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African-American Heritage Driving Tour
Each leg of the tour begins at the Brunswick-Golden Isles Welcome Center, located on U.S. Route 17 at the foot of the St. Simons (Torras) Causeway. The number to the left of each point refers to its location on the map. The number to the right (in parentheses) indicates the mileage to the next point of interest. Click Here or on map at Right for enlarged view. |
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Brunswick |
1. Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation (11.2 miles)
Located 10.6 miles north of Welcome Center on U.S. Hwy. 17.
Closed Mondays. Admission.
912-264-7333 |
While little remains of other plantations in this area, Hofwyl-Broadfield stands much as it did nearly 200 years ago, offering a glimpse into Georgia's 19th-century rice culture. Built in 1807, Hofwyl-Broadfield once boasted over 7,000 acres of rice fields worked by more than 350 slaves- obtained mostly from Africa's west coast.
After the Civil War, African-Americans who had lived at Hofwyl and other rice plantations along the Altamaha River- Hopeton, Elizafield, Grantly, New Hope and others-settled into small communities nearby while continuing to work, for pay, at the same jobs at which they had labored as slaves. Petersville was one of these communities, its name coming from an old slave, Peter, who first lived there. Another settlement, Needwood, was so named because of the shortage of "fat lighter wood" needed for cooking fires. Still another such community bore a name, which needs no explanation- Freedman's Rest.
Rice harvesting ceased at Hofwyl in 1915 and the plantation became a State Historic Site in 1974. Today, through its dwellings, servant quarters, museum, artifacts, photo exhibits, and video presentation, the life of a slave on a coastal Georgia rice plantation can be closely examined.
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2. Selden Park (2.2 miles)
Park entrance at intersection of Norwich and Fourth Street near downtown Brunswick. |
Selden Park, a public park near the banks of the Turtle River, is built on the site of The Selden Normal & Industrial Institute. The Institute, considered one of the finest black educational facilities of its time, opened in 1903, pioneering in the intermediate education of blacks throughout the coastal area.
Selden Normal & Industrial Institute was named for Dr. Charles Selden, a missionary noted for his work in China, who purchased the land for the facility. The school, which closed its doors in 1933, ultimately was purchased by Glynn County for a public park. Today, Selden Park's 35 acres are a popular gathering spot for family reunions, picnicking, and recreation including swimming, basketball, and soccer. A commitment from local government to add to and improve its facilities will ensure the Park's place in local history for years to come. |
3. St. Paul AME Church (.2 miles)
1520 Wolfe Street in downtown Brunswick.
912-264-2734
St. Paul AME Church is the third oldest congregation in Brunswick. |
4. St. Athanasius Episcopal Church (1 block)
1321 Albany Street (Albany and Monck Street) in downtown Brunswick.
912-264-3985.
St. Athanasius Episcopal Church is the second oldest congregation in Brunswick.
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5. First African Baptist Church
1416 Amherst Street (Monck and Amherst Street) in downtown Brunswick.
912-265-7608.
The present congregation worships in the original sanctuary, built in 1863. |
St. Simons Island |
6. Retreat Plantation Ruins (1 mile)
Located 5.6 miles from Brunswick-Golden Isles Welcome Center at 100 Retreat Avenue. |
Retreat Plantation was known for its quality Sea Island cotton and extensive flowerbeds. The ruins of what was once a two and one-half story, 10-room hospital for the slaves at Retreat Plantation stand on the grounds of what is now the Sea Island Golf Club. |
7. Neptune Park (2.5 miles)
Located in the village area, near the pier at the end of Mallery Street. |
Neptune Park is named for Neptune Small, a faithful servant of the King family, one-time owners of St. Simons Island's Retreat Plantation.
Born in 1831, Neptune was responsible for looking after the King children. When war broke out in 1861, Small accompanied one of the King sons, Henry Lord Page King, into service in the Confederate army as King's manservant. In December of 1862, at the battle of Fredericksburg, King volunteered to carry a dispatch to another section of the Confederate lines. King completed the mission, but was killed before he could return to his unit.
When none of his comrades would risk the constant rifle fire to retrieve King's body, Neptune did so. Neptune accompanied King's body back to St. Simons Island where it was buried at Christ Church cemetery. Neptune, who could have chosen to remain on St. Simons Island, instead returned to the war, serving the youngest King son, R. Cuyler King, until Confederate forces surrendered in 1865.
