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Richard T. Crane, Jr. from Chicago built The Crane Cottage in 1917, and it was the
most expensive and elegant home ever built on Jekyll Island. The home was built in
Italian Renaissance style and included 20 bedrooms and 17 baths. The Crane family
produced steam engines, elevators, plumbing fixtures and equipment. Today the
Crane Cottage operates as a bed and breakfast as part of the Jekyll Island Club Hotel
with a restaurant, Courtyard at Crane.
Jekyll Island,
Georgia
A Must Stopover on the ICW
By James H. Newsome
Nestled conveniently on the ICW between mile markers
#680 and #685 is one of the most unique islands of
the southeast coastal area. Jekyll Island is one of only
four barrier islands on the Georgia coast connected to the
mainland by a causeway. The island is 7 miles long and 1½
miles wide and is part of the Golden Isles of Georgia, a
group of four barrier islands near Brunswick.
Mostly unknown to the outside world, Jekyll Island
played an important part in our country’s history.
Originally settled by the Spanish in 1510, it was called Isla
De Ballenas, or Whale Island. Despite a Spanish claim, in
1562, Frenchman Jean Ribault claimed the island and
renamed it Ille de la Somme. He would pay for this act with
his life after Spain recaptured the island and established a
colony and missions.
Jekyll Island continued to serve as a battleground during
the colonial era, even after the English claimed the area
in 1663. In 1773, General James Oglethorpe established the
colony of Georgia and renamed the island for his friend, Sir
James Jekyll. Although many battles between Spain and
England were fought on Jekyll Island and nearby St.
Simon’s Island, the coastal area of Georgia remained firmly
under English control.
Jekyll Island served primarily as a plantation between
the end of the colonial period and start of the Civil War. In
the late 1870s, the island’s owner, John Eugene DuBignon,
developed a plan to sell the island as a winter retreat for the
wealthy, and in 1886, 53 shares were purchased for $600
each, and the Jekyll Island Club was founded. It was to
become one of the most exclusive clubs in the world with its
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News & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS October 2012 41