In the spirit of celebrating the lifestyle of St. Simons Island and the surrounding area for 20 years, here are some interesting facts we’ve learned about our island home during that time that you might not know.
1. St. Simons Island wasn’t always known as St. Simons (or even Saint Simons). The Native American who lived here called the island Guadalquini. When the Spanish arrived and established missions, they called the island Isla de Bellanas. There are also historic references using the names San Buenaventura de Gualquini and San Buenaventura de Boadalquivi.
2. The origin of the name St. Simons was derived from San Simon, a short-lived Yamassee Indian Village established near Fort Frederica in the late 1600s. In 1938, there was a dispute over whether the official postal designation for the island should be Saint Simon or Saint Simons. Mrs. Edwin Fendig stepped in to argue that using the “s” at the end of Simon was most common and what the local populace preferred. She was overruled. However, that decision was reversed just a few years later and St. Simons Island has been the proper spelling since 1943.
3. The island is approximately the size of Manhattan at 12 miles long and nearly 3 miles wide. It is the second largest of Georgia’s barrier islands (Cumberland is largest), and the only one that hasn’t been privately owned.
Elegant Island Living/Annaliese Kondo
Whale Sculpture Neptune Park
4. The translation of the island’s Spanish name Isla de Bellanas is Isle of Whales. This is because our waters are calving grounds for the North American Right Whale. It is a mother Right whale and her calf that are represented by the sculpture in Neptune Park. Right whales are an endangered species with fewer than 350 remaining, with only about one-fifth of those being reproducing females.
5. Many New England states celebrate Patriots’ Day on or around April 19 to commemorate the first battles of the American Revolution in 1775 and the “shot heard round the world.” Georgia marks that date to recognize a 1778 battle that took place just off the shores of St. Simon Island. Colonel Samuel Elbert, commanding three Georgia continental army galleys, engaged in naval action with and successfully captured three British ships in the Frederica River. This caused the British to delay their invasion of Georgia by more than eight months. On St. Simons Island, a memorial ceremony at the Casino Building and parade of patriots through the Village mark this occasion.
6. While we now honor Rev. John Wesley and Rev. Charles Wesley on the island with the Wesley Memorial Garden, Wesley Oak, and Wesley United Methodist Church, they were not so beloved during their time here. The brothers accompanied General Oglethorpe to the newly formed colony of Georgia in 1735, with John remaining in Savannah to act as the colony’s chaplain. Younger brother Charles, only 28-years-old and newly ordained, served as Oglethorpe’s secretary and pastor to the Frederica community on the island. Charles lasted only a few months on the island, with John making only the occasional visit, and returned to England after only six months in Georgia. In 1737, John too set sail for his homeland. Despite their discouraging experiences in Georgia, the brothers’ spirits were renewed upon their return, and they went on the lead the Methodist movement and Charles wrote thousands of hymns, including Christmas carol, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”
7. St. Simons has inspired art, literature, poetry, and more. Some of the most popular literary works are Sidney Lanier’s ode to the beauty of our surrounding marshes, “Marshes of Glynn,” and the critically acclaimed historic novels that make up Eugenia Price’s St. Simons Trilogy: The Beloved Invader, New Moon Rising, and Lighthouse.
8. The island has a Hamilton connection! In 1804, following the duel in which Hamilton was killed, Aaron Burr hid at political friend Pierce Butler’s Hampton Plantation on the north end of the island.
9. The large grey rock revetment on the south side of the island that helps protect against further beach erosion is known as “the Johnson Rocks.” They are named for President Johnson, who visited after Hurricane Dora struck in 1964 and supplied federal aid in the form of these massive granite rocks.
10. Direct hits by hurricanes on St. Simons Island are rare because it is situated in the area known as the “Atlantic Bight,” or more specifically, the “Georgia Bight.” This geographic location is the furthest western coastline on the Atlantic Coast.
11. Our location in the Georgia Bight also affects our tides. High tide waters are pushed by the shape of the coastline from North Carolina and Florida, forcing water to gather on top of itself, resulting in six- to ten-foot tidal fluctuations here. The Georgia Coast has the third highest tidal fluctuations on the entire Eastern Seaboard. This is why we caution about rip currents and staying off sandbars that can rapidly disappear.
