If you grew up on St. Simons Island, it’s likely that you remember or have heard tell about Cusie’s Fish Camp. The Sullivan family of the Harrington community started the fish camp located on a high-tide creek at the end of South Harrington Drive. We know this location today as Village Creek Landing, a peninsula surrounded on three sides by beautiful tidal creeks and marsh with views of St. Simons Island, Little St. Simons Island, and Sea Island.
Back in the day, it was the site of a fish camp run by Cusie Sullivan, a man known as one of the best fishing guides on the Georgia coast. It’s said that Cusie knew when and “when and where the fish were biting, what bait to use, how deep to fish and whether high or low ebb would yield a mess of speckled trout or spot-tail bass.” (Island Time, Jingle Davis, 226)
The Sullivan family was a well-known Gullah-Geechee family on St. Simons Island. According to information gathered by Orrin Sage Wightman and Margaret Davis Cate in their book, Early Days of Coastal Georgia, the Sullivans were unique in that they could trace their ancestry back to a specific spot in Africa. Ben Sullivan was the grandson of “Old Tom,” an African of the Foulah tribe, who was purchased in the Bahamas in about 1800 by John Couper of Cannon’s Point Plantation. Tom’s African name was Sali-bul-Ali and his home had been on the Niger River, in the Town of Kianah in the District of Temourah in the Kingdom of Massina. He shared that his parents were farmers and property owners. He was captured and sold into slavery in 1785, when he was fourteen years old.
“Old Tom” was highly regarded by Couper and his son and was made head man of Hopeton Plantation, a position he held for approximately thirty years. He had a son named Bilalli who, after the emancipation from slavery, took the name Sullivan. It was Ben, the grandson of “Old Tom,” and his wife, Carrie, who initially established the fish camp. On that site, they ran what was essentially St. Simons Island’s first bed and breakfast. Guests would come down from Atlanta and other places in the North, and Ben and other members of the family would take the men out fishing and marsh-hen hunting. When the men came back with the fish they had caught, the Sullivans would cook it at the camp for dinner and the guests would spend the night.
When Ben became disabled and later died around 1950, it was his son Cusie that continued operating the camp with help from others in the Sullivan family. Cusie’s Fish Camp is how the popular camp is remembered and how the legacy of fishing adventures and hospitality at Village Creek Landing began.
Ideally situated between St. Simons Island and Sea Island, the vast marshland surrounding the area and the old growth maritime forests combine to provide a diverse habitat for birds and marine life that is ripe for exploration and still offers some of the best fishing around. Village Creek Landing currently acts as an outpost for Southeast Adventure Outfitters and is the home port for many of the area’s finest fishing charter captains. Charter powerboat fishing trips, kayaking and cruises are available from Village Creek Landing throughout the year. Kayak tours and kayak fishing charters depart from there daily, as do tours on the "Norma", a comfortable deck boat. This relaxing two-hour cruise exploring the marshes and waterways between the islands offers an excellent opportunity to view unparalleled beauty of our coast.
For more information about activities offered by Southeast Adventure Outfitters at Village Creek Landing, visit southeastadventure.com.
This cherished peninsula is also the backdrop for unforgettable alfresco gatherings and special events. Pristine. Provocative. Personal. The Preserve at Village Creek Landing is now being added to Straton Hall Event’s exclusive list of event venues.
The Preserve at Village Creek Landing is a perfect venue for celebrating with 10 to 290 guests. The creekside gazebo is ideal for musicians, the expansive lawn accommodates dinner tables, tents, and ample space for dancing the night away. The upstairs niche with balcony and bar allows guests the opportunity to revel in in the salt air breezes and take in the magnificent views and vistas. The colors of the setting sun, the wildlife watching just out of reach, and the soothing sound of the tides flowing past make the Preserve the perfect place to celebrate any occasion.
If your needs are very simple and tailored or extremely lush and formal, Straton Hall Events will take care of you. Straton Hall Events is a full service company with fabulous florals and event design, creative cuisine, amazing service and an outstanding reputation. The waterfront Preserve can be dressed up or dressed down for almost any event from black tie and BBQ, down and dirty oyster shuckin’, and everything in between.
For information on events at the Preserve at Village Creek Landing, call Straton Hall Events at 912.275.8294. stratonhall.com.