After the war, freedman Neptune, having chosen the surname "Small" for his slight stature, was given a tract of land owned by the Kings as a reward for his years of faithful service. Part of that property, now known as Neptune Park, so popular among all who love St. Simons Island, is a fitting tribute to this memorable man. Neptune Small died in 1907 and was laid to rest on the plantation grounds in the old Retreat Burying Ground. There, a bronze tablet recounts his heroism. |
8. Retreat Plantation Slave Cabin (1.5 miles)
Located at intersection of Frederica and Demere Roads. |
While most of the structures from the numerous plantations that flourished in this area (fourteen on St. Simons Island alone) for much of the 19th century have disappeared, a handful of the cabins built to house slaves remain. These dwellings, built in the early 1800s, often housed two families. This cabin was part of Retreat Plantation. It now houses an antique store. |
9. Hamilton Plantation Slave Cabins (2 miles)
Located on Gascoigne Bluff on the grounds of Epworth by the Sea Methodist Center.
Open Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
during summer months; other times by appointment. 912-638-5791. |
Among the best examples of the few surviving slave dwellings are three from Hamilton Plantation. In 1988, the two cabins at Gascoigne Bluff were named to the National Register of Historic Places. |
10. Ebo Landing (2.5 miles)
The general area of Ebo Landing, now on private property, can be seen from a distance-when traveling east on Sea Island Road (toward the traffic light at Sea Island Road and Frederica Road) by looking north just before crossing the small bridge at Dunbar Creek. |
(The term Igbo [pronounced ebo-the "g" is silent] refers to persons from the West African area historically known as Igboland [now Nigeria]. Although the European/American spelling-Ebo or Ibo-reflects the pronunciation, the preferred spelling among the Igbo is I-G-B-O.)
Nearly two centuries ago, a mass drowning of slaves occurred at a point called Ebo Landing, located along Dunbar Creek, a tributary of the Frederica River. It was here, in May of 1803, that a group of Igbo tribesmen, captured and destined for slavery, rebelled as their boat neared shore.
Led by an Igbo chieftain, the proud tribesmen resolutely marched into the waters of the creek, chanting an Igbo hymn and trusting in the protection of their God, Chukwu, rather than submit to slavery. Survivors were taken on to Cannon's Point Plantation on St. Simons and to Sapelo Island, where their story was recounted, becoming the basis for a well-known local legend about Igbo spirits still roaming the tranquil banks of Dunbar Creek. |
11. Harrington (.7 miles)
Located off Frederica Road at Harrington Road. |
Following emancipation, many of the freed slaves from the plantations nearest St. Simons' northern end settled in an area along the northeastern portion of the Island known as Harrington. Those from the Island's southern end congregated in an area they called South End, while those from the middle regions of the Island settled along Demere Road.
During the Colonial era, Harrington had been granted to Capt. Raymond Demere, who had served under General Oglethorpe and who named his home Harrington Hall. Here, in the mid 1860s, freedmen acquired small tracts of land. Many Harrington residents worked at the sawmills that were the backbone of the Island's economy through the turn of the century.
Today, Harrington is considered to have the Island's largest concentration of residents who trace their ancestry directly back to African-American slaves. |
12. First African Baptist Church (.7 miles)
5800 Frederica Road.
912-638-5539. |
First African Baptist Church was built in 1859. |
13. Abbott Memorial (7.5 miles)
Located on the grounds of Ft. Frederica National Monument.
Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission. 912-638-3639. |
Born on St. Simons Island in 1868, the child of former slaves, Robert Sengstache Abbott grew up in nearby Savannah where he attended Hampton Institute. In 1905, with just twenty-five cents in his pocket, he traveled to Chicago and founded the Chicago Defender, this nation's first black newspaper. Through his powerful brand of progressive black journalism, Abbott became a prominent publisher and racial reformer. Never forgetting his family's slave background, Abbott, by now a man of great wealth and influence, traveled back to St. Simons Island in the early 1930s. On the grounds of Fort Frederica he erected an obelisk honoring his father, Thomas Abbott, and two beloved aunts, Celia Abbott and Mary Abbott Finnick. For his often lonely struggles to bring positive change to the character of race relations in early 20th-century America, author Roi Ottley characterized Abbott as "The Lonely Warrior," the title for Ottley's 1955 biography of Robert S. Abbott. |
14. Hampton Plantation Slave Cabin Ruins
Located on Lawrence Road just before the entrance to Hampton Point Marina. |
Jekyll Island |
15. Jekyll Island History Center
Located in the former Jekyll Island Club Stable, on Stable Road in the National Historic Landmark District.
Open daily except Christmas 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
912-635-2762 |
The Jekyll Island History Center houses exhibits devoted to Jekyll Island's past, from its earliest inhabitants through the Jekyll Island Club era to its modern restoration by the State of Georgia. Among items displayed are a painting of the slave ship, Wanderer, and images of Red Row, living quarters for African-Americans who were employed by the Jekyll Island Club when the island was a winter haven for America's wealthiest families. |
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