Senior Moments

Tabby (oyster shells, lime, ash, sand and water) was used in construction during the colonial period.

Betsy and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to St. Simons Island in June of this year.  The highlights of our time on the island were the Lighthouse, Epworth By The Sea, Fort Frederica, and Christ Church, Frederica.  But there were many other interesting things to see on the island.

I’ve always been fascinated by ships and the sea.  In 1961 I was in Boston and had the opportunity to tour U.S.S. Constitution, the famous Old Ironsides.  I must admit that it was awesome to be able to board that piece of history.

One of the places we visited on St. Simons was Gascoigne’s Bluff.  The bluff has been an Indian settlement before the English arrived, the site of the most beautiful plantation on the island, and the headquarters of a Spanish invasion in 1742.  But what was most interesting to me was the fact that the timbers that were used to construct Old Ironsides in 1794 came from trees growing on Gascoigne’s Bluff.  In 1874 timbers from this bluff were used in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

We also visited two slave cabins on what was once the Hamilton Plantation.

We also visited the site of the Battle of Bloody Marsh.  This was the place where the British ambushed the Spanish in 1742 and won a decisive victory which resulted in the Spanish leaving St. Simons Island and returning to St. Augustine.

To see more of St. Simons Island click HERE.

Tags: History, St. Simons, Travel

This entry was posted on September 24, 2008 at 3:23 am and is filed under Travels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.