February 8th - Wormsloe Plantation

The sea trial went fine and the SS Minnow should be ready for her return trip to North Myrtle Beach in ten days.  Our plans now are to start heading back north on February 18th.

Entrance Wormsloe Plantation

We took a bike ride today over to Wormsloe Plantation, a historic Site run by the State of Georgia.  The entrance is only about one mile from our marina.  We hope we don't bore you with the history of Wormsloe and this area of Georgia but prior to today we knew nothing of this interesting story.  So here goes...

Almost exactly 280 years ago, on February 12, 1733, General James Edward Oglethorpe first set foot in Georgia accompanied by 36 British families consisting of 114 people.  They landed at what is now downtown Savannah on what is called Yamacraw Bluff.  Sort of the Plymouth Rock of Georgia.  This is considered the most historic spot in Georgia. In spite of this it is only marked by a hard to find white bench next to the Hyatt in downtown Savannah.

Long story short, within a few short years all of the original 114 colonists save for one family had succumbed to illness and died or fled Georgia heading back to England.  Only one family of the original group stayed and survived, that of Noble Jones.  They settled on 500 acres 8 miles south of Savannah on the Isle of Hope and started Wormsloe Plantation.  Wormsloe is named for the Welsh/English border area where Jones' ancestors originated.

Live Oak lined entrance at Wormsloe

The driveway, ~0.75 mile long, is lined with live oaks planted by a descendant of Noble Jones in the mid-1800s.

Ruins of the Tabby house and compound that Noble Jones built ~1740 where the family lived.  There are only three remaining tabby ruins in Georgia.  Tabby is a method of building that used oyster shells, sand, lime and water to form large (~2' x 2' x 4') bricks that were then used to build the walls.

 At Wormsloe they also have recreated a typical Georgia village from the late 1700s and have reenactments of some of the pre-revolutionary war battles that occurred nearby between the Spanish, who controlled Florida, and the English.

The descendants of Noble Jones have continuously retained part of the original 500 acres and continued to live on the site to this day making it the oldest site where one family has lived continuously in Georgia.