Sapelo Island offers visitors a unique step into the past along
with a greater awareness of the importance of preserving Georgia's
marshes and estuaries. The island is accessible only by boat and
the Sapelo Queen routinely departs from the mainland dock in
Meridian, Georgia, at 8:30 a. m. each morning, bound with visitors
headed to the island. Guided tours are offered but require
reservations in advance at the mainland office in
Meridian. Some of the sites included on the tours are:
- The largest shell ring found in North America, composed of discarded oyster
shells measuring sixty yards in diameter with twelve-foot walls
and a hole in the center. Research suggests that these rings may
have been used as kitchen middens by the Native Americans who were
thought to have originally inhabited the island. Legend has it that the
shells were cast there by a great Indian chieftain who sat in the
middle of the ring day after day for years on end eating his favorite
meal of oysters and casting the shells out all around him while runners
continued to bring him a fresh supply of oysters directly from the sea.
- The Reynolds Mansion - Designed and built in the early 1800s by
plantation owner, Thomas Spalding, a statesman, businessman and writer,
the house was named the South End House. In 1912 automotive executive
Howard Coffin of Hudson Motors bought Sapelo Island, and completely
rebuilt the South End House in 1925. Prominent guests of Howard
Coffin's that came to visit at South End House included the Herbert
Hoovers and Calvin Coolidges, and rumor has it that President Coolidge
had been offered South End House as a summer White House retreat.
Although Calvin Coolidge didn't end up using South End House as a
summer White House, President Carter and his family during his
presidency were known to occasionally enjoy a retreat vacation there.
Then, in 1934, tobacco heir, Richard J. Reynolds purchased Sapelo
Island and the South End House was renamed The Reynolds Mansion. Today,
the historic Reynolds Mansion with its thirteen bedrooms can
accommodate twenty nine people for group conferences or retreats.
Overnight rooms are available to visitors age 18 and older for a
minimum stay of two nights.
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