12. Most people know we have alligators here, especially if you’re a golfer or live on a marsh, river, or pond. You’ll see them sunning around retention ponds and along the marshes. What you might not have encountered yet is an alligator on East Beach. However, alligators sometimes swim in the ocean, and you might encounter them in the shallow waters near the shore. Be vigilant, do not approach, and keep small pets safe!
13. Trees are a big deal here. Timber from our Live oaks was used to build the U.S.S. Constitution. One of our most photographed and painted island scenes is the picturesque Avenue of the Oaks at the entrance to Sea Island Golf Club, planted by Anna Page King around 1826 when it was the entrance to Retreat Plantation. You’d be hard-pressed to find a family with children who have grown up on St. Simons Island who don’t have photos of their kids sitting in the branches of the 300+ year old Southern Red Cedar in Neptune Park. And, of course, there are the tree spirits … if you know, you know.
14. Our Casino Building has nothing to do with gambling, and never has. In the early 20th century, casinos were also built as venues for general recreation and social activities. This community center for all-ages was first built as a wooden pavilion over the water and later destroyed by fire in 1935. It was replaced by the brick building that is still there today, with the theatre used for stage productions and movies, but the side that now houses the public library held a bowling alley and soda fountain, and there was a pool outside, where the Neptune Park Fun Zone now sits.
15. As the popular joke goes, we’re a little drinking island with a golfing problem. St. Simons Island is home to more professional golfers per capita than anywhere on the planet, and is second only to Jupiter, Florida, for the most overall. Our PGA golfers include Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jonathan Byrd, Brian Harman, Harris English, Patton Kizzire, Keith Mitchell, and J.T. Poston at last count. There may be more!
16. PGA golfers aren’t the only professional athletes that hail from St. Simons Island or make their home here. MLB ace pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright still calls the island home. Former Braves pitcher John Smoltz has a home here. The island was also the birthplace of NFL legend Jim Brown and Morgan Gautrat (formerly Brian) of the National Women’s Soccer League.
17. The island’s best known BBQ joint might have become history without community support. On Saturday, March 27, 2010, a fire started in the ceiling of the smokehouse of Southern Soul BBQ and destroyed the popular restaurant. They had just filmed an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri weeks earlier. The episode had yet to air. What a disaster! However, before the fire was even out, the community was stepping up to offer support in any way they could. Fundraisers were organized by other local restaurants in a matter of days. Southern Soul was able to keep slinging the BBQ, from a tent, from a trailer, and their island family supported them. Less than a year later, they were in a new building and more popular than ever.
18. Speaking of island eateries, we have approximately 100 here at last count. That’s a lot for a tiny island, but we do love good food! Each have their own appeal and their own unique flavors, so get out to enjoy them all!
19. Demere Road, one of our main roads, is named after Frenchman Raymond Demeré, but the name of the road is NOT pronounced in the French manner. We say DEM-UH-REE or DEM-REE. And if you were wondering why there’s a road named after this fellow, Demeré was a Lieutenant in Major William Cook’s Company of General James Oglethorpe’s 42nd Regiment of Foot, later named Captain Lieutenant to Colonel Oglethorpe’s own Company. In July 1742, he was in command of three platoons involved in the Battle of the Bloody Marsh. He retired from the Army in 1761 and lived out his final days on St. Simons Island and on Jekyll Island, where he had been granted Horton House. Upon his death in 1766, he was most likely laid to rest at the burial ground at Frederica.
20. Elegant Island Living was the first—and remains the only—continuously publishing monthly print magazine on and about St. Simons Island. Since the first issue in 2002 to date, we have expanded to include a website and digital edition, social media pages with active engagement, and a weekly digital newsletter to provide our readers with information about events and happenings on the island that might not have been covered in our monthly issues, due to deadline constraints. We are proud of the progress we’ve made and the content we produce, and we are incredibly grateful for the advertisers and readers who have been with us from the beginning! 20 years for a lifestyle magazine is an impressive feat in the publishing world, even more so for one that is produced by a staff of fewer than 10 people. Thank YOU for being along for the ride!
