In a few days, my wife and I join up with Spalding/Wylly descendants and other fans of Sapelo’s long history and board the Sapelo Ferry. We will spend three nights at Reynolds Manson on the island and soak up the history and heritage Sapelo oozes. Sadly, my mission includes confirming the status of the dwindling number of Geechee community residents. They are gradually being squeezed off their land by the lure and rising costs to live on Sapelo. Foreigners and mainlanders are gobbling up the precious little privately owned property on the island’s Hog Hammock community (just over 400 acres of the island’s 16,000 acres which is otherwise owned and managed by the State of Georgia).
HISTORY MATTERS on Sapelo Island!
I heard Mark Arum of WSB Radio in Atlanta comment about his visit to Sapelo. Like so many others I have met, the vast majority are ignorant of the history and heritage of Sapelo. In fact, most hardly know of Sapelo Island at all. Folks know of Saint Simon’s Island, Tybee Island, Jekyll Island, and even heard of Cumberland Island, but to most folks I have talked with, Sapelo is a mythical island-out of sight is out of mind. Why? I guess folks only care about vacation places with fancy downtown shops, golf courses and resort beaches-Sapelo has none of that. Not the first fairway, nor the promenade of shops to window shop. The only place to eat is only open a few hours a week or by appointment. Mind you, there’s Reynolds Mansion on the island. It is not a fancy 5-star resort hotel, but at one time it was a diamond in the rough place to visit when R. J. Reynolds, Jr. owned Sapelo. Of course, he alone did more harm to the Geechee communities on Sapelo by consolidating them onto Hog Hammock to suit his fancy and vision for Sapelo. Hence, the forced exodus began over the last 70-80 years. While other communities blossomed over those decades, Sapelo’s dwindled, thanks to progress at the expense of the residents who descended from the original enslaved workers during the Spalding era on Sapelo.
I hope you will join the hundreds who have read The Last Laird of Sapelo and discover a curiosity about the mystical Sapelo Island.
If you have read The Last Laird of Sapelo, please take a moment to leave a rating or review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Goodreads. Also, share your comments and recommendation about the book to others.
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