J.P. Morgans, McCormicks, Goodyears, Pulitzers and other industry and banking titans.  In November 1910, in the wake of the financial panic of 1907, New York Senator Aldrich arranged a “duck hunt” on Jekyll Island for a number of the members of  the Millionaires Club.  At this “secret” meeting these men developed a financial plan that later became known as the Federal Reserve System.

We started our visit to Jekyll Island at the Turtle Hospital.  It is smaller than the one the Captain and I visited in Marathon, but here we were able to view the vets bandaging wounds and caring for the turtles in the OR.  The hospital included tanks that housed sick or injured turtles and their stories were posted for us to read.

 

Next we went through the island museum  and bought our tickets for a 90 minute trolley tour that included tours of 2 of the “cottages”, Moss Cottage owned by the Macy’s (not the department store) and Indian Mound, owned by the Rockefellers.  These cottages were homes between 8,000 – 12,000 square feet.  The Rockefellers also owned an apartment in the Sans Souci, a building of 6 separate apartments that was the first condominium building in the US.  “Sans Souci” means “no worries”.  The first transcontinental phone call between Alexander Graham Bell, in New York, and Thomas Watson, in San Francisco, was coordinated through the island by Theodore Vail, the president of AT&T.  President Woodrow Wilson was also on the call in Washington, D.C.  The members and their guests were required to dine at the club house.  Together, the 50 members in the dining room were the owners of 1/6^th of the world’s wealth at the time.  The island is truly a fascinating place and time in history.  Today, the clubhouse is a hotel and small meeting venue that can be enjoyed by anyone.

 

We drove the island, stopping at various spots along the way such as the first home on the island, a burial ground of one of the owner’s families, and the beach.  Faith Chapel has a signed Tiffany stained-glass window, only 1 of 5 in the world.

Captain Randy wanted to see the marina and we noted the shallow water; I was glad we did not take the chance and came by car instead.  We might have made it in on high tide, but why risk it?  The tides in this area are 6-9 feet due to a bight close to the coast that acts as a funnel, pushing more water and it makes a big difference what time you arrive or leave port.  By this time we were hungry and thirsty and went into Sea Jay’s marina restaurant for refreshments.  The Brunswick Stew, a tomato, barbecue flavored broth with pork, chicken and vegetables, was outstanding.

 

 

 

 

 

On the return trip to Brunswick we found Lover’s Oak, a 900 year old live oak tree under which, according to legend, Native American braves would meet their maidens.  The history on this trip is amazing